“But then you went back to Australia to see Natasha?” he questions, seemingly puzzled.
“I went back for my brother’s wedding,” Joshua replies.
The jerk-off raises his eyebrows in humour. “Oh yes, you mean Natasha’s cousin,” he replies.
Joshua glares at the prosecutor.
“It was at this wedding that you reconnected?” he asks.
“Yes,” Joshua replies.
“But you didn’t reconnect at all, did you? You decided on that very day that Natasha Marx was going to belong to you and nobody else.” He sneers.
“No,” Joshua replies cold-faced.
“Joshua, have you ever used prostitutes?”
Joshua drops his head shamefully. “Yes,” he murmurs.
“Oh that’s right, because you were sleeping with one in Sydney while you were…” He holds up his fingers to accentuate his point. “Dating Natasha.”
“No,” Joshua replies. “I was never unfaithful to Natasha.”
“Did Natasha not satisfy you in bed?” he sneers.
I can feel the anger radiating from Joshua. “You will pay her more respect,” he sneers.
Vin jumps to his feet. “Objection,” he yells.
“Move on, Mr Grieves,” the judge calls.
The prosecutor fakes a smile and holds up a series of photographs to the audience. “Can you tell me what these photos are of, Mr Stanton?” He passes them to Joshua.
Joshua looks at the photos and hesitates.
“Let me tell the jury what these photos are of: Mr Stanton leaving a strip club with a stripper and kissing her as he got into his car.” He smiles broadly.
Oh no, it’s from when Joshua was trying to make Natasha leave him, back in the very beginning. Cameron shakes his head and drops it softly. This is a fucking nightmare. I thought they would at least ease into it.
Joshua stays silent and his eyes flick to Vincenzo.
“Was Natasha heartbroken when this story hit the headlines, Mr Stanton?” the prosecutor snaps.
Joshua stays silent.
“Objection,” Vincenzo yells. “Mr Stanton cannot be asked how another feels.”
The judge nods. “Carry on,” he replies to the prosecutor.
“Are you a cocaine addict, Mr Stanton?” he purrs conceitedly.
“No,” Joshua answers quickly in return.
“But you have been hospitalised in the past for a cocaine overdose, have you not?”
“Yes,” Joshua answers.
“What are your fitness pursuits, Mr Stanton?” he demands.
Joshua swallows. “Boxing and kickboxing,” he replies.
The prosecutor smiles. “Please tell the court what other extreme sport you do?”
Joshua rolls his lips. “Cage fighting,” he murmurs.
“So you like to beat the hell out of people,” he asks.
Joshua looks at him deadpan. “Some more than others,” he replies and the gallery all break into chuckles knowing that Joshua would love to beat the hell out of this guy right now.
The prosecutor narrows his eyes at Joshua. “Am I right in saying you are a self-absorbed, womanising drug addict who uses his power and wealth to control the people around him?”
“Objection!” Vincenzo calls.
“Overruled,” the judge responds.
Everybody looks back to Joshua alone on the stand. “No,” he whispers.
“Did Natasha Marx love you in the beginning?” the prosecutor asks.
“Natasha loved me till the end,” Joshua replies angrily.
“But she didn’t-she fell in love with her bodyguard,” the prosecutor sneers.
“No,” Joshua snaps.
The prosecutor smiles. “That is all, Mr Stanton, for the moment.” He turns to the audience. “I call to the witness stand Simon Wells.”
Joshua frowns, stands slowly and returns to his seat next to Vincenzo at the front and the door opens and Simon, Natasha’s friend from Sydney, appears. Fuck.
“Hello, may I call you Simon?” the prosecutor asks.
“Yes,” he replies.
“You worked with Natasha Marx at the Sexual Health Clinic did you not?”
“Yes,” he replies nervously.