Emma's Custody Part II

Zayn's heartbeat was more than accelerated. He was terrified. He had tried very hard to have faith that he’d have Emma back. But seeing Megan in front of him, in the witness chair, he no longer was so sure of his faith, nor was he sure that he’d win the custody of his daughter.

“Megan Spinelli, how long have you known Mrs. Scott?" Lindsay's defense lawyer asked Megan.

"Well, I think about 7 years. I met her at the set of one of the movies I worked in with her daughter."

"Did you keep in touch after Alison passed away?"

"She knew what happened between me and Zayn, and ever since then, we have kept in touch."

"What happened between you and Emma's father?" It was the judge’s turn to ask.

Harry grabbed on Zayn's shoulder tightly. Louis looked at his best friend, confused. And Liam, Liam prayed.

"The day Alison passed away...There was a party at Ben Afleck’s house. She caught me and her husband in one of the bedrooms. We were having sex."

Everyone opened their mouths in shock at what Megan had just said.

"That is a lie." Zayn howled, losing his calm.

"Mr. Malik." The judge said authoritatively making Zayn sit back down.

"Well, Judge, I know how much Mrs. Scott wants to have the guardianship of her granddaughter. She loves Emma. Zayn was always irresponsible. On the day he won the award, the day Alison died, I saw Alison several times telling him that they should leave because Emma was alone...But he did not want to go, he wanted to drink and celebrate. "

"And why do you think my client deserves to have the full custody of Emma?" Linday's lawyer asked.

I think it will be best for her. One of my friends who is also Zayn's friend, always told me things about him. One day he told me that Zayn tried to kill himself. Why does someone who has a daughter want to kill himself? Zayn has always been selfish, his love for himself will always be greater than the love he feels for anyone else. And besides, he does not work. He has refused several movie offers from directors I know. What happens when all the money he has saved is gone? And his boyfriend, for all I know, does not work either. He went to Zayn's house because he hadn’t been paying his apartment rent for months. How can people like that take care of a child? "

"Your testimony is already good enough, Ms. Spinelli."

Zayn placed his hands on his face, letting his tears fall. His chances were gone, not even Isaac could help him now. It was all he could think of.

Megan left the room, and Harry ran after her.

"You're a bitch and a fucking liar!"

"Get your hands off of me." Harry obeyed and a smile spread on Megan's face.

"How much did Lindsay pay you, eh? Answer!"

"I have a lot of money, boy. It is not the question of money. I had always been in love with him, and he always wanted that stupid Alison. After she died, I thought I might have a chance, but he never wanted to meet me, never accepted my calls. And now it's my turn to get back at him. "

"You're an idiot. Lindsay is no good and you know that. You're not taking revenge on Zayn, you're taking revenge on Emma. I'm disgusted with you."

"You're the only disgusting one here."

"That's not what Zayn tells me every night. I feel sorry for you." Harry said leaving her standing there alone.

****

Harry entered the room, and saw Zayn sitting on the chair Megan had left.

"Now it's your turn to defend yourself, Mr. Malik." The judge told Zayn.

"Well, Zayn, why do you think Emma will be better with you?" Phill, one of Zayn's lawyers, asked.

"Because I love her more than I love myself. What Megan said is a lie, I was never selfish. When Alison told me about the pregnancy, I was terrified. We were very young, I was not even 22 then. I was afraid of failing as a father, she was scared too. But the day Emma was born, I knew that she was the best gift life could give me. I loved my wife even more for giving me that little thing, so fragile...."

Liam and Harry were crying along with Zayn. Louis knew how difficult it was for his friend to talk about his feelings in public. But looking at Zayn there, he felt tremendous pride at his best friend. Zayn was showing his vulnerable side. And Louis knew that was the best part of him.

"I love her so much." Zayn looked at the judge as if pleading him to see the truth in his eyes. "I was wrong that day. I cannot explain how it happened, but Megan and I were kissing and the next thing I know, Alison saw us and my whole world collapsed. That's what happened, there was no room, we didn’t have sex...I don’t know why she invented that lie." Louis' eyes widened at Zayn's confession, and Harry could feel all the pain his boyfriend was feeling. "I never told anyone about this, only Harry. I thought that way I could pretend it never happened. I was wrong, and I still feel bad about it, for kissing Megan, for having lost my wife that day. Harry told me that I am human, and that we humans are not perfect. And I think he is right. But the pain I have caused Alison has nothing to do with my daughter. I would never do her any harm. Emma is the best part of me, and it's always going to be that way. "

"How many times have you seen your daughter since she was at Mrs. Scott's?" The judge asked.

"Twice."

"Just twice?" The judge asked again, with some astonishment in his voice.

"Yes. Lindsay didn’t let me see my daughter. The first time I saw her, it was only because she ran away. She ran away and went to Harry's house."

"But doesn’t Mr. Styles live with you?"

"Now yes. But we separated for a while, Harry thought it would be best for all of us." Zayn had no strength to speak, he was weak.

"While talking about Mr. Styles, how much do you think your relationship with him is healthy for your daughter?" The judge asked, and Zayn felt the lump in his throat.

"The truth is that my daughter has always been a little sad, like me. Since Harry came into our lives, Emma smiles more than ever. She loves Harry. Harry and I never kissed in front of her. I feel like she suspects that there’s more than friendship between me and him. My daughter is a wise child. And honestly, sir, if my relationship with Harry was not healthy, I would not continue it. Like I said before, I would never do anything that would harm or anything she is not comfortable with. And if you want to know...I need more of them, than they of me. "

"You can go back, Mr. Malik."

Louis sent him a friendly smile, and Zayn could see some tears on his face.

"Let's take a 30-minute break." The judge said and thumped his gavel.

***

"You were great, Zayn." Phill told him.

Harry hugged him and Zayn felt more confident. In fact, after Zayn's testimony, everyone felt more confident.

"Harry, the next witness would be Isaac, but Mr. Cowell wants to hear you first."

"Me? I didn’t know I would have to talk, too."

"I didn’t think so either, but he thinks it's important. I also think it’s important, Harry. Do you have any problem in that?" Phill asked.

"No, if you think it will be good for Zayn, I do not see any problem." Harry smiled and Zayn kissed him.

Everyone walked back into the room.

"Mr. Styles, I'd like to hear from you. You can come sit down."

Harry made his way to the witness chair, nervous as never before.

"Mrs. Spinelli said that you went to live in Mr. Malik's house because you had to leave your apartment for not paying rent. Is that true?"

"Well, yes. At the time, I could not get a job. But that's things are different now. My film will be released in 3 months, and I believe that, after this, many others are to come."

"In Mr. Malik's statement, he said that Emma ran away to come back home, right?" Harry nodded. "Why did you decide to leave Mr. Malik's house?"

"I know how important Emma is to him. I thought it would be easier for him to have Emma back if we were not together."

"And what made you change your mind?"

"Emma made me change my mind. She made me go back to Zayn's house. I could not live without him, and Zayn told me that he wanted Emma back, proving that we would both be the best choice for her. I know she's not my daughter, but it's as if she were. Emma is the most incredible child I've ever met in my life. Before I met them, I didn’t know, I had not realized how empty I was. I am no longer empty, sir, they complete me so much that I feel like I am overflowing with emotions. And I can assure you that Emma will be the most loved child in the world when she comes back home "

"You can go back."

Harry was afraid he'd said something wrong, but Zayn's smile told him otherwise.

"That among the defense witness of Mr. Malik."

Everyone looked at the door, and now it was Lindsay's turn to lose control.

"This kid is going to lie. I know who he is. What are you doing here?" Lindsay yelled and Zayn and Harry couldn’t help but laugh at her.

"Ms. Scott, sit down or I'll have to ask you to leave the room."

Isaac was sworn in. Lindsay threw him angry glances. He was afraid of her glances, and at some point he did not want to go on with it...but when he looked at Zayn, he was not just afraid, he was terrified.

"Well Isaac, in Lindsay's testimony, she told us that she found out about Zayn and Harry's relationship with her own eyes, and that they were kissing and Emma was in the living room. Can you confirm that?"

"No, that's a lie. No one knew about their relationship, other than their friends and me. I told Lindsay." The judge looked at him, startled.

"And why did you do that?"

"I was kind of obsessed with Harry, and well, he-he just had eyes for Zayn. He told me about their relationship just so I would know that he was not available. I wanted to get back at him, wanted to get back at him for not wanting me." Cowell shook his head in disbelief at what he was hearing. “I told Lindsay that they were together, she gave me $ 10,000 for the first information I gave her. Next she wanted photos, she wanted to use them in her favor. And that’s how I ended up being her informant. I made a lot of money from that. "

"He's lying. That's a slander." Lindsay yelled.

"One more time, and I'll have you thrown out, Mrs. Scott."

"And why did you change from being her informant to testifying against her?" Phill asked.

"Because I hate to see Harry suffering. He loves that family, he considers himself a Malik, and more important than that, they accepted him as a Malik. Miss Scott wants revenge on Zayn, she has told me that several times. She liked being the mother of the "famous" Alison, but today she is nobody. I think taking Emma from Zayn is like a revenge for “taking away” the famous life she liked."

Isaac's testimony went great. Harry squeezed Zayn's shoulder with every word he said. It lasted for about 15 minutes, the longest of all.

"Well, we've heard all the witnesses, but if you do not mind, I'd like to hear someone else." Mr. Cowell said, looking at Zayn and Lindsay. "I'd like to talk to Emma."

Zayn nodded while Lindsay called her attorneys to stop Emma from giving any testimony.

"I don’t think that's right." One of Lindsay's lawyers spoke.

"You don’t think it's right, or you don’t think it's going to be good for you?" The judge stood up asking. The lawyer could not answer. "Emilly, please get the child."

 

***

"Are you comfortable, dear?" The judge asked. Emma nodded. "Can I ask you a few questions?" Emma nodded again. "Why did you run away from your grandmother's house?"

"I heard her talking on the phone that Harry had left the mansion, and he and my father were not dating anymore. I didn’t like that."

"Why didn’t you like it, my dear?"

"Because Harry had promised me that he would never leave us. I knew that my father would be sad without me, and I also knew that he had Harry there with him. But then Harry left my father. How would he be happy without me and Harry?"

"And why did you not go to your father's house before looking for Mr. Styles?" The judge seemed delighted with the little girl in front of him, Emma had that magic.

"He's not Styles, he's a Malik." Emma said, rolling her eyes. At one point she even seemed annoyed that he called Harry “Styles”. Zayn and Harry smiled in their chairs. "I don’t know. I thought it would be easier to talk to Harry first... and I miss his pancakes, he makes the best pancakes in the world, you have to prove it." Emma made everyone including the judge smile, except for Lindsay.

"Do you like Mr. Sty…Mr. Harry?"

"Yes, he is my best friend. He and my godfather, that one over there." Emma pointed to Louis who waved at her. "Harry made my father smile again, you know. Before Harry came, he smiled just to please me. But when Harry was there, he would smile with all his teeth, and my father would look beautiful smiling. You know, Harry met my father because of me?" Emma said, putting a hand under her chin. Mr. Cowell could hear it all day. "Harry defended me from the paparazzi, and then took me to my father. I've never believed in superheroes, but come to think about it, Harry is our hero. I don’t care if they are friends, or boyfriends or whatever. I just want us to be happy. And we were, sir. I was happy there with them. "

"And what your grandmother, Emma? Is she bad to you?"

"No, she's not bad. She just does not make me smile. She's very busy, I get very lonely there. In my house, if my father has to leave, I can stay with Monica or with Celine. I miss them so much, I miss everyone. "

"Emma, who do you want to stay with?" The judge asked directly to Emma. Lindsay froze.

"I want to be with my father. I want a world where my father and Harry can date each other without having to leave them because I don’t want just me and my father, or my father and Harry.  I want us three together, sir, I want my family. "

"Well, since everyone has spoken, and the most important testimony has also been given, I declare by article 7,899 that Zayn Malik has the permanent custody of Emma Scott Malik."

The sound of the gavel was heard. Zayn could not believe it

"Dad." Emma yelled for her father.

"It's over, my love, it's over." Zayn breathed a sigh of relief and placed little kisses on his daughter’s face.

"What are you waiting for, Harry?" Emma asked, one of her little hands gesturing him to join the hug.

"I love you." Harry told her.

"And I love you."

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AN: Finally... Icould not stand Emma at Lindsay's house anymore and you? I want comments pleaseeee. I hope YOU enjoyed This chapter ♥️