CHAPTER 5: THE TRIAL BEGINS
Nathan's trial started four months later.
I was still healing.
Physically, I was getting better. The scars would remain, but the pain was fading.
Emotionally... that was more complicated.
I had nightmares. I had panic attacks. I had moments when I woke up screaming, convinced I was back in Blackthorn Manor, hearing the whip crack through the air.
But I was getting better.
One day at a time.
The courtroom was packed.
Journalists, lawyers, spectators, everyone who had ever been curious about the Ashford scandal.
Nathan sat at the defendant's table, looking haggard and broken. His suit was expensive, but it couldn't hide the fear in his eyes.
Celeste was across the courtroom, looking even worse. Her hair was disheveled. Her makeup was smudged.
She looked like a woman who had finally realized she wasn't going to win.
I sat in the witness box, dressed in a simple blue dress, my hair pulled back, my face calm.
The prosecutor approached.
"Mrs. Ashford, can you tell us what happened on the night of October 14?"
"His name is Nathan Ashford," I said. "And he gave me two hundred lashes."
Gasps from the gallery.
"Two hundred?"
"His mistress, Celeste Monroe, corrected his count. He had miscounted. She made sure I got every single one."
"Can you tell us why they did this?"
"Because I insulted her. At least, that was the excuse. The truth is... Nathan wanted to get rid of me. He was afraid I would expose him. So he tried to break me instead."
"Break you?"
"Make me too weak to fight back. Make me too afraid to speak up. Make me disappear."
The prosecutor turned to the jury.
"Your Honor, the prosecution would like to submit Exhibit A. A recording of the incident in question. We believe this will demonstrate the full extent of the defendants' cruelty."
The judge nodded.
The recording played.
My own voice, begging.
Nathan's voice, laughing.
Celeste's voice, correcting his count.
The jury's faces turned pale.
When it ended, the courtroom was absolutely silent.
Nathan looked like he was going to be sick.
Celeste was crying, but I couldn't tell if the tears were real or fake.
It didn't matter.
May you like
Because they were guilty.
And everyone knew it.
