I’d been laughing so much my cheeks hurt, my voice raspy from telling the same story three times to three different groups of people about my book, the preorders, the tour.My family were proudly telling everyone about it and encouraging them to get their hands on a copy.Neighbours and friends slipped away, leaving our families to finish the night.
As the noise finally settled, Brody tugged me onto his lap.The temperature had dropped, and the hum of crickets filled the air.
“Clara and Mason,” he said softly, glancing back at the glowing kitchen window where they moved around each other, cleaning up.“They’ve got a new house.A baby coming.A whole fresh start.”
I nodded, my throat tight with happy ache.“I am so happy for them.They deserve it.”
He kissed me softly, expression serious in a way that made my pulse stutter.“We deserve it all, too.”
Something fluttered low in my stomach.“Brody…”
He kissed me again.“I meant what I said in the truck.About trusting me.About giving us more space.It’s not just about having four walls that are ours.It’s about…” He hesitated, exhaled hard.“It’s about building something with you, not just borrowing moments in borrowed spaces.You’ve given me pieces of your life, Cass.And I am so happy.I am deeply grateful for what you have given me, and for what we have together.But I want more.I want to give you somewhere that feels like ours.”
My heart beat wildly, sharp and tender all at once.“You already do.You could set a blanket down in the middle of a field, and it would feel like ours.”
He chuckled, brushing a kiss against my temple.“Yeah, but I’m thinking bigger than a blanket.I don't want to wait for the house to be built.I want to start our life together now.”
I almost laughed, but his tone, the way his fingers threaded between mine, told me he wasn’t joking.He wasn't just dreaming.He was planning.He was showing me that he meant what he said.That I was it for him, and he wanted everything with me.
The screen door banged open, Chase's voice cutting across the yard: “Cassidy!We’re opening the last bottle of champagne, get in here before Adam hogs it!”
Brody groaned, pressing his forehead to mine.“We’ll finish this later.”
“Promise?”
He tipped my chin up, his eyes burning with that steady fire that had undone me since the start.“Promise.”
Chapter 48
The day I had been dreading finally arrived.
It was the kind of dread that settled bone-deep, not sharp like fear but heavy, like a stone in my stomach that had been building weight for months.I woke drained, nauseous, my body betraying me before I’d even left my bed.I rolled over, trying to steady myself.A message from Brody greeted me and gave me the strength to get up and face the day.
When I finally made my way downstairs, everyone was ready and waiting for me.I rushed to Brody, and he instantly brushed my hair back from my clammy forehead and pressed a kiss there, his lips warm, his voice steady even when I knew his nerves weren’t.
“You’ll feel better once it’s faced,” he said softly.“Once this is over.”
I wanted to believe him.God, I wanted to.But the idea of sitting across from Andrew, of hearing him deny and twist everything, of Victoria sneering from the other side, had me feeling like my skin was too tight to contain me.
By the time we reached the courthouse, my hands were cold despite the warm fall day.The building rose sterile and flat, all stone and glass, the kind of place that stripped the humanity out of people.Inside, fluorescent lights hummed overhead, cruel and unforgiving, their glare making the tiled floor shine like bleached bone.
We moved through security, our shoes squeaking, our pockets and bags searched.My parents were right behind me, their presence solid but wordless.Mason and Clara walked together, Clara squeezing my shoulder as we waited for trays of phones and keys to be passed back.The Palmers arrived with Chase and Adam, Dean nodding to me, Judy’s eyes already wet.
I swallowed back the bile that threatened to rise at the thought of having to relive the details of Andrew's attack in front of my family, in front of a courtroom packed with people.
I didn’t let myself think about who would be on the other side until we reached the courtroom doors.But once we stepped inside, I couldn’t stop.
Victoria was already seated, her parents flanking her like a shield, a baby wrapped up in her mother's arms.And Max.Oh my god, what was he doing here?My chest pinched when I saw him, his small legs swinging in the too-big wooden pew, a colouring book and crayon on the seat beside him, like that could possibly make this normal.He was eight.Too young to hear what was about to be said about his father.Too young to carry the weight of it.
The sight of him made bile rise in my throat again.My knees felt weak, but I forced myself forward, toward the front.
Mr.Novak, my lawyer, was already waiting, his papers spread neatly across the table.He greeted me with a nod and gestured for me to sit.
I slid into the chair beside him, the defendant’s empty chair only a few feet away.I’d imagined Andrew there so many times, imagined his smirk, the way he’d try to bend the story, the way his lies dripped like honey meant to choke.Now the chair was empty.Somehow, that was worse.
Brody sat behind me, his hand brushing my shoulder, grounding me, while my family filled the rows.I could feel their presence at my back, warm, solid, but up here at the front, I felt exposed, under the harsh lights, with all the moments I had tried so hard to forget that led to why we were all here today running through my mind.
I risked a glance toward Victoria.Her gaze snapped to mine, sharp and unblinking.She lifted her chin, then turned deliberately to Max, smoothing his hair as though she were the picture of maternal devotion.
