Chapter 39

Day 2 of court was not any easier. I had spent all of the morning on the stand answering questions, reliving the events of what had happened. I could see the pity and sorrowful looks from members of the jurors. Pictures of my injuries and details on my recovery were brought up on the screen. I was asked about the lasting effects from the attack also.

Once my testimony was over, I was allowed to sit in the courtroom and watch the rest of the trial. Next up to be called was Logan. My heart dropped and I felt sick with nerves as he took the stand. It was the first time I had seen him after walking out on him the morning previously. His eyes locked onto mine and I tried to give him an apologetic look. He smiled at me putting me at ease with a gentle nod.

Evelyn started asking questions about that night. He was put through the ringer with them, but he never took his eyes off of me until Gideon stood. I watched him shift in his seat and I could see him visibly tense. He really didn’t like Gideon. I remembered all the things he told me about him. I saw him tense his jaw; a vein popped out on the side of his neck.

Gideon didn’t let up; I could see how on edge Logan was but there was nothing I could do. It felt like watching a boxing match, one round after another the hits kept on coming. Gideon tried to bring Logan’s validity into question. Once Gideon was done, I could see confusion on some of the jurors' faces but then I saw Jack speaking to Evelyn quietly at the table. Evelyn asked for a recross.

“Mr. Carter. You stated that the night you met the victim that you had never seen her before.”

“Correct.”

“You also stated that you helped her after the break-in by trying to fix her home.”

“Correct.”

“Objection we are going over the same questions again.”

“Mrs. Ward is there a new line of questioning here?” the judge asked.

“Yes, judge. Please bear with me a moment.”

The judge gave her some leeway.

“Mr. Carter. What is your relationship now with the victim?”

“I’m not sure?” He sounded confused himself.

“Can you tell the court why.”

His face screwed up and he looked directly at me.

“I messed up. The night we met was a complete coincidence. Somehow though it felt like fate was pulling us together. I felt, feel, drawn to her. I offered my help, not out of pity, but out of love.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Then the defendants returned, they attacked, and she ended up with her life on the line. No matter the measures I took to try and protect her, her life was still on the line. I stayed by her side every day she was in hospital. I offered a roof over her head while her house was a crime scene. I gave her safety in a world that had broken her. We grew close. Then I misunderstood something, and I lashed out and hurt her in the worst possible way.”

“How did you hurt her Mr. Carter?”

“I had a one-night stand while she was in the next room. I knew she had feelings for me, but I thought she was leaving so I came home with another woman. It was the worst mistake of my life. I pushed her away. I hurt her when her world was already broken without much left. I pushed away the woman I had fallen for.”

“So, you hurt her emotions to try and protect yours?”

“Yes.”

“And yet here are two men, one that she never knew existed and one she had a chance encounter with. Just like your chance encounter with her. And they tried to kill her on orders from a gang boss that had mistaken her for someone else.”

“Yes.”

“Nothing further.”

I was lost. I didn't understand why Evelyn had just done that. They had both said from the start that if we were caught together, it risked conflict of interest and the case. Logan had declared his love for me on the stand. My mind was swirling. I watched as he left the courtroom.

We broke away for lunch and I went looking for Logan, but I couldn’t find him. I found Jack and he told me Logan had gone home. I needed to see him, but I also needed to stay at court to see the trial through. I was torn so I decided to message him.

‘Did you mean it?’

I watched as the dots turned to green to show he had read the message, but no response came.