It seems hard to believe now, but there was a time when Rihanna lay next to boyfriend Chris Brown with a look of satisfaction – as opposed to terror – on her face.

There was a time when the term “banging” between this couple was a synonym for love-making, not face-pummeling.

There was even a time when Chris Brown made Rihanna laugh, not bleed out of numerous orifices as the result of a beating so brutal it made professional boxers wince.

Those days are long gone, of course. But the following photos serve as a reminder of happier times between this pair.

While not as intimate as the recently-discovered Rihanna nude pics, we’ve uncovered a few shots of the singers from the days of yore. Where did it all go wrong?

So, where did these photos come from? It’s unclear. But we know this:

Chris Brown has an album coming out, Chris Brown says he is not a monster and now these pics have surfaced that are meant to show Chris Brown’s soft side.

Seems like someone is doing his publication relations homework to us. What a violent phony.

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It looks like Rihanna may finally break her silence – under oath – about the alleged assault on her earlier this year by boyfriend Chris Brown.

Following a hearing in Los Angeles this morning, Rihanna’s lawyer, Donald Etra, said prosecutors intend to subpoena the singer to appear at a June 22 hearing, so that a court can determine if there’s enough evidence to proceed with a trial.

“The DA has advised me that she will be subpoenaed [to testify],” Etra said, noting that Rihanna would therefore be subject to cross-examination by Chris Brown’s attorney, Mark Geragos. “She absolutely will comply.”

Meanwhile, Geragos was unsuccessful in gaining access to police records to find out who leaked the now-infamous battered Rihanna photo.

In denying Geragos’ request, L.A. Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg said that while she agreed the leaked photo was unfortunate, she argued it had nothing to do Brown’s arrest and wouldn’t significantly impact his right to a fair trial.

“It matters to me not if your client is high-profile or not,” the judge said. “I don’t believe you’re entitled [to demand access to police records].”

The attorney has been relentlessly pursuing the origin of the photo, likely trying to use it as leverage to secure a plea deal for Brown, who he believes cannot be fairly tried based on prospective jurors’ existing perception of him.

Asked, after his motion was denied, if he’s confident he can keep Brown from doing time, Geragos replied, “I’m not going to address any of that.”

Brown, 20, has pleaded not guilty to allegedly beating Rihanna on February 8. If convicted, he faces up to four years and eight months in prison.

The embattled star was hit with another lawsuit earlier today, filed by a celebrity news photographer who alleges Brown’s bodyguards assaulted him.

Experts say the felony case likely won’t go to trial, but will end in a plea bargain, which could happen any time. However, this has been the theory for two months, which suggests Geragos and the D.A. have yet to find a mutually acceptable deal.

In a ridiculous video posted Tuesday with his pal Bow Wow, Brown sort of broke his silence for the first time since the incident and told fans “I ain’t a monster” in an apparent reference to the case. His reps had no comment.

Meanwhile, Rihanna was spotted getting cozy with Canadian hip-hop artist Aubrey “Drake” Graham, although the rapper stated they’re just friends.

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Jewelers who lent Rihanna approximately $1.4 million worth of accessories the night of the alleged Chris Brown smackdown apparently want it back.

Since late March, Rihanna has been trying to recover the borrowed jewelry from the LAPD, who took the items into evidence in their investigation.

“Since there appears to be no evidentiary value to the continued holding of this jewelry, we respectfully ask the court to order the return of this property to [Rihanna] without further delay,” her lawyer Donald Etra wrote in a court request.

A source adds that Rihanna also borrowed a Gucci dress for the February 7 Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Party she attended, which also has not been returned.

Etra stated in the court documents that the owners of the jewelry were going to hold Rihanna liable if the accessories weren’t returned, with the total cost and damages related to their late return as more than $1.4 million.

According to the court papers, the LAPD detective on the case referred Etra to the prosecutor on the case, who apparently has not responded to his requests.

“At this stage [of the Chris Brown case], we’re not even sure what evidence is going to be entered into the case,” DA spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.

“For now, we don’t have any further comment on this matter.”

The LAPD also declined to comment. Brown, who has pleaded not guilty to two felony charges, assault and criminal threats, has a court date Wednesday.

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She was hit hard by Chris Brown, but Rihanna isn’t hitting the road anytime soon, despite a report circulated by E! Online that she was planning on kicking off a huge North American Tour this September with Ciara or Keyshia Cole.

“She wants strong women to join her,” a source told E! of the singer, who was assaulted in February by Brown. “This is a ‘women empowerment’ type of tour.”

Well, a source close to the singer says it’s “not true” that she’s going on tour this fall. Instead, she’s keeping a low profile until Chris Brown’s case is settled.

As he awaits his court date next week – and may or may not be passing time boinking Natalie Mejia – Rihanna kicked it on the high seas … with Katy Perry!

The two are vacationing together in the R&B star’s native Barbados …

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More good news for Rihanna fans.

Days after her come back concert was announced, the singer was spotted at LAX airport in Los Angeles.

It appears as though she’s truly moving on from Chris Brown and his fists of fury, as Rihanna packed her schedule this week with relaxing, enjoyable events. For example:

* Yesterday afternoon, she was spotted shopping at the BAPE store on Melrose.
* Later, she attended a Britney Spears concert at The Staples Center.
* On Thursday, Rihanna partied at new Hollywood nightclub, Halo. She sat in the VIP area.

It’s great to see Rihanna getting on with her life. She deserves it.

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Sporting a new hairstyle and a positive attitude, Rihanna smiled and laughed as walked through Honolulu airport Wednesday, arriving there for some R&R.

She’s supposedly going to be working in Hawaii as well, but that’s a pretty nice work environment. We imagine there’ll be time to hit the beach and clubs.

The 21-year-old star slipped undetected through LAX at the start of her latest getaway, according to a source, and has been staying on the island of Oahu.

Here’s a photo of the Barbados-bred beauty upon her Pacific arrival. No sign of the hot new gun tattoo yet, but wait until she strips down to her bikini …

Rihanna has been traveling a lot since being beaten senseless and threatened with murder after somebody booty call texted Chris Brown, 19, in February.

Model Natasha Ellie was said to have sent the text that triggered the epic fight, though some accounts say it was Brown’s much-older manager Tina Davis.

But, after a solo trip to Mexico, she and Brown reconciled and spent quality time together in Miami, where he jet-skiied around like a douche at Diddy’s pad.

They were also seen together in L.A., but not photographed.

In mid-March, Rihanna hit N.Y.C. – sans Brown. They are said to be taking a break again. At the time, a source said she wanted to put the incident behind her: “She is looking forward to getting back to work and focusing on her career again.”

As for their supposed reunion on Oprah? Don’t hold your breath.

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Stepping out for the second night in a row, Rihanna, who’s taking a break from Chris Brown and showing it by partying at L.A.’s hottest nightclubs, caused a bit of a scene outside of Bar Deluxe, where she kicked it with friends on Thursday …

As you can imagine, given her high-profile nature to begin with, the incident with Brown and even her controversial new gun tattoo, Rihanna causes chaos when she parties. See more of her photos below…

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Disgraced R&B singer Chris Brown has made his first statement after beating up the hell out of his ex-girlfriend, Rihanna. He posted an update on his private Facebook page, according to the N.Y. Post, which reads as follows:

“You’ll begin to see her true colors. Believe it!”

Brown’s comment appears to suggest Rihanna is partly to blame for the alleged attack – which she says was not the first in their relationship and ended in his arrest Sunday on charges of battery and making criminal threats.

It’s obvious that after inflicting horrific injuries upon Rihanna, both of them have split up and he confirmed his split by changing his relationship status to “single.”

There are various rumors swirling as to what caused the alleged attack. One of it is that Brown had been cheating on Rihanna and that a “booty call text message” sparked a heated argument as the couple drove back to their L.A. hotel prior to the Grammy Awards.

The text message reportedly angered Rihanna, who lashed out about it, only to have Brown attack her. She then faked a call to the cops and threw the keys to his rented Lamborghini out the window, further enraging him and leading to more violence.

The fight ended with Chris Brown fleeing the scene, leaving unconscious Rihanna needing to be hospitalized.

Brown, who posted $50,000 bail, had been holed up at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas before leaving for an undisclosed location. There are still doubts on whether the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office will be pressing charges.

So far, L.A. police have booked him on suspicion of making criminal threats, although that may not stick. However, a felony battery charge is a lock. Meanwhile, there is no word on Rihanna’s whereabouts since the incident.

Whatever happened to them is a tragedy as they are famous people. Since it’s Valentine’s Day, let’s recall some of the beautiful memories created by this ex-couple.

The romance rages on for Rihanna and Chris Brown, who spent Wednesday night at a Kanye West concert at Spotlight Live, a hip Times Square restaurant, a karaoke bar – and possibly the bedroom!

One day after Rihanna helped Brown celebrate his 19th birthday at a Manhattan club (his actual b-day was May 5) the pair got even more HOT and affectionate in plain view of other concert-goers.

Chris Brown draped his arm around Rihanna, 20, as the two flirted, danced, clapped and sang along to the short concert. As Kanye West left the stage, Rihanna leaned over and planted a big kiss on Brown.

The couple then hung out with some friends in back. An hour after the concert, music’s smoldering new couple retreated out the back door, posing for pictures – but only separately.

Chris Brown and Rihanna both stopped when fans asked to take photos with them, but they declined to be photographed together.

Although they’ve been spotted hooking up from Les Deux to Europe to the Caribbean – including a romantic vacation in Jamaica in February – Brown and Rihanna won’t publicly confirm their love.

Earlier this month, Rihanna shared the most information yet when she told Elle Magazine that she and Brown had become “very close.”

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They’re still denying it, but we know the truth that Rihanna and Chris Brown are a couple. That’s right, we are calling them out. Time to go public!

The latest evidence? Our man Chris Brown was spotted with a group of guys smiling and dancing in the HighLine Ballroom balcony at Rihanna’s Wednesday night concert for her charity, the Believe Foundation.

Rihanna, dressed in a Goth-like tutu and rhinestone high heels, sang for nearly an hour. Tuesday, as we reported the duo showed up at Star Lounge and hugging and dancing all night.

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