Chapter 80

Courtroom Drama

Isabelle's POV

Carlos had already been downstairs in his suit, impeccable, with an artfully done-up tie, sitting at the kitchen table with an empty, long stare into his coffee.

His suit was impeccable, the tie artfully neat, but in his eyes, I could feel the tension. This trial was getting to all of us, I thought, but with Carlos, it felt like it was bearing down on him the most.

"Ready?" I asked softly, trying to sound surer than I was.

He looked up at me then, his expression a mix of determination and exhaustion. "As ready as I'll ever be."

We rode to the courthouse in dangerous, silent words. I felt there was some unseen poison spreading between the two of us. The pressure of our relationship overworked by the months tugged tighter and tighter until finally, the impending trial was just enough. Across the chasm in my mind, stretching between us, I could feel the impossible divide to bridge; at least that was what I felt right now.

By the time we got there, the cou