LOGINI’m bouncing on my toes by the front door, leaning against the frame. I am so ready to leave and finally see this “movie” that I can not stand still anymore. I open my mouth to shout up the stairs, to ask what the hell is taking so long, when he appears at the top.Raymond looks like a goddamn dream. His white sweater clings to him, and his dark jeans fit every inch of his legs, especially those thick thighs. His hair is pushed back, neat, except for a few pieces that fall across his forehead. He just stands there, watching me, like he knows exactly what seeing him does to my body. I press my legs together, but it only makes the aching between them worse. A quiet sound escapes my lips before I even realize I had closed my eyes, lost in my own need.He comes down the stairs without any hurry. That knowing smile on his face grows with every step until he is right in front of me.“Have I mentioned how fucking sexy you are when I can feel you wanting me?” he says, his voice low near my ea
VeronicaI collected everything I could find on Rex. I needed Bella to understand I was with her now, that I was different, that she could believe in me. Eventually, Rex let his real self show. That was the turning point. I started to think: Did I really want my daughter tied to a man who would treat his wife like that? If he could cheat on her so openly, he would do the same to Bella. Honestly, it took me too long to see him for what he was, a calculating, sly man with no shame.I’d been there before. I’d been with men like that, convincing myself they’d change for me, that they’d leave their wives. It never happened. I was always the one left broken, with a ruined reputation.What Bella said played a huge part, too. When she told me she didn’t want to become like me, I tried to act like it didn’t matter. But it did. Her words wouldn’t leave me alone. They repeated in my mind until I had to choose: keep letting my daughter down, or finally try to be someone she might respect one day.
BellaThose fifteen minutes dragged on forever. I fought to keep my composure. I could not stand how they were painting me as some bitter woman, plotting the perfect payback to win a man back. Rex belonged in my past, and that is exactly where I needed him to stay. Ron and Raymond still had to give their statements, and I already knew this was going to take a lot longer than I’d hoped.We were asked to return to the courtroom. Kennedy let me know that Colleen had chosen to speak. Her lawyer did not want her to at first, but I suppose she changed her mind. The same formal routine played out. Everyone stood when the judge came in. Both lawyers gave him some documents, and everything began again.This time, Raymond was asked to speak. He told them everything about that night, every single detail. He described what Colleen was wearing and the pure hate she felt for me… He explained how much it hurt us both.“I cannot put into words how it felt to learn that not only was Bella attacked, bu
Author's Pov“All rise.”The judge walked to his high seat. Everyone in the room, the jury, the lawyers, bowed their heads slightly toward him. He bowed his head back to them. It was a quiet show of respect.“Court is now in session. You may be seated,” announced the bailiff.The formal introductions began, naming the lawyers and the people they represented. Bella sat on the right side of the room, her hands clasped tightly together in her lap. Raymond placed his own hand over hers, a gentle pressure to quiet her rising anxiety. He leaned close to say something into her ear. On the left side sat Colleen. To anyone who did not know better, she looked completely bored. Her expression said she would rather be anywhere else in the world. Or maybe that look had everything to do with Rex, who was seated right beside her.“Your Honor,” Colleen’s lawyer, Mr. Scott, began. “My client, Colleen Ronald, was deeply hurt when she discovered her husband’s three-year affair with Miss Whey. Her family
BellaSarah and I connected in a real way. The wall she kept up to protect herself fell apart, and she was not embarrassed to let me see her pain. She had lived through something terrible, but she made it out even when she believed she could not. Sarah was sitting opposite me, and I understood the expression on her face. It was not the sad, sorry look everyone else gave me. It was recognition. She knew exactly what I was feeling because she had been there herself.Raymond arrived at the hospital after his meeting, just like he said he would. I noticed his expression when he walked in. He was confused about his mother being there, but after he saw our hands held together, the tension left his body.Sarah told him to sit down and be part of our talk. A little while later, Julie came in to tell me I would be going home later that day. I would be leaving this place with more than I arrived with. I was now a mother to a baby I would never get to hold. I was a woman with a heart that felt c
BellaHer question caught me off guard. She was right. We had never had the chance to really talk. Raymond had warned me his mother could be hard to reach.“Thank you, Mrs. Woods. That means a great deal to me.”“Call me Sarah. I do not know what Raymond has said about me, but I have been where you are. It is never easy. After my loss, I shut everyone out. I was so scared. I thought if I let someone in, if I loved like that again, I would only get hurt.”Her voice was soft. She was looking at something I could not see.“I am sorry. I did not know. Raymond never told me.”“I suppose he would not. It happened after he was born. I am not even sure he remembers.”“How… how did you make it through?”I kept my voice low, worried I was crossing a line. She was quiet for a long time, and I was afraid I had said too much.“I buried myself in my work. I did anything I could to forget. I pushed myself so hard that by the time I came home, I was too exhausted to think. By the time I looked up and







