Page 152 of Forgotten Prejudice

“So?” I frowned, following Kai, who’d just got out of the car.

“So, I wouldn’t be surprised if he lied.”

I shut the door behind me and circled the truck until we faced one another. “What on earth are you talking about? Why would he lie?”

Kai snorted. “Why wouldn’t he? I mean, he finally had a chance to get back at Diesel. After all, D literally stole his boyfriend.”

Kai began walking in the direction of the courthouse as I stood in place, processing his words.

“But that’s wrong,” I said, finally running to catch up.

“You’re telling me you wouldn’t lie to get back the person you love?”

I didn’t even have to think about it.

“Of course I wouldn’t,” I said, walking a bit faster so we wouldn’t be late.

“Well, I wish everyone were as good as you.” He smirked.

Could it be that Jordan lied in his testimony out of envy and spite just to get back at Diesel? Thinking about it, Soren also did bad things when he felt threatened by Kai… but it wasn’t the same. Right?

“Hey.” Kai reached to grab my hand. “I’m here for you today, so don’t look so worried.” He clenched my hand tighter.

Somehow, over the past week, I’d found it in me to forgive him. I guess that in the end, I was no different from Mom or Aiden when it came to Kai.

Even though we were held up in the security check because of the long line, we still arrived on time and were now looking for a place to sit in the busy courtroom. Someone called my name, and I tracked Andrei waving at us. He was there with Jess and Levi, two empty seats beside them. Damnit, we didn’t get first row this time. I always tried to sit as close to Diesel as possible.

“The kids saved us seats,” I told Kai, who took my hand again before he started making his way toward them. I didn’t understand why he decided to hold my hand in this crowded room, but before I could dive deeper into it, my eyes landed on Soren. He was with his back to me while talking to his team. I admired how elegant he looked in his black suit but then remembered what an asshole he was the other night. I still had no idea what made him shift back into his cold self. Maybe he was still pissed at me for sneaking out in the middle of the night? I continued to stare at his back when he suddenly turned and caught me looking, his eyes darting to Kai’s and my joint hands. On instinct, I pulled away and broke the connection. Guilt quickly flooded my body, and when Kai turned to look at me, I retook his hand just so I wouldn’t feel so shitty.

“You cool?” he asked, and I nodded.

Once Kai turned back around, I dared to take one more glance at Soren. His eyes were still on me, but soon, his PI, an incredibly sexy young man, whispered something in his ear. My heart clenched with how close they looked, and I bit my lip with envy. I often saw them together, and Kai mentioned that Soren was with him the night they bumped into each other at the restaurant. Could he be the guy who was at Soren’s house? Maybe. Who knew? Besides, it didn’t matter. And yet, I just checked him out again. He had bleached hair, which I knew Soren didn’t like since he loved natural beauty. But perhaps his taste had changed? That PI was slimmer than me, with long muscles and a cute ass. Well, that Soren definitely loved.

Asshole.

“Did you say something?” Kai asked, half turning to me in his seat.

Shit, did I say it out loud?

“No.” I nervously smiled at him. The second Kai went back to chatting with Andrei, I swore under my breath. For fuck’s sake, I was losing my mind. Thankfully, the judge then entered the room, and everyone, including my idiotic brain, went silent.

The final day of testimony began, and at first, there was a feeling that today wouldn’t be any different when, an hour in, the prosecutor yelled at Soren.

“You’ve got to be kidding!” he snarled, eyes nearly popping out of his head. “A new witness at this stage?”

What was going on?

Soren stood up, but unlike Jones, he seemed calm and composed. “Your Honor, it’s not just some witness we’re talking about,” he explained, his voice smooth like butter. “But the only victim who survived to tell us what had actually happened that day.”

Whispers erupted around the courtroom at his words, and my mouth fell open in shock. Was he talking about—

“Is this for real?” Andrei whispered, eyes locked with mine. “Shay-Lee’s going to testify?”

“I don’t know,” I said, my heart hammering fast with the news.

As far as I knew, Soren’s team hadn’t managed to get Shay-Lee to speak. What had changed?

“Did you know anything about it?” Levi questioned, brows furrowed, and I shook my head because it took me by complete surprise. And not just me but Diesel, too. For the first time since this trial started, he straightened up in his chair, body tense as he listened to the argument going on between Soren and Jones.