CHAPTER 27B: The Deposition (Part II + Aftermath)

POV: Selene Castellano Pierce

“Yes.”

The word settled into the room with quiet certainty.

Not loud. Not defensive. Just true.

Sullivan did not respond immediately. He simply watched her, the way a man studies something he intends to dismantle piece by piece.

“When did you fall in love with him?”

Selene held his gaze.

“In college,” she said. “And again when I saw him after ten years.”

She paused, searching for the right words—not to impress him, but to remain honest with herself.

“It wasn’t new,” she added. “It was unfinished.”

Something flickered in Sullivan’s expression. Interest, maybe. Or calculation.

“Convenient timing,” he said lightly. “Right when you needed financial assistance.”

There it was again—that careful push, disguised as observation.

Selene felt it press against her, testing her balance. But she didn’t lean into it. Didn’t react.

“It wasn’t convenient,” she said. “It was complicated.”

Her fingers rested flat against the table now, grounding herself.

“And terrifying.”

Sullivan tilted his head slightly, as though measuring the weight of that answer.

“Does Avalon love you?”

Her throat tightened, but she didn’t look away.

“He’s trying to.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“No,” she said softly. “It’s what’s true.”

Silence stretched between them.

“So he doesn’t,” Sullivan concluded.

Selene inhaled slowly.

“He’s working through ten years of hurt,” she said. “That doesn’t disappear overnight.”

“Or,” Sullivan continued, voice still calm, “he’s fulfilling an obligation.”

“No.”

This time the word came sharper.

Not louder. Just stronger.

Selene leaned forward slightly, her voice steady, anchored.

“I know the difference between obligation and choice,” she said. “And what we have is a choice. Every day is not  perfect, not easy. But real.”

Sullivan studied her for a long moment.

Then he nodded once, as if filing that answer into some internal ledger.

“Let’s continue.”

The shift in tone was subtle, but Selene felt it.

The questions became colder after that. More structured. Less personal, but no less invasive.

He moved through board meetings with surgical precision. Asked about timelines, financial decisions, Catherine’s involvement, Marcus’s influence.

Each question came with purpose. Each answer demanded care.

Selene responded to all of them.

She didn’t rush.

Didn’t fill silence unnecessarily.

Didn’t try to sound stronger than she felt.

She just told the truth.

And somehow, that felt harder than anything else.

Time blurred.

The hum of the fluorescent lights became constant. The scratch of Sullivan’s pen. The quiet, relentless tapping of the court reporter’s keys.

At some point, Selene stopped thinking about how she sounded.

Stopped worrying about how she looked.

All that mattered was holding onto what was real.

Holding onto herself.

When Sullivan finally leaned back in his chair and said, “No further questions,” it felt almost unreal.

Like stepping off a moving train and realizing the ground was still.

Diana shifted beside her.

“You’re done,” she said quietly.

Selene nodded, but her body felt heavy. As if the tension had nowhere to go now that it was over.

“Can I go?” she asked.

Sullivan was already gathering his files.

“Yes, Mrs. Pierce. We’re finished for today.”

Finished.

The word felt too small for what had just happened.

Selene stood slowly. Her legs protested, stiff from hours of stillness.

The room felt different now.

Not smaller. Just… emptier.

Like something had been taken out of it. Or maybe taken out of her.

The hallway outside was cooler. Quieter and easier to breathe in.

Selene didn’t realize how tight her chest had been until it finally loosened.

Diana walked beside her, steady and composed as always.

“You did well,” she said.

Selene let out a small, humorless breath.

“It didn’t feel like it.”

“It never does,” Diana replied. “But you stayed consistent. You didn’t let him push you into defensiveness. You owned your choices without apologizing for them.”

Selene glanced at her.

“That’s enough?”

“It’s more than enough.”

They reached the elevators.

Diana pressed the button, then added, “He wanted you to look calculated. Strategic. Cold.”

Selene swallowed.

“And?”

“You didn’t,” Diana said simply. “You looked human.”

The doors slid open.

Selene stepped inside.

“Avalon’s in my office,” Diana added before the doors closed. “Third door on the right.”

Selene nodded once.

Then the doors shut, and for a few seconds, it was just her.

And the silence.

Avalon was exactly where she expected him to be.

Standing by the window. Hands in his pockets. Looking out over the city like it might give him answers it never gave anyone.

He turned the moment she stepped inside.

And something in his expression shifted.

Cracked, almost.

Selene didn’t think.

Didn’t hesitate.

She crossed the room in three quick steps.

He met her halfway.

His arms wrapped around her before she even fully stopped moving, pulling her close with a force that felt less like comfort and more like relief.

“How bad?” he asked quietly.

She pressed her face into his chest, breathing him in.

“Bad,” she admitted. “He made everything sound like a transaction. Like every choice I made had a motive behind it.”

His grip tightened.

“But you told the truth?”

“All of it.”

“Then it wasn’t wrong.”

She closed her eyes.

For a moment, she let herself believe that. They stayed like that longer than they usually would.

Longer than either of them seemed willing to acknowledge.

Until her breathing steadied. Until the noise in her head softened.

“Tomorrow’s your turn,” she said finally.

“I know.”

“He’s going to go harder on you.”

Avalon let out a quiet breath.

“Let him.”

Selene pulled back just enough to look at him.

“Promise me something.”

His gaze softened slightly.

“What?”

“Don’t perform,” she said. “Don’t try to sound like what they expect. Just tell the truth. About where we are.”

He studied her for a moment.

Then he reached up, cupping her face gently.

“I promise.”

“Even if it’s messy?”

“Especially then.”

Selene searched his eyes.

There was no hesitation there.

No calculation.

Just something steady.

Something real.

She leaned up and kissed him.

Soft.

Brief.

But certain.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“For what?”

“For being worth it.”

His arms tightened around her again.

“So are you.”

They left together. The drive home was quiet. Not uncomfortable.

Just… full.

Like both of them were still carrying pieces of the day, trying to figure out where to set them down.

The penthouse felt different that night, it felt heavier.

As if the walls had absorbed everything they weren’t saying.

Later, in bed, the lights off—

Selene stared into the darkness.

Her body was exhausted.

Her mind wasn’t.

“Sullivan asked if we’re intimate,” she said.

Beside her, Avalon shifted slightly.

“What did you say?”

“Yes. Then I refused to give details.”

“Good.”

A pause settled between them.

“He’ll ask you too,” she added.

“I know.”

Silence again.

Not awkward. Just thoughtful.

“What will you say?” she asked quietly.

Avalon turned slightly toward her. She could feel the shift more than see it.

“The truth,” he said. “That it is complicated and private.”

His hand found hers in the dark.

“And that it’s real.”

Selene laced her fingers through his. Held on.

“One more day,” she whispered.

“One more day,” he echoed.

They lay there like that. Hands intertwined.

Not just preparing for what came next—

But choosing, again—to face it together.