Page 264 of The Rules
It never could be.
Katherine gives the smallest nod.
Then she turns back to the table. Back to the numbers. Back to the careful illusion of justice being done.
And she listens. To the price of lost years being read out like a line item on a receipt.
When the signatures are done and the quiet murmur of lawyers begins to fade, Katherine gathers her things in silence.
Now, she stands in the hallway outside the law office, the glass and marble of the high-rise stretching around her like a cathedral built to worship wealth. Ahead of her, Bianca, Lisa, and her father move slowly, silhouetted against the windows that frame the city like a painting.
Lisa laughs—bright and unguarded. Bianca touches her father's sleeve, holding on just a second too long. Like she's still afraid he'll vanish if she blinks.
It should feel like the end of something.
It almost does.
Then—Ben steps up beside her.
His hand slides to the small of her back. Gentle. Familiar. Claiming without pressure.
She doesn’t flinch. Just shifts slightly closer, like her body already knew he was coming.
"Ready to go home?" he asks quietly.
She turns to look at him.
And in that breath, everything else falls away. No courtroom. No press. No unfinished questions clinging to her heels.
Just Ben.
She meets his gaze and lets the silence stretch—solid, sure, like an answer that doesn’t need words.
She exhales.
"Yeah," she says. Not loud, but it lands with weight. Certain. Unshaken.
Ben’s thumb brushes her waist, a quiet promise.
And together, they walk toward the elevator.
Chapter 56
Katherine
The apartment is half-packed and sun-drenched, shadows stretching long across the floor.
Kath stalks through the honeyed light, her phone wedged between shoulder and ear, a crumpled silk shirt clutched in one fist while the other grips a cardboard box—already half-filled with odds and ends.
Tammy’s voice crackles through the line—familiar, fond, and already grinning.
“So?” she teases. “What’s victory taste like?”
Kath pauses at the edge of the bed, her hand resting on the open suitcase.
She exhales, fingers threading through her hair.
“It’s… strange,” she says, voice soft. “But good. Dad is home. Lisa’s safe. And with the settlement money, she doesn’t have to worry about anything.”
