Page 191 of The Rules
Of what this was turning into.
The weight of the day pressed down on her, and eventually, sleep dragged at her limbs. Her breathing deepened despite her resistance, consciousness slipping away in fragments.
But she didn't see—
Ben never closed his eyes. Never loosened his hold. Because if something came for her tonight?
It was going through him first.
Chapter 43
Katherine
Katherine lay perfectly still, trying to ignore the heat radiating from Ben's body beside her. She was acutely aware of every inch of space between them—the careful distance they'd established when they'd finally settled into bed. No longer touching. No longer wrapped in that strange, protective embrace that had made her pulse race.
The silence stretched between them, filled only by the distant hum of traffic and the soft rhythm of their breathing. Katherine stared at the ceiling, watching the play of silver light that cut through the half-closed blinds, casting strange patterns across the darkness.
She couldn't sleep. Her mind kept replaying the events of the day—the courtroom, Crawford's smug expression, the alarm that had jolted them both awake. The knife Ben had given her, now tucked beneath her pillow. The weight of it all pressed down on her chest, making each breath feel like a deliberate act.
"What did you want to be?" Ben's voice cut through the stillness, low and unexpected. "Before all this. Before law."
Katherine blinked, thrown by the question. It seemed to come from nowhere, this sudden interest in who she had been.
Who she might have become in another life.
"You think I wasn't meant for this?" she asked softly, a breath of laughter escaping her lips despite herself.
Ben shifted beside her, the mattress dipping slightly with his movement. She could feel his gaze on her profile, studying her in the half-light.
"No one wants to be a lawyer," he said, his tone dry but tinged with genuine amusement. "We just... end up here."
Katherine smiled—surprised by how warm that made her feel. This glimpse of something almost human beneath hiscarefully controlled exterior. This moment of shared understanding that felt dangerously close to connection.
She hesitated, letting the question sink in. It had been so long since she'd allowed herself to think about the path she might have taken if life hadn't intervened. If her father's case hadn't consumed everything.
"I wanted to be a teacher," she admitted quietly, her voice barely more than a breath in the dark.
A beat of silence.
Then Ben hummed—low, almost curious. "Really?"
She felt a smile tug at her lips, suddenly amused by her own forgotten ambitions. "Not really," she said, a hint of
self-deprecation creeping into her tone. "That was just the step before becoming a principal. That's what I actually wanted."
Ben let out a soft, genuine laugh.
The sound caught her off guard—warm and unguarded.
A real laugh, not the cold, calculated one she'd grown accustomed to hearing in the office. Not the cruel one he'd used when dismantling her defenses.
"Of course you did," he murmured, voice tinged with something that sounded almost like fondness. "Control freak."
She rolled her eyes, grinning despite herself. She reached out, shoving his arm lightly. "Shut up."
He grinned back, his voice lighter than she'd heard in days. "Admit it. You just wanted to be in charge of everyone's future. Dictate their fates. Make the rules."
She hummed thoughtfully, stretching her legs under the covers. Found herself relaxing into the moment despite everything, the tension in her shoulders easing slightly.
