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“And why do you believe Ms. Foster should be compelled to reimburse you for a ticket that you purchased for her?”
Trip stood up a little straighter. “During the two months we were together, we usually split the cost of dates. You should have our Venmo records, your honor: the day before the hockey game, we got lunch at Panera Bread, and Beth Venmo’d me for the amount she owed. You’ll see countless other transactions similar to this. Furthermore, when she broke up with me, she stated that she wished she had done so a week ago. This shows that she had, um, malice aforethought. She knew she was going to break up with me, but still allowed me to waste my money.”
Malice aforethought?I struggled not to roll my eyes.
“Ms. Foster?” the judge asked. “Do you have anything to say to this?”
“Yes, your honor. I had no intentions of breaking up with Trip prior to the hockey game. It was actually his actions at the game that led to our break-up. And yes, we usually split the cost of dates, but those dates are typically under a hundred dollars. It was Trip’s idea to go to this game, and his insistence on purchasing tickets right on the ice. I even told him several times that I didn’t care where we sat.”
“Do you have evidence of these comments?” the judge asked. “Text messages, or any other form of documented conversation?”
“Unfortunately, no. I told him in person.”
“I see. Do you dispute her claims?”
“She never told me she didn’t care where she sat,” Trip replied. “In fact, she expressed delight at sitting in the front row. She enjoyed it so much that she sat in the front rowagainat a game in November. I believe I submitted photographs of her Instagram post.”
“Those tickets were free, your honor,” I replied. “A friend of mine, who is a player on the Blues, gave them to me. I would never have paid full price to sit in the front row.”
The judge sorted through the papers in front of him for a long time. At least a full minute. I wondered if I should say anything else in my defense, but I couldn’t think of anything. I felt like I had a strong case.
“I will now make my ruling.” The judge took off his reading glasses and looked at both of us. “Property law is well established in this country. Before our country existed, in fact—much of it was inherited from English common law. And that law is consistent with regards to cases such as this one. The ticket purchased by the plaintiff for the defendant was a gift, made without condition. This is in stark contrast to, say, an engagement ring, which is a gift contingent on an eventual marriage. The law is quite clear in this situation.”
YES!I thought, keeping my face neutral.In your face, Trip!
“But your text message insinuating you should have broken up with him sooner,” the judge continued, “leaves me to believe you were stringing the plaintiff along, squeezing whatever benefits you could from him before dumping him. Regardless of what traditional law dictates, I am fond of King Solomon style rulings. In this case, I find that the defendant must reimburse the plaintiff for half of the cost of the ticket, in the value of $400.”
He banged the gavel, putting an end to the case—and severing the final tie between me and Trip.
50
Beth
I was shocked by the ruling; I hadn’t expected to pay anything at all. But it was only $400, which wouldn’t come close to breaking the bank. Not while my business was doing so well. I thanked the judge, then prepared to leave.
That’s when I saw Trip pumping his fist and shooting a victorious smirk in my direction. He was actuallysneering!I did my best to ignore him and walked back down the aisle to the back of my room, where my three men and Claire joined me in leaving the courtroom.
“Could be worse,” Christian said when we were out in the domed entrance room. “But that still sucks.”
“At least he’s out of your life, now,” Braden said.
“Exactly.” I turned and sent my own sneer at Trip, who was walking toward the exit. “I’ll never have to deal with that asshole again.”
He must have heard me, or he was unsatisfied with the judge’s ruling, because he abruptly turned and took a few steps in my direction. I felt my three men tense up as he approached, and Trip stopped before getting too close.
“Let’s go get a snack from the vending machine,” Christian said to Claire, although he was staring at Logan when he said it. The four of them walked a short distance away, though Logan kept glancing over his shoulder.
“You must be pleased with this outcome,” Trip said curtly. “Pleased that you’ve made me resort to this.”
“I don’t have any emotion about this frivolous claim or your desperate attempt to remain attached to my life like a leech,” I replied, biting off every delicious word. “I don’t think about you at all, Trip. You don’t have any place in my mind, or my life. I sincerely hope you can find a way to move on with your own life without pretending to be the victim in all of this.”
Trip’s face twisted with unrestrained rage. “I’m glad this is over. I never want to see you again.”
“You have a strange way of showing it.”
“Because you keepmanipulatingme,” he spat, eyes burning like a bonfire. “That’s what you do, Elizabeth. You manipulate people. Like a spider. A… a… a black widow. You’ve destroyed my life, and you’ll do the same to whichever of these jocks you’re dating now.”
Two months ago, his rant would have sent me into my own rage. Now I only laughed. “Take care, Trip.”
