Though her stories were inconsistent on their faces and those in charge did not have the evidence to make the charges they did, the great bastion of incompetency and power abuse determined that he would take the entire rap. It made no difference to them that she had made easily-demonstrated false statements. It made no difference to them that she had filed similar charges before against someone else, if they even knew of them or bothered to look. HR completely and premeditatedly ignored all evidence he presented, even later destroying it. The head violated every prescription they were sworn by law to follow and they belonged in jail, or, at least, to be banned from the field. The law had a solid case, though it still did not have the evidence for its heaviest charges and it willfully ignored mitigating evidence. She had still lied, pawned off a textbook story that someone else had likely given her. She claimed that she had told him numerous times to leave her alone. She never had. She claimed that he’d assaulted her with a profession of love, also untrue. She claimed, without a shred of evidence, that he was driving past her house. She had made it up. She claimed that she did not want his gifts, completely omitting that she had accepted them and physically shown him her gratitude with embraces, as well as messages. They never asked her how she‘d received them, and she likely would have lied about that too. She had, essentially, misrepresented everything that had occurred prior to the messages that had gotten him on trouble, and her stories were inconsistent, the one told to the police having been prepackaged. But he was not allowed to charge her with perjury. Only the cop she’d snowed with her tears could do that, but that cop was a mindless authoritarian who saw it as his job to protect the little woman, the little girl, regardless o the whole story. So, instead, he charged her, charged her for her behavior that had ostracized him, while she refused to leave him alone. It was a crime, period, and, if he had done it first, she would have been the one taking the fall. But he had hoped things would clear up on their own. He was not an attention-seeking asshole. But, given how things had turned out and her imperiousness, he charged her, and those charges issued. She was charged with the same thing he was. 

He had been removed from work for the charges against him, but, in a stunning lack of professionality and blatant bias, nothing was done to her. It was simply unbelievable. The hubris the head of HR showed was so illegal that it was amazing she wasn’t fired on the spot. But the higher ups at that time were bigots and sexists and they did nothing, even when informed that their HR was not following policy. It would lead to a lawsuit. However, for the time being, he was trapped in the system by her lies and his own stupidity. He had been guilty of a small part of it, no doubt, and he accepted that. But the penalties they were seeking were overbearing and unfair. So, even though they did not have the evidence they needed, he allowed his lawyer to convince him to accept a program. 

As if she had not done enough, seething with vengeance for slights she had brought upon herself and completely ignoring her own behavior, she, insanely, tried to lie to keep him out of it. He’d seen it in black and white. There was no low low enough for her to stoop to, bolstered by the support of people, everyone, who had no actual idea what had gone on. And, once he was enrolled, he filed against his employer for its egregious violations of the law. And he lost … but he didn’t. 

Unbeknownst to his former employer and the so-called judge, who had immediately, and un-Constitutionally, taken the part of the institution, he was being advised by one of the top discrimination lawyers in the county. Since he had had to hire a lawyer for the charges against him, he was unable to retain this lawyer. However, the lawyer, having seen the evidence, allowed him to hire him on an advisory basis at a fraction of the cost. If he had been able to hire the lawyer, the case would have been won hands down. However, he had been assured that, if the case made it to trial, he would see damage awards. They were guilty as hell, all on behalf of a woman who had not told them the whole truth and had ill-contextualized evidence. But lacking a lawyer, the judge saw his opportunity and parroted the shady opposition lawyer, who openly misstated things in court numerous times. The judge gave himself away. The judge tacitly admitted in open court to never having read the plaintiff’s briefs. This was demonstrable. But it made no difference. Though he had made his case and it was air tight, the judge dismissed it, holding him to an unreachable standard, at odds with the law, misciting precedent, and seemingly knowing that he could not afford to appeal. He had won, but he had been robbed of the victory. It was a blatant abuse of authority. The legal system was a joke at every level, and the people involved in it were corrupted by their own authority. 

In the meantime, he had almost completed the program and was eligible for early release. But, as if having invented most of her story, having played innocent when she was not, having baselessly and degenerately portrayed him as a danger to children, she lied to stop it. And she knew she lied. She professed it anonymously. After she had cost him early release and compounded his financial burden, as if permanently damaging his reputation was not enough, she sent him a card and roses. He was not a fool and discovered that it had been her with little effort. She knew she was guilty, but she would never admit to it. 

Finally, after more time than deserved, he was released and, not long after, the case against her was due in court. But he had had enough. He did not want to relive it again, and he knew that she would never admit to anything. Though she was guilty and he would have won the case easily, putting her in the same predicament he had been in no longer satiated him. He dismissed it. He did not do it for her. He did it for himself, but, being what she was, she did not even appreciate it. She was as delusional as she had accused him of being, completely convinced that she was the only one wronged. She had gotten away with metaphorical murder, and she basked in it.