BEHIND HIS WALLS

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

The second day of trial was worse.

And somehow, it was better too.

It was worse because opposing counsel had clearly come prepared to attack the timeline, determined to find every inconsistency they could use against them. They questioned dates, challenged the sequence of events, and twisted small details into things that sounded far more significant than they really were. Every piece of evidence Mara had spent hours reviewing was picked apart and questioned from every possible angle.

But it was better because Mara was prepared too.

Six weeks ago, she might have stumbled under that kind of pressure. She might have looked toward Sean for reassurance or waited for someone else to step in when the questions became too aggressive. But she didn't do that anymore. She listened carefully, thought before she answered, and stood her ground.

Every objection was met.

Every alternative interpretation was considered.

Every attempt to undermine the evidence had an answer.

By the time the morning session ended, Mara was exhausted, but she was also strangely proud of herself.

During lunch, she stepped into the hallway to get some air and found Duke leaning against the wall, watching the passing lawyers with an amused expression.

The moment he saw her, he grinned.

"You know you're terrifying now, right?"

Mara laughed, shaking her head. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

"I've been here six weeks."

"Exactly." His grin widened. "Give it six months."

She shook her head again, unable to stop herself from smiling. "I don't know about that."

Duke's smile faded slightly, and for a moment, something more serious crossed his face.

"Neither does Ashford."

Mara's smile disappeared.

She looked at him. "What does that mean?"

Duke shrugged casually, but she could tell he was choosing his words.

"Nothing."

"Duke."

He sighed, pushing himself away from the wall. "You know what his problem is?"

Mara didn't answer.

"He thinks that if he doesn't want something, he can't lose it."

Her chest tightened.

She stared at him, suddenly unsure where this conversation was going.

"And?"

Duke looked at her for a moment before continuing.

"And you're the first thing he's wanted in a long time."

Mara's breath caught.

"Duke."

"I'm just saying."

Before she could ask what he meant or demand that he explain himself, Duke walked away, leaving her standing alone in the hallway.

Mara didn't move.

His words repeated themselves in her head.

The first thing he's wanted.

She didn't know whether to believe it.

More importantly, she didn't dare believe it.

Because believing it would mean admitting that perhaps everything she'd tried so hard to convince herself wasn't happening might actually be happening.

And Mara wasn't ready for that.

Not when Sean had spent so long keeping her at a distance. Not when she had finally learned to stop looking for his approval. Not when she'd spent the last few weeks teaching herself that whatever she felt for him didn't have to mean anything.

She forced herself to breathe and returned to court.

That evening, after court finally ended, most of the team gathered their things and left. The building gradually became quieter until only the faint sounds of footsteps and distant voices remained.

Mara was almost at the door when Sean spoke.

"Mara, stay for a minute."

She stopped.

The rest of the team left without another word, and soon the office was quiet.

Sean stood near the window, his jacket draped over the back of a chair. His tie had loosened slightly, and there was a tiredness in his face that Mara had never noticed before.

"You did well today," he said.

Mara nodded. "Thank you."

"You know what you're doing now."

"I think so."

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

"You do."

Mara studied him for a moment.

There was something different about him tonight. She couldn't quite explain it, but she could feel it.

"You seem different," she said.

His expression shifted.

"Different how?"

"I don't know."

She hesitated, searching for the right word.

"Less..."

She looked at him.

"Closed."

Sean's eyes dropped toward the floor.

"Maybe."

Silence settled between them.

It wasn't an uncomfortable silence exactly, but it was heavy with everything neither of them seemed willing to say.

Then Sean spoke again.

"You've been different too."

Mara frowned slightly.

"How?"

He looked at her.

"You stopped looking for my approval."

Her heart skipped.

She hadn't expected him to notice.

"I realized I didn't need it."

Something in his expression tightened.

"I know."

Mara studied his face, trying to understand what she was seeing there.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No."

He answered quickly, almost too quickly.

Then his gaze met hers.

"It's probably a good thing."

But there was something in his voice that made Mara wonder if he meant the opposite.

She didn't know what to say to that, so she gathered her things instead.

"I should go."

Sean nodded.

She turned toward the door.

Her hand had just reached the handle when she heard him behind her.

"Mara."

She stopped.

For a moment, she simply stood there.

He rarely used her first name anymore. There had always been something deliberate about the way he addressed her, as though keeping things formal made it easier for him to maintain the distance between them.

Slowly, she turned around.

Sean looked like he was fighting with himself.

His lips parted.

"I—"

He stopped.

His jaw tightened as though whatever he had almost said was something he couldn't allow himself to finish.

Mara waited.

But nothing came.

Eventually, she gave him a small, uncertain smile.

"Goodnight, Sean."

His eyes remained on hers.

"Goodnight."

She opened the door and left.

The sound of her footsteps disappeared down the hallway, leaving Sean alone in the quiet office.

For several moments, he remained exactly where he was.

He stared at the door long after it had closed.

He had spent three years convincing himself that distance was safer. That wanting nothing meant having nothing to lose. That if he kept people at arm's length, he could never give them enough power to hurt him.

But Mara had somehow slipped past every wall he'd built.

And now, for the first time in three years, Sean Ashford admitted something to himself that terrified him more than he wanted to admit.

He didn't want her to leave.