The judge, Mrs. Dallas, was a dry woman in her fifties, who looked at Tristan—and the world—with bias from the start.
She knocked her neat little hammer on the wooden panel and declared the start of the hearing for this case between Tristan Gemello and Gabriella—Tristan didn't bother remembering the surname.
Xavier, as the prosecutor, went through the accusation from Tristan's side, explaining that Gabriella's claims of being assaulted were false, and it was she who assaulted Tristan.
"As a result, my client suffered a lot of damage to his reputation when the Internet began spreading those false claims. Especially since he's a public figure already," Xavier concluded.
"I want to object to this accusation, Your Honor," Gabriella's attorney immediately said.
The judge nodded.
"Present your objection, please."
Gabriella's attorney gestured at Gabriella while addressing the judge. Gabriella twisted her lips into a more pitiful expression, and tears appeared in her eyes.
'Is she genuine, or can she cry on command?' Tristan wondered. 'The level of drama is almost impressive, nonetheless.'
"Your Honor, the so-called 'facts' the accusing side brings up were hopelessly twisted around..."
And with this introduction, Gabriella's attorney began spinning some of the most fantastic tales Tristan had ever heard.
From the way he put it, Gabriella's attempt to tackle Tristan was just "an unfortunate tripping accident", and her forthcoming posts about how cruel Tristan was to her were an "exaggeration that came from extreme mental duress this incident brought upon her".
And Gabriella herself sniffed pitifully and chipped in from time to time with nods of confirmation.
Just listening to this made Tristan want to punch something... He forced himself to breathe evenly and keep his cool.
Thankfully, this was the part where the attorney and the prosecutor could start arguing in full force and bring up witnesses.
"There were several people who saw the altercation and could confirm that the defendant's so-called 'tripping accident' was an intentional assault, Your Honor! And they have all agreed to make a statement today." Xavier gestured at the several people at the bench of witnesses.
There were guards from the concert avenue and a few fans, who were happy to tell things as they were.
It already wasn't very pretty, but then it became an ugly grimace. Real tears began falling down her cheeks.
Her soul was hit right into the most vulnerable parts, and it wasn't stable to begin with.
"NO!" she shouted, suddenly jumping to her feet. "NO, NO, NO! This isn't true! You are mine!"
Gabriella lunged across the hall toward Tristan, and he made a show of stepping away, even though he could tell from a glance that the security guards posted in the hall will intercept the woman before she reaches him.
In a moment, Gabriella—now loudly crying and babbling nonsensical things like, "Tristan, please, come back to me!" and "This isn't right! Nooo!"—was being held by two security guards.
The judge hurriedly slammed down her hammer twice.
"This court hearing is adjourned for thirty minutes! Please, calm down the defendant."
Gabriella's attorney, who was biting his lip and frowning with anxiety, went to calm down Gabriella. Her friends from the bench of witnesses joined her, and they all led the woman away from the court hall and Tristan.
All the while, Gabriella kept trying to sneak a peek at him.
Xavier shook his head at the sight.
"That woman... This makes me wonder why her attorney didn't claim she was mentally ill from the start. With the way a simple phrase from you broke all her walls like that, Mr. Gemello, and with her previous actions—she's obviously obsessed with you, anyone can see it."
Tristan huffed.
"If so, then she or someone in her surroundings should've known better than let her loose on the world and me like that."
"Either way, Mr. Gemello, the attorney or the judge will definitely insist that Ms. Gabriella go through a mental health exam now. And this might essentially make her non-prosecutable."
Tristan smiled.
"Yeah, but she WILL have to go to a mental clinic then, won't she?"
'Into the nuthouse with her, then!'