Chapter 235

Chapter 235

Time ticked by, and the plaintiff walked into the courtroom right on schedule, sitting in the plaintiff's seat.

Ava glanced at the other party - an unfamiliar face.

After reviewing the documents for a few minutes, the judge asked,

"Ms. Ava Davis, are you and Mia Davis the same person?"

Ava nodded in acknowledgment. She had changed her name in daily life, but her ID still showed her original name, which she couldn't hide in this setting.

The judge asked again,

"Miss Ava, the plaintiff's representative is suing you on behalf of LOLLY for plagiarizing her work. Do you have anything to say?"

Ava froze, completely stunned on the spot. She had imagined countless possibilities, but never that the other party was representing LOLLY to sue her.

The plaintiff's lawyer had already begun submitting evidence - several of her old design drafts, plus the recently missing one she had been searching for, along with a professional authentication report directly proving these drafts were all by the same hand.

Ava sat in the defendant's chair, her back drenched in cold sweat.

As for the recently missing draft, she'd figured Hannah must have stolen it - the surveillance footage showed that she was the only one who had entered the office.

And those old drafts the opposing lawyer submitted - only William had those.

By this logic, the person suing her could only be him.

Ava's mind was in chaos, wanting to disappear into the ground. She regretted not hiring a lawyer and attending this lawsuit herself - her actions were no different from walking into a trap.

She had hidden for four years, never imagining she would be caught by her own drawings. How could she prove she wasn't plagiarizing while also proving she wasn't LOLLY?

At that moment, William's car was parked outside the courthouse.

His arm hung out the window, cigarette in hand, expression serious.

The hearing had been going on for half an hour. His other hand gripped his phone, waiting for news.

Finally, the ringtone sounded. He pressed the answer button within a second.

"Mr. Morgan, the defendant has pleaded guilty, admitted to plagiarism, and is willing to pay ten million in compensation."

The verdict was within William's expectations, but just paying money wasn't enough. He wanted to see who was bold enough to profit from his beloved's belongings.

He wasn't sure of the other party's identity, but figured that person must have a large collection of drafts Ava had left behind. He wanted to get all her belongings back.

“Did they come in person, or send a lawyer?”

“They came in person.”
William paused, hung up the phone, got out of the car, and strode into the courthouse.

The old office building had poor lighting and was somewhat dim. His footsteps echoed in the corridor. He looked at the numbers on the doors, walking step by step toward the room where this case was being heard.

In the courtroom, Ava was signing documents.

There was no other option but to plead guilty. Her mind was racing now, wanting only to sign quickly and escape.

"Has Mia Davis left?"

A familiar cold male voice came from the doorway. Ava's hand holding the pen stiffened, and thunder exploded in her mind.

This voice had haunted her dreams many times. Each time she woke from a nightmare in the dead of night, she would lie awake with her eyes open until dawn. These four years had been nerve-wracking, with the constant fear that one day he would appear again, bringing Sarah to flaunt their relationship, to fight her for the children.

Ava wanted to run, but her legs felt like they were filled with lead, unable to move.

She thought that as long as she stayed far away from him and lived quietly, she could spend her whole life peacefully like this.

Outside the door, the lawyer replied,

"She's inside signing documents."

William walked to the doorway, radiating anger. He had come to settle accounts with the plagiarist.

When he saw that familiar figure, his pupils contracted, and he froze in place.

Over these years, he often suffered from insomnia and hallucinations in the middle of the night, seeing her sleeping beside him, seeing her wearing an apron busy in the kitchen, seeing her throwing rejected drafts all over his study floor...

The unbearable truth was that she was gone, and all those harmonious scenes were just his imagination.

Now, seeing that silhouette that looked so much like her, he forgot for that instant that he had come to confront someone, and couldn't even tell if this was a dream or reality.

Voices came from outside the door as people for the next case began filing into the room. The presiding judge collected all the signed documents and cleared the room.

Ava stood woodenly in place, numb from head to toe.

Her life was full of surprises, and every one of them in her adult years revolved around him, just like this moment.
She couldn't escape.

"Mia Davis!"

William's throat moved as he struggled to say her name.

Ava kept her head down, her slender arms showing bulging veins from clenching her fists too tightly.

William's lips trembled, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest. He had a bold guess in his mind but didn't dare go forward to confirm it, afraid the result wouldn't be what he hoped for.

The feeling of having hope and then losing it would hurt just as much as the moment he lost her.

People waiting for the next hearing had already entered. Ava snatched her bag and ran past him, not once daring to look at him.

William stood frozen for a few seconds. From when she turned around to when she disappeared from his sight, William saw clearly that delicate face, overlapping with the one in his dreams.

It really was her!

He stood there, laughing and crying simultaneously. It really was her.

He thought the best outcome of coming to Harmony City this time would be finding her grave, but never imagined that the reason he couldn't find her burial place all these years was because she was still alive and well in this world.

How wonderful.

Heaven had been kind to him, giving him a chance to redeem himself.

The moment he saw her turn around, he felt something deep in his heart gradually warming up, coming back to life like dead wood meeting spring.

William snapped back to reality and rushed out after her. Ava had already run out of the building. Before she could reach her car, William rushed over and gripped her arm tightly.
"Ava, it really is you!"

William's eyes were red, his voice hoarse, his throat feeling stuffed with cotton. He asked carefully,

"Ava, can you look at me?"

Ava couldn't help trembling all over. What floated through her mind now were those heart-wrenching scenes from the past. Four years later, remembering them still felt like her heart was being torn apart.

For four years, she had poured all her energy into her two children and work, keeping herself too busy to think of anything else. She thought she no longer cared that much.

The image of him processing marriage registration with Sarah in front of her would forever be a sharp blade, stabbing at the softest place in her heart. It wasn't that it didn't hurt - she had just gone numb.

The psychological pain was far more unbearable than physical pain. This was also why she lay in the ICU bed four years ago with a heart as dead as ash.

Living hurt too much.

Fortunately, the two babies were fine, which gave her the will to live.

William held her wrist - it seemed even thinner than before. The delicate touch was real, familiar to him.

He asked again, his voice choking,

"Ava, say something. I've been looking for your grave, I've searched all over Harmony City these past few days..."

William was now terrified this was a beautiful dream, that he would wake up alone again facing an empty house. He was so nervous he held her tightly, wanting to follow her even if this was a dream.

He begged her to say something to prove all of this was really happening.