Craving The Wrong Brother (Sloane and Knox) novel Chapter 236

Chapter 236

Chapter 236

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My jaw tightens. I glance at Maya, who nods. No turning back now. “Yes,” I say.

A ripple of murmurs spreads through the courtroom.

*

Roth pounces. “Yes. You agreed. You, the victimized Mrs. O’Brien, consented to opening your marriage. So why are we here today? Because things didn’t go your way?”

“No. We’re here because he broke the agreement.”

Roth tilts his head, feigning confusion. “Broke the agreement? How exactly?”

I grip the edge of the stand, my knuckles white. “I agreed to an open marriage, not a hostile takeover of my home. He moved his mistress–sorry, his secretary–into our house. Into my house. That wasn’t part of the agreement.”

The courtroom falls into stunned silence.

Roth’s eyebrows shoot up in mock surprise. “Moved her into your house? And yet, you stayed. Why?”

Maya stands, her voice firm. “Objection. Irrelevant.”

Roth doesn’t even turn. “Your Honor, I’m establishing a pattern of consent and complicity.”

Judge Harper deliberates for a moment. “Overruled. Answer the question, Mrs. O’Brien.”

I swallow, heat rising to my face. “I stayed because I hoped he would realize how far he’d gone. I wanted to believe we could salvage what was left.”

“Salvage,” Roth echoes. “Interesting choice of words. And when exactly did you decide to withdraw your consent to this arrangement?”

“When he persisted. When I told him it was over, that I couldn’t do it anymore, and he refused to stop.”

15

Roth claps his hands together. “So, you consented, then withdrew consent, and now you’re claiming victimhood because your husband didn’t obey your every whim?”

Maya stands again. “Objection. Mischaracterization and inflammatory language.”

“Withdrawn,” Roth says smoothly, but his eyes remain locked on me. “One last question, Mrs. O’Brien. Did you ever, at any point, consider leaving the marriage before your husband’s infidelity became public knowledge?”

I stare him down. “Yes. But I wanted to believe he could change.”

Roth leans in, his voice low, almost intimate. “And when he didn’t, you decided to destroy him instead, didn’t you?”

Maya slams her hand on the table. “Objection! Argumentative!”

“Mr. Roth,” Judge Harper’s voice is sharp now. “That’s enough. Move on or sit down.”

Roth hesitates, then nods curtly. “No further questions.”

He retreats to his seat, but the damage is done–or so he thinks.

I breathe deeply, forcing myself to remain composed. The courtroom is still, the air heavy with anticipation. Roth may have drawn blood, but he didn’t win. Not yet.

Maya leans over. “You did great,” she whispers. “We’re not done.”

I nod, never taking my eyes off Ryan. He looks rattled now.

The trial isn’t over, but for the first time today, I feel like I have a fighting chance.

Ryan’s turn to testify comes, and his narrative is as rehearsed as I expected. “She abandoned me,” he says. “She humiliated me. This whole trial is nothing more than a personal vendetta. Julie’s trying to ruin me because she couldn’t control me.”

Maya fires back. “Isn’t it true, Mr. O’Brien, that your actions led to this?”

Ryan falters, his confident façade cracking. “Julie’s my life. There was nothing I didn’t do for her. I loved her. I still do.”

Maya tilts her head. “You loved her? Is that why you moved your secretary into your marital home?”

1/3

ON

田

1:17 AM

Chapter 236

“That’s not how it happened!”

Maya raises an eyebrow. “Then enlighten us. How did it happen?”

“Julie agreed to an open marriage. It wasn’t my idea. She was the one who wanted… more freedom. I gave her that. I gave her everything.” His voice cracks, and for a moment, he seems vulnerable, almost pitiable.

Maya steps closer. “You’re saying she forced you into an open marriage?”

“No,” Ryan admits, shaking his head. “We agreed. But when I found someone who made me feel alive again–someone who wasn’t constantly judging me–she changed the rules.” His eyes dart to me, burning with resentment. “Julie didn’t want me to be happy unless it was on her terms.”

I swallow hard, keeping my face neutral. His version of reality is a twisted reflection, warped to fit his narrative.

Maya presses on. “And by ‘someone,‘ you mean Emily, your secretary?”

Ryan hesitates, then nods. “Yes.”

“So, you loved Julie, but you moved Emily into your home?” Maya’s voice remains calm, but there’s a razor–sharp edge beneath it.

“I didn’t move her in,” Ryan snaps. “She needed a place to stay, and I thought-

You thought it would be appropriate for your mistress to live in the same house as your wife?”

“She wasn’t my mistress!” Ryan shouts, his control slipping. “Julie knew about her. She was fine with it at first!”

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