Never the Same

Chapter 17

"You did well, tonight." Luca whispers. "I know you'll be fine tomorrow."

"I hope so."

"I know so." He lifts my hand to his mouth and kisses the back of it. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

The clothes that are left hanging in front of me for today in the walk-in wardrobe are clearly designer. I know there's a certain image that has to be portrayed by all of us today but I think this may a bit too much for me. Wearing all of this will just prove a claim clearly noted in Nadia's mind that I'm only with Luca for his money.

I'm not and I never will be. That's her department.

I tilt my head from side to side as I look at the options, my hand covering my mouth, and sigh heavily.

"I had the same choice to make this morning," Jane interrupts.

"I doubt that," I mutter.

"Oh, darling, trust me when I said I did." She walks to me and places all of the options back into their places within the wardrobe apart from one. "But the key to everything is that simple is always the best option." She runs a hand down the blue Roland Mouret dress and smiles. "Team it with a thin black belt around the waist, a pair of simple black pumps, and your black trench coat and you've got yourself a winner."

"I'd almost be like your twin," I comment, nodding to her black knee-length dress with a skinny red belt around her waist.

She smiles and touches the belt. "I was going to wear a red trouser suit but decided against it. Red shoes, belt and lipstick will just have to suffice."

"It always will be your colour, Jane."

"And blue is always yours," she smiles while lifting the dress off the hook. She hands it to me. "Now go and get yourself ready and I'll get everything else sorted for you coming out."

I walk into the adjoining bathroom and slide the door closed. I hang the dress on the hook behind the door and start to get ready for court.

Pulling my hair into a ponytail is the last thing I need to do before leaving the bathroom. It's taken me less than thirty minutes to do my make-up and hair, and get my dress on. It's tight across my ribs and stomach and that's only because of my injuries. Just trying to zip it up was a pain within itself but I managed it. The only thing it mainly caused was me rushing to the toilet to be sick because of the pressure it was putting me under as I tried to breathe.

I slide the bathroom door open and walk into the bedroom where Jane is standing looking out of one of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Everything okay, Jane?" I ask.

I don't make a move to stand next to her. She won't want me to. She'll be happy having her own space for the moment.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking of some things," she responds.

"All good things?"

"Mostly."

I walk to the bed and sit down on it to put my shoes on that Jane left sitting out for me.

"Do you know that I could potentially get struck off if Nadia gets her way in court?" Jane announces.

I stop sliding my feet into my shoes and gaze at her.

She nods and turns to me. "I got the phone call this morning on my way here. If the jury believes every lie that comes out her mouth, I'm facing the possibility of losing something that's become my livelihood. I'll lose the one thing that I've worked so damn hard at for years. The one thing that's made me who I am."