part0051

Ella read through the comments as her world spinned out of control. It was obvious that few people believed her.

However, it was the fact that even though she didn't commit intentional homicide, she had killed Catherine.

Though she felt disappointed, she thanked those who had nice things to say. Then she restricted her Weibo account. No-one could write any comments.

Three days later, Ella went to the court with Samuel after she had received a subpoena.

According to the indictment, it was Catherine's father who accused Ella of his daughter's death.

The related evidence was a testimony, provided by a man called Bob. He claimed that he witnessed Ella shoot Catherine.

The lawyer of the opposing party was a nobody from R Country. Samuel was comfortable that he could get the charges dropped within minutes.

He had to reverse the passive situation, since his family was in trouble and his reputation were on the line.

When the case came up, Ella saw Catherine's parents.

As the case progressed, the opposing lawyer hardly had a chance to object to Samuel's accusations whilst Samuel objected with unexpected ease.

He also presented evidence of the crimes that Catherine had committed before and used it to counteract the opposing council's defence.

"Catherine has committed many crimes to my wife Ella including but not limited to malicious injury, kidnapping, personal abuse, and slander. She even engineered a plot to kill my wife where she worked. Later she bribed a gang leader in R Country to murder my wife. As a result, many people lost their lives because of her. Here is the evidence." Samuel took the evidence out of his briefcase and submitted them to court.

Catherine's parents had no idea that their daughter had committed so many crimes. They fell mute, as they realized that they had lost the case.

It was the first time that Ella saw a confident and fearless Samuel in court.

He would attack the opponent psychologically when necessary and defeated him in an imposing manner.

He was able to take care of this alone and there was no need for Ella to say anything in the court.

Samuel didn't mention Catherine had sent a man, who acted indecently towards Jane, in order to protect her. Though the man only touched Jane's arms and waist, it would do no good to mentioned this, since their daughter would be summoned to court. Both Ella and Samuel didn't want this.

The court case was open to the public, therefore the major media houses recorded the entire process. After asking Samuel's permission, they uploaded the proceedings to the Internet.

Within hours, the case was thrown out of court due to the evidence against Catherine. It was clear that Ella had killed Catherine in self-defence.

Hearing Samuel relate the facts of the crime that Catherine had committed, netizens supported the court's verdict.

Even so, there was some who didn't quite believe that Ella got off scot-free.

"Isn't it sad that Catherine was shot to death? How is that justifiable defence? I believe that Samuel covered it up."

"This can't be true."

"Someone should double-check Samuel's accusations. What is that other lawyer doing?"

Ella had mixed feelings when she read through the comments and knew roughly why Samuel announced that Catherine was shot to death.

It was because of her.

Negative comments continued floating around the internet. Soon lots of people asked Samuel to clarify what happened.

Ella didn't know what to do. Later that day, Samuel responded on his Weibo, "I did what I did because I didn't want her to know that she killed Catherine. I know she would have been anxious and in fear, even though it was in self-defence. Everything I do is out of love for her. If you are not satisfied with this answer, come to me. Ella has nothing to do with this. She is innocent."

The statement was simple and brief, but it clearly showed that he loved her.

His explanation was reasonable, his undertaking touching, his care for Ella admirable.

It was clear to all that Samuel would stand by his wife, no matter what happened.

He was a good man, willing to do anything for his wife.

His friends, including Harry, all supported him.

Samuel and Ella became more popular after being hyped up by the media. But Ella had a word with Harry that she didn't intend to renew her contract. She wanted to retire from the entertainment industry.

She really felt tired after what had happened and was eager to escape from this industry where public opinion could destroy someone's reputation.

She released the following statement on her Weibo, "I am retiring. For the last couple of weeks, I have realised the importance of family, and now that mine is complete, I'm ready to enjoy my time on earth with them.

My last commercial shoot will be with Lola's GL diamond. Thank you for your love and support."

A few days later, the images from the shoot were released. Her hair was in a bun and as always her make-up was immaculate, with azure eyeshadow, long eyelashes and dull-red lipstick.

She was in a bright red evening dress that exposed her back and wore a pair of 10-inch black stilettos, managing to draw everyone's attention.

From then on, she refused to accept any work, no matter how high the pay was, and instead took care of her husband and children at home.

A couple of weeks later, Samuel and Ella were pictured together in a plane flying to France, hand in hand, by a reporter.

The couple radiated happiness and no-one could doubt that they married for love.

Finally, Ella had all that she needed.

A couple strolled along a small river, listening to the birds singing and smelling the scent of flowers in full bloom at Giverny, a village in the region of Normandy in northern France.

It was not long before Ella stopped and pointed at a place not far away. She said to Samuel, "The first store is a flower shop, once run by Daisy and me."

Looking at the direction Ella pointed at, Samuel saw a small house nestled in a cobblestone alleyway.

The whole left side of the house was covered by flowers in full bloom, with colourful petals that were shining in the sunlight.

In front of the house laid some different varieties of potted plants. The eaves displayed the words, 'I Miss You'.

It was the name of the flower shop.

A simple name with a profound meaning.

Now the flower shop was owned by a French old couple, whom Ella had sold it to. As they approached the flower shop, a silver-haired couple sat on the swing under the eaves, shoulder against shoulder, hand in hand.

Seeing the warm and loving scene, Ella couldn't help retrieving her phone to take a picture of them.

Then hand in hand, Samuel and Ella left quietly in order to not disturb them.

As planned, they left France for Italy. Leaning against Samuel's shoulder on their flight to Italy, Ella smiled. 'So this is it. This is the first day of the rest of my life with Sam..."