Page 161 of Clinically Delicious
I’m great at not talking.
I’m basically a mime.
A very anxious mime.
“Cate.” Anthony’s voice cut through my spiral. “You’re going to be fine. Just remember, they’re trying to paint Gabriel as an unfit father who rushed into a marriage for custody purposes. Our job is to show them a real family. A real marriage. Real love.”
Real love.
Is it real?
It feels real.
“Cate.” Gabriel’s hand found mine, squeezing. “With me?”
I looked up at him, at the steadiness in his eyes, and nodded.
“With you.”
The courtroom was smaller than I’d expected.
Not like the dramatic TV courtrooms with soaring ceilings and packed galleries. This was intimate. Almost claustrophobic. The judge’s bench dominated the front of the room, dark wood and imposing. The witness stand was positioned to the right, looking like the loneliest chair in the world.
Please don’t make me sit in that chair.
Please, please, please!
Tonya and Richard were already seated at the plaintiff’s table.
Tonya looked... different. Her hair was pulled back severely, her makeup minimal. She was wearing a cream-colored suit that screamed “responsible mother” and probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. Richard sat beside her, his expression sharp and predatory. He was flipping through a file, making notes, looking every inch the aggressive attorney ready to destroy us.
This is fine.
Everything is fine.
I’m not going to throw up.
Probably.
We took our seats at the defense table—defense, like we’re the ones on trial, which I guess we are—and I tried to arrange my face into something that looked calm and supportive.
Gabriel’s hand found mine under the table, his thumb tracing circles on my palm.
Breathe. Just breathe.
The bailiff stood. “All rise. The Honorable Judge Elaine Winters presiding.”
We stood.
Judge Winters entered. A woman in her sixties with steel-gray hair and the kind of face that suggested she’d seen everything and wasn’t impressed by any of it. She settled into her seat, surveyed the room with sharp eyes, and picked up her gavel.
This is it.
This is really happening.
“Please be seated.” Her voice was crisp, authoritative. “We’re here today for the custody hearing in the matter of Castalleno versus Lyon. Counsel, are you ready to proceed?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Anthony said, standing.
