Chapter 15
Julian testified on the tenth day.
He looked like a man who had finally met the consequences he thought were for other people.
The prosecutor walked him through everything.
The affair.
The forged documents.
The laptop.
The loans.
The plan to declare me unstable.
His voice shook when he admitted his mother instructed him to provoke me until I looked unreasonable.
“Why?” the prosecutor asked.
Julian looked at me.
“Because Khloe was the legal obstacle.”
The words hit hard.
Not wife.
Not partner.
Obstacle.
My marriage reduced to paperwork in their scheme.
The prosecutor asked, “Did you love her?”
Julian’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
The courtroom turned.
The judge called for order.
Julian lowered his head.
“I loved what she gave me,” he whispered. “I don’t think I knew how to love her.”
That answer hurt because it was probably true.
Then came the question about my father.
“Did you know Thomas Bennett had been targeted?”
Julian swallowed.
“No.”
“Did you later learn your mother may have been involved?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
He closed his eyes.
“Two years into my marriage.”
My breath left me.
Two years.
He had known for five years.
The prosecutor’s voice hardened.
“And what did you do?”
Julian whispered, “Nothing.”
I stood and walked out.
In the hallway, I finally broke.
Marcus found me by the vending machines.
I couldn’t speak.
May you like
He didn’t ask me to.
He just stood beside me while the life I thought I had finished dying.
