Uncorked (54 page)

For that, I am sorry.

Jade

“I can’t believe she hated me
that much,” Chella finally said.

“Jealousy can drive people to do
crazy things.”

“Her mother must be devastated.
She never told me anything about her family or her mother’s health. Maybe I
could have helped her. Maybe I still could.”

“You’d do that? After all her
daughter has done?”

“She’s not responsible for Jade’s
actions. Things might have been different if Jade had said something. It’s sad
that she hated me that much. That being said, it looks like she’s the one who’s
going to help the police solve my parent’s case and put Aaron behind bars for
good.”

“You continue to amaze me, Chella
Noon.”

After the news
of Jade’s suicide sank in, Mitch
and Chella now had to deal with the press. The distractions helped take her
mind off the miscarriage, but it wasn’t like these issues were rosy to deal
with, either. Their lawyers crafted a press release and sent it out to the
media. By afternoon, all the reporters had left Mitch’s office.

Late evening came and Chella had
the guts to turn on her cell phone and open her email. She was shocked at the
number of emails and messages of support she had received from friends,
acquaintances and business associates. Through all this adversity, she had
managed to get some idea of where her life was heading.

A week later, she received a
letter from Samantha Marlow informing her a court date for the trial was set.
In two weeks, Chella was due in court. She was the state’s star witness.

The weekend before
the trial, Mitch and Chella
spent a quiet weekend together, lounging by her pool. They even went out to
watch a movie. On Saturday evening, they made a quick appearance at a cocktail
party hosted by one of Mitch’s clients. Many people approached her, including
people she didn’t know. They had read her story and offered words of
encouragement.

By Sunday night, Chella had
become so nervous about the beginning of the trial, she was sick to her
stomach. She had already thrown up twice that night before bed. She was
extremely restless, and after only a couple of hours of sleep, she was in the
bathroom again.

Mitch awoke to
the sounds of Chella vomiting
again in the bathroom. However, this time, it was accompanied by trembling and
sweating. After checking on Chella, Mitch ran her a hot bubble bath and turned
on the fireplace in the bathroom. It was a little chillier than usual that
night, but he knew her trembling had nothing to do with the weather and
everything to do with the trial the following morning. He made her a cup of
lavender tea to help calm her. Within half an hour, she appeared to have
relaxed quite a bit. He helped her get dressed and put her to bed.

The following morning,
Chella was still nervous but
without any obvious physical reactions. Before they left the house, Mitch
convinced her to eat half of a croissant cheese sandwich and drink some fruit
juice.

Whether it was the fact that
Chella was going to face Aaron, or the fact that personal issues about her life
were going to be exposed, or the fact that she was the star witness in the
trial, or that the man who would be sitting a few feet from her had concocted
her death, she was having a hard time getting rid of the horrific feeling in
the pit of her stomach.

Chella and Mitch
drove in silence to the
courthouse. Mitch looked into her eyes and could tell how scared she was. He
held her hand.

“Sweetheart, this is all going to
work out. You’re going to be fine. No matter what happens, I promise I’m going
to be there for you.”

She smiled softly but said
nothing. He held her hand as they walked into the courthouse. At the courtroom,
Miss Marlow and two other state lawyers were already there.

When Miss Marlow saw them, she
introduced them to the other attorneys. They exchanged pleasantries. Soon
after, their lawyers reviewed with Chella and Mitch what they’d discussed while
prepping her for the proceedings.

Mitch held Chella’s hand tightly
as they sat in the courtroom. Within minutes, she was on her feet, rushing to
the bathroom to throw up. She knew the timing could not be any worse. She
rinsed her mouth with water, popped in a mint, and returned to meet Mitch in
the hallway.

When they returned to the
courtroom this time, Aaron made eye contact with her. He had a sinister look on
his face.

Chella flinched. Her grasp on
Mitch tightened and her breath turned shaky.

Mitch continued to hold her hand
as they sat and waited for the proceedings to begin. It wasn’t long before the
bailiff introduced the judge—a middle-aged woman with short, brown hair and a
no-nonsense look on her face.

Samantha Marlow was about to make
her opening statement when Aaron Stewart’s lawyer interrupted and addressed the
court.

“Your Honor, my client would like
to change his plea on all counts.”

Everyone in the courtroom gasped
in shock. Mitch’s hold on Chella’s hand tightened.

The judge addressed the
defendant. “Mr. Stewart, your council has advised that you would like to change
your plea. Do you understand the charges that have been brought against you?”

Standing up in a sharp suit,
Aaron answered, “Yes, Your Honor.”

“Your attorney has advised the
court that you would like to change your plea from not guilty to guilty. Is
that correct?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Do you understand you will be
pleading guilty to the following charges: eight counts of first degree
attempted murder, two counts of first degree residential burglary, two counts
of battery, two counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon, three counts of
felony criminal threats, one count of felony false imprisonment, two counts of
felony stalking, four counts of felony vandalism, eight counts of violation of
a restraining order, one count of felony arson?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“In that case, you will be
remanded into the custody of the San Diego county sheriff’s office. Your
sentencing will be ten weeks from now, Monday, April fourth. Court stands in
recess until then.

As Aaron was taken away, Chella
looked at Mitch completely speechless. For whatever reason and for once in
Aaron Stewart’s life, he did what was right and made things simple for her. As
people vacated the courtroom, Mitch pulled her in his arms and held her in a
warm embrace.

“I can’t believe this,” Chella
whispered. “Is it finally over? Is this real? Can he change his mind?” She
turned to their lawyers and asked.

The eldest of her lawyers
answered. “He must have good cause. It’s not enough for him to claim he has
good cause. He must be able to prove it by clear and convincing evidence. It
would be my guess that his lawyers told him to plead guilty so the judge gives
him a lighter sentence.”

Another lawyer added, “Ms. Noon,
I think it’s safe to say this is it. With all the evidence against him, it’s
highly unlikely that would happen. At this point, he’s looking for the best
deal he can get from the judge.”

“What, exactly, might this
so-called best deal be? What if the judge hands down a ridiculous sentence?”
Chella asked.

“You needn’t worry about that.
Mr. Stewart has two previous violent assaults on his record. Attempted murder
is a violent felony. Under the third strike mandate, he must serve a mandatory
minimum sentence of twenty-five-years-to-life in California state prison.”

“I can’t believe this is over,”
she said. She looked at Mitch and smiled. After thanking her lawyers, she
walked over to Detective Carter.

“I don’t know how to thank you,
Detective. I could hug you right now.”

“I was—”

“I know, just doing your job. If
it weren’t for your dedication, this would not be happening right now.”

“You’re welcome, Ms. Noon. It was
a pleasure.”

“We’re grateful,” Mitch said,
shaking the detective’s hand. “There were so many times things could have been
worse if it weren’t for you. Thanks for everything.”

Before leaving, they said a polite
thank you to Ms. Marlow and her team and then they were on their way.

It was over.

Mitch dropped Chella at home then
went to see how things were going at his office. Chella wasn’t quite sure what
to do next. This was the beginning of the rest of her life. For the first time
ever, she could live a life free of fear. The next day, she went to the
Department of Motor Vehicles to get her driver’s license. After that, she
headed to Sheyenne International to tell Craig she would be more than happy to
accept the new position, on the condition that she’d get to work from home over
the next few months. She was still bleeding, and both Mitch and Dr. Suarez
wanted her to be careful. While at the office, she picked up files and
instructed the driver to take her home where she’d plan a nice romantic evening
with Mitch. He deserved it. He had been so patient, loving and supportive
throughout the entire ordeal. It was time to give back.

She was no expert on gourmet
cooking, but over the last few months, Mitch had gone beyond the call of duty
to spoil her. She wanted to reverse the tables that night, starting with
dinner.

On the way home, she picked up a
couple of bottles of Mitch’s favorite, Opus One, for the main course and her
favorite Dom Perignon for dessert. She made sure she had all the ingredients
she needed for dinner, made a quick stop at the jewelry store, and headed home
to prepare the perfect night.

She chose simple recipes, hoping
they would be a breeze to prepare. Earlier, she had called Mitch and invited
him to dinner. When he was on his way, he called her to tell her he’d be
arriving shortly.

After preparing all three
courses, Chella placed them in the warming drawer. She turned on romantic mood
music and dimmed the lights. She set the table with white linens, their finest
stemware and silverware, and went to shower.

She covered her body in Mitch’s
favorites: lotions, perfumes, the sexiest underwear she owned, a strapless navy
maxi dress—one of his favorites.

She set the pool alight with
fifty floating candles she had bought, spreading them evenly over the pool, and
waited for Mitch to arrive.

Moments later, she heard his car
pull up and went out to greet him. Before she could say a word, he swept her
into his arms and kissed her deeply on the lips.

“You look, taste and smell
awesome.”

“Thank you. Come this way.” She
escorted him to the table and poured him a glass of wine.

“This is quite a sight. Looks
like you went all out.”

“I wanted to make tonight
special,” she replied, removing the stainless steel plate covers to reveal the
result of an afternoon of hard work.

He looked surprised when he saw
the plate before him.

“I hope you enjoy. I did it all
by myself, with the help of the internet, of course.”

“It looks delicious. This is all
really beautiful, Sweetheart. Thank you. When did you find time to do all
this?”

“After I got my driver’s license
and popped in to see Craig to tell him I’d accept the job.”

After they’d thoroughly relished
their meal, they moved to the chaise for dessert. She spanned him, enticing him
with the sweet treats she had prepared.

“Sweetheart, this is all such
wonderful news. So worth celebrating.”

She looked at him and smiled.
After putting the dessert on the side table, she pulled a little black box from
inside her pocket and handed it to him.

 “Hopefully, we’ll be celebrating
something else, too. Will you marry me?” she asked.

 Mitch looked at her in complete
shock, opened the box. A slow smile stretched across his face. Still, he did
not respond.

“Are you trying to punish me?”
she asked, smiling.

“No, Sweetheart. I’m just really
surprised. I’d love to marry you,” He replied, circling her face is his hands
and charming her lips with his. She responded by allowing him to take over her
mouth. He was tender and caring, and he touched her softly as her hands
explored his body. She slipped the ring on his finger.

“Well, this is a first,” he
replied, laughing, then kissed her again.

“I love you,” she said as he
pulled her into his arms and cuddled her.

“I love you, too. I’ve been carrying
this around, wondering if I’d ever have the guts to ask you again.” He pulled a
similar black box from his pocket.

“You have?” she asked, smiling at
him.

He nodded. “Give me your hand.”

She did, and he slipped the
solitaire on her finger. “You’ve made me a very happy man.”

“I meant it when I said I was
waiting for this mess to be over. Now that it is, we can move on. I’m so happy
to share my life with you.”