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Before long, my case was called, and I walked with Maisie to the front while the woman with the toddler glared at me as she took a seat at the other table.

“Petitioner Remington vs. Respondent Blake. Are both parties present?”

“Yes, your honor,” echoed in the room.

“I have the test results here and the probability of Connor Blake being the child’s father is zero percent. I dismiss this case with prejudice.”

The gavel slammed down, giving the echo of finality. But of course, I somehow understood it wouldn’t be that easy.

“But… he is!” The woman shouted.

The judge looked up and glared. “Ms. Remington. The paternity test was court ordered, and a certified proxy of this court drew and tested Mr. Blake’s blood. The test gave the result of zero percent parentage of your young one. How can you, with a plausible explanation, believe Mr. Blake is your child’s father?”

“He was the only one I slept with around the time I found out I was pregnant.”

“Your honor?” Maisie interrupted.

“Yes, counselor?”

“Mr. Blake explained to me Ms. Remington, and a man identified to Mr. Blake as the petitioner’s boyfriend, was with her as they approached Mr. Blake at the Incheon International Airport before they retired to Mr. Blake’s hotel room. I have a two witnesses in court today who will testify to witnessing Ms. Remington and a man accompanying Mr. Blake as they entered the Signiel Seoul hotel.”

The woman made a noise of distress, but my attention never deviated from the judge.

The judge cleared his throat before he asked, “Not disputing the test results, but for the record, Mr. Blake? Did you engage in intercourse with Ms. Remington on the night in question?”

“No, your honor. Only with her boyfriend and I wore a condom.” I answered.

“Do you have anything to clarify your position, Ms. Remington?” The judge asked in a stern, no nonsense tone.

Her shoulders slumped, and it was a long, drawn out moment before she shook her head. “No, your honor.”

“Like I already stated on record, case dismissed.”

With that, Ollie came forward and threw his arms around me and I pressed my face against his neck and breathed deep.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

Ollie peaked out and asked, “For what?”

Again, I kissed him on the nose, satisfied by him scrunching his face at my action. “For living a life true to yourself and being genuine to who you are. If you weren’t, we never would have met. That would have been an absolute shame.”

“Love you, too, beautiful.”

This man got me.

I walked out of court, satisfied yet irritated. These past few months acknowledging the seriousness of the accusations against me, dealing with media speculation about my entire sexual history, while developing a relationship with Ollie and wondering if he might hear something that would tarnish his opinion of me, which was a real fear I carried daily, felt worthless. There was no point in her accusations, knowing a simple test result could upend her entire argument, yet she’d chosen to move forward with them.

“You okay?” Ollie asked.

As I glanced over at the man I loved, I shook my head. “I don’t think I am. All of this for what? I’m relieved the judge took one look at the evidence and dismissed her case against me. But all these months, getting dragged through the mud, putting you front and center in the media because they demanded answers to my private life. It feels all…”

“Hollywood,” Spencer answered.

I blew out a breath. “Yeah.”

Lee said, “When Mason outed Spencer and got out of the charges of burning down his house, I wanted to rage at the world because of everyone’s criticism of Spencer, the pressure to revealhis bisexuality because Mason outed him, and how Mason was a criminal with no true repercussions.”

Spencer tucked himself under his husband’s arm when the man smiled at him. Then Lee continued.