Chapter 326: _ Arriving At The Courthouse
And me?
I had been too stupid to see how heavy her crown was. Too bitter licking my own wounds to realize she was bleeding next to me. And still standing.
I scrubbed soap over my chest like it could erase the guilt. I’d fix it. I’d support her like she deserved. I wouldn’t falter again. I’d be damned before I allowed that sly demon, Ignacio ruin my home again.
Oh, the day I’d finally defeat him...
.
.
The hot water hissed off as I stepped out, quickly towel-drying and throwing on a clean shirt. It was deep navy, one of the few I owned that didn’t make me look like I’d just crawled out of a fight. I added slacks, cologne, and a watch. Buttoned my shirt wrong, cursed, and redid it.
By the time I stepped into the hallway, María was by the front door, texting. She looked up, and her eyes did a full-body scan that had me half-blushing.
"Well," she murmured with a sexy smirk, "look who finally decided to resemble a functioning adult."
"I try," I said, adjusting my sleeves like I was about to walk into a courtroom too. "But I think we both know you’re the star of this show."
She rolled her eyes. "Don’t be dramatic."
I reached for her folder, holding the car keys out in exchange. "Ready?"
"As I’ll ever be."
The pack courthouse was farther into the pack house’s estate and away from the mansion, so driving there was necessary.
The car was already waiting at the curb, windows tinted, engine purring like a sleeping beast. We slipped in, and for the first few minutes, there was silence between us, but not uncomfortable. Just... full.
"So," I began, drumming my fingers lightly against the leather armrest. "Do I get to yell ’Objection!’ during the hearing or is that frowned upon?"
María snorted. "You yell anything, I’m pretending I don’t know you."
"Harsh. Not even a little ’My hot husband has a point’?"
She turned her head, that tight smirk curling on her lips. "You assume you’ll be making a point."
"Oh, I’ll make several. One might even be coherent."
She laughed under her breath, and I could see the stress crumbling just a little in her shoulders.
We hit a red light. The morning sun filtered through the windshield, lighting up the golden strands in her pinned-back hair. Goddess, she was beautiful.
"So," she said, more quietly now, "think they’ll listen to me today?"
I looked at her and didn’t blink. "They’ll do more than listen. They’ll kneel."
She didn’t respond, but her fingers reached for mine. It was just a slight brush, but it said everything. Some silences were sacred. Some moments, you didn’t drown in with words... You just sat in them, let them wrap around your shoulders like the aftermath of a shared storm.
Then her phone buzzed again, jolting the quiet.
She tapped the speaker without looking down, probably expecting Carmen again. But the moment a voice spilled into the car, bright and slightly breathless, I knew it was Lila.
"We’re all set, señora," she said. "The two witnesses just arrived. I’ve got them on standby like you asked. One’s already sweating through his shirt, the other’s been pacing like he’s preparing for a TED Talk."
María exhaled, something loosening in her posture. "That’s good. That’s really good."
"We’ll bring them in the moment you give the word," Lila added.
"Perfect," María said, in a professional voice that was still tinged with some hope.
Hope in heels and court documents. Hope that maybe, just maybe, the plan wouldn’t blow up in our faces. I knew there was a chance she wouldn’t win.
I mean, if it were that easy to take these men down, they’d already be sharing bunk beds in the pack dungeon. But with María José, one could never tell.
There was literally nothing my wife couldn’t do. I mean, she made me, Axel Montenegro, a lovesick puppy. That woman might just shock us all.
"Thank you, Lila. Tell them to hang tight. I’ll call when it’s time." She said beside me.
"Will do. Oh, and Carmen says she’s already inside, holding your seat with the grace and intimidation of a prison warden." Lila added.
"I knew I loved that woman," María murmured.
I chuckled beside her. "Is this the same Carmen who once threatened to poison a councilman’s wine if he asked you to ’smile more’ again?"
María smirked. "She had the vial labeled and everything."
Lila laughed on the other end. "Okay, hanging up now before I’m made an accomplice. Good luck, madame."
The call ended with a soft beep.
Even though I’d heard every word, María turned to me like she owed me the update anyway. "The witnesses are here. Everything’s lining up."
"That’s because you lined it," I reminded her. "This isn’t luck. It’s you being ten steps ahead."
She smiled, faint and hesitant, like she wanted to believe that. Like maybe hearing it aloud helped it feel real.
"Maybe things will actually work out," she murmured, half to herself.
I squeezed her hand. "They will. And if they don’t... then we’ll burn it all down and build again."
Her lips twitched. "You’re not helping my nerves."
"I’m not trying to help your nerves. I’m trying to help your legacy."
"Oh gods, don’t say that. Now I want to throw up."
I shrugged. "We can stop at a gas station if you want to puke dramatically into a flower bed."
She let out a breath that might have been a laugh or a sob. I wasn’t sure anymore. This morning had been a slow-motion sprint through a landmine field. The fact that she wasn’t curled into the fetal position was, frankly, witchcraft.
The car turned the corner and pulled into the circular drive of the courthouse.
It was shaped like a Roman tribunal but with modern obsidian columns and steel-paneled doors—because nothing says "justice" like a place that looks like it could also pass as a Bond villain’s lair.
As soon as we stepped out, the heat hit us.