Melinda’s POV
The courthouse felt colder this time.
Maybe it was the weather.
Maybe it was the weight of everything we’d survived to get here.
Or maybe it was just Andrew.
Sitting across the aisle in a charcoal suit that still fit him too well. His hair was grayer than I remembered. His hands jittered slightly — not from nerves, but control. Like he couldn’t decide whether to fake calm or swing for chaos.
I kept my eyes forward.
James sat behind me with the twins. Elijah held a stuffed dinosaur in one hand and James’s finger in the other. Elena leaned against my shoulder until the bailiff called my name.
“Miss Melinda Holt. Please approach the bench.”
I stood.
Didn’t wobble.
Didn’t flinch.
My heels echoed against the floor, but my heartbeat stayed even.
Because this was it.
T
