Chapter 33: I didn’t know my own strength

The trial dragged out for weeks and the feel of a courtroom seemed to get stale fast. Jaden was starting to get annoyed with the flash she kept getting from the horrid paparazzi that seemed like they took her and Michael’s every move. Jaden became well acquainted and close with Michael’s family, the famous Jacksons throughout everything. They all were very appreciative of her ongoing public support for Michael. Janet and Rebie especially took a liking to her, as they three of them went out for lunch to get to know each other better. Michael’s mother Katherine understandably didn’t initially warm up to her; but once she found out how generous of a person Jaden was, she genuinely liked her. She believed that it was a breath of fresh air to have someone like her in Michael’s life. Joseph didn’t really say much to her or acknowledge her presence much; but that was his usual nature towards anyone who wasn’t family.

As for Michael, the whole trial seemed like a living nightmare. He had testimonies from people he had not seen in years or people who were once considered trustworthy. Of course the Arrizo family testified also. They all made up malicious, terrible lies about what happened with him in the past and with the Arrizo children. Each lie he heard, broke his heart a little bit more than it already was. It was finally then that he realized that some people in this world will push any morals they have aside, just to get fame and money in return. Even if that meant that they lie through their teeth in front of God and an entire courtroom. He made sure to let the media know that he would never invite children to his room again. Michael then understood that the most innocent thing can be manipulated into the biggest, sickest lie. It made him sad to now come to that realization.

Of course, it helped tremendously that Michael had a few good people left in his life. There were a few celebrities that came to testify. Macaulay Culkin testified to put an end to any foolish claims. Chris Tucker was questioned and he defended his good friend as much as he possibly could. But the spotlight was put on Jaden the most. After all at this point, everyone knew that she was Michael’s surprise ex-girlfriend. She knew that there would be a possibility that she would be called onto the stands; Tom Mesereau and the legal staff coached her well enough to prepare for anything. But it still didn’t make her nervous when she heard the opposing lawyer call her into the stands.

“Your honor, I would like to call Ms. Jaden K. Ross into the stands please.” It seemed as if everyone’s head turned to her direction. Oh my God, can this be any scarier? She thought to herself. She tried to swallow, but realized that her mouth was dry from the anticipation of what was about to happen. However, she knew she had to support Michael and say what she knew because her information was very important to the case. Jaden stood up with a look of confidence and came to the stand. She could feel all eyes pouring into her. However when she looked up, she saw Michael’s beautiful sad eyes get a bit of glimmer in them. She could feel his gratitude from far away and that made any fear that she had dissipate fast. The lawyer began throwing questions toward her quickly and cleverly, trying by any and all means to catch her in a lie. But Jaden stood one step ahead of him, answering each and every question more than accurately.

“So you say you’ve dated Mr. Jackson for a few months,” the conniving lawyer asked. “No, I said a year and a half,” Jaden calmly shot back, knowingly up to his tricks. “Okay, a year and a half,” the lawyer said. “And you say that you never, ever known him to act out of the ordinary with the Arrizo children or ANY children. Ever?” Oh brother she thought as she calmly shook her head and looked him into his eyes. “Nope. Never. We would all play balloon fights together and maybe eat or something, but the only thing I saw was that he was generous with everything he had. He let them and the whole entire family play, eat, shop, and live on his expense. A lot of the time, I knew he wasn’t even there at Neverland when they were there. We were very close, and he never gave me any indication of anything out of the ordinary. If he talked about the family, it was out of concern and nothing else.”

“Well…um…” the lawyer shuffled his notes around, unsure of what else to say. After a few more minutes of questioning, it was all over. Tom Mesereau gave her a smile of approval and Michael looked more relieved than he had in weeks. The case was nearing the end and thanks to Jaden’s strong testimony, the tables were finally turning the right way.