Chapter 241

Ella

I stepped into the office the next morning with a smile on my face despite the early hour. It was an overcast morning with gray skies and a slight drizzle of unexpected rain, but it did nothing to put out the fire in my eyes. As I rushed toward the breakroom, all I could think about was showing Sarah the ring on my finger.

And besides, I had a question for her.

I found Sarah standing by the coffee machine, just as she always did first thing in the mornings. She didn’t see me at first; she wasn’t much of a morning person, and her eyes were half-closed. However, despite her sleepy appearance, I knew that her mind was racing with a million different work tasks.

Sarah and I were still working together on the pile of cases that had accumulated on our desks, but I was glad to have become partners. It was nice to work with a friend, someone who understood me and who could offer advice whenever I was stuck on a case—and vice versa.

“Good morning,” I said as I entered, causing Sarah’s eyes to snap open. “You look sleepy today.”

She smirked and rubbed her eyes. “Don’t I always?”

I laughed, but was already extending my hand before either of us spoke another word. “Look.”

Sarah glanced down at my hand, her eyes widening as they caught sight of the ring that was on my finger. “Oh my god, Ella! Is that—”

I couldn’t help but grin. “Yes,” I said, keeping my voice low so as not to cause a scene in the office. “Logan proposed.”

Sarah’s face spread into a grin of her own. She knew all about the mess Logan and I had gone through; when I had told her about the desert chase she was, of course, completely flabbergasted.

“Why does it always feel like you’re in a movie?” she had asked when I had told her weeks ago. “But I’m glad you’re okay. Both of you.”

When she had said that, it had made me realize just how absurd that whole experience had been. But thankfully, it was over now. At least, I hoped it was. “I could really use some peace and quiet now,” I had said.

“With Logan?” Sarah’s face had twitched into a smirk.

Her words made me blush. “Yes. With Logan.”

Now, as I showed her the ring on my finger, she rushed forward and pulled me into a tight hug. “Ella, I’m so happy for you,” she said as she squeezed me so tight I thought I might crack a rib. “When did this happen?”

“Yesterday,” I said with a chuckle. “We’re planning on having the wedding this summer.”

Sarah pulled away and shot me a quizzical look. “That’s not too soon for you?”

I shook my head. “We’re already marked, and we don’t want to wait,” I said.

Sarah nodded, smiling again. “Well,” she said, giving my arm a squeeze, “I’m really, truly happy for you. You two are finally getting your fairy tale ending.”

Her words made me let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. She was right; we were finally getting our fairy tale ending, after everything. It felt as if we had a whole lifetime of unending happiness ahead of us. Sure, maybe there would be some more hitches along the way, but I felt as though I was ready to face whatever obstacles came our way.

As we pulled apart, I took a deep breath, the next question sitting anxiously on the tip of my tongue. “And Sarah, there’s something else I wanted to ask you,” I said, nervously twirling the ring on my finger with my other hand.

“What’s up?” she asked, turning away to pour herself a cup of coffee.

I took a deep breath. “Would you... would you be one of my bridesmaids?”

Sarah whipped around so fast that I thought she might spill her coffee. “You’re serious?” she asked, her eyes widening.

I nodded. “Dead serious,” I said. “You’ve become one of my closest friends. I’d like you by my side when I get married.”

“Of course,” Sarah breathed without a moment of hesitation. “I’d love to be your bridesmaid. And whatever you need, I’m here to help. Always.”

Her words made my shoulders relax, and a smile spread across my face. After everything, it really did feel nice to finally have a friend here in this city. When I had moved here, I had never expected anything to play out the way it did.

But here I was, with a new life here—a career, a mate, and a best friend.

I couldn’t have been happier.

…

Sarah and I were in my office together, talking over some upcoming cases. “I’ll take the Hendricks case,” she said as she jotted some notes down in her binder. “And you said you wanted the Michaelson case?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Can I take the Warren case, too?”

As I spoke, Sarah lifted her gaze to meet mine and shot me a confused look. “The Warren case?” she asked. “That’s an unlawful arrest case. I thought you weren’t interested in that sort of stuff.”

Her words gave me a moment of pause, but I finally nodded. “I’ve actually been thinking of going down the public defender route,” I said. “I figured that the Warren case would be a good start.”

Her eyebrows raised in mild surprise as she set down her pent. “Really?” she asked. “That’s quite a shift from being a private attorney. It’s tough work, Ella, and not as lucrative.”

I nodded, fully aware of the challenges that lay ahead. “I know. But I’ve realized that it’s what I want to do. I want to help people, Sarah. Really help them, especially those who can’t afford it.”

For a moment, Sarah was quiet, and I thought she might try to talk me out of it. I was prepared to defend myself, though; I knew exactly how tough this path would be, but it just felt… right.

But then Sarah’s face shifted into a grin, and she leaned forward, leveling me with a bright-eyed gaze that spoke volumes. “That sounds great, Ella,” she said softly. “I think you’ll be really happy following your dreams.”

I couldn’t help but smile. I was just about to open my mouth to respond, but then Mr. Henderson’s voice suddenly cut through the silence, taking us both by surprise.

“Ms. Morgan, Ms. Thompson, my office. Now,” he said, his tone firm and leaving no room for argument. The last I saw of him was a flash of his suit jacket as he stormed away.

A knot formed in my stomach, a sense of dread washing over me. My mind raced to the worst-case scenario—he already knew about the debacle with Marina. He had seen the documents, listened to the stories, but he hadn’t said anything yet.

Had he made up his mind? Was he going to revoke my license for malpractice? More importantly, was Sarah going to get looped into this even though she had nothing to do with it?

“Woah,” Sarah whispered, standing shakily. “He seems like he’s in a bad mood.”

“Yeah. You can say that again.” I stood up, my hands clammy as I smoothed down my shirt. “Let’s go,” I said, trying to mask the tremor in my voice.

As we made our way to Mr. Henderson’s office, Sarah shot me a worried look. “Do you think this is about what happened?” she whispered.

“I don’t know,” I replied, my heart pounding against my ribcage. “But whatever it is, it’s not your fault, Sarah. I’ll make sure he knows that.”

We entered Mr. Henderson’s office, the atmosphere even more tense than usual. Mr. Henderson was sitting behind his desk, his expression unreadable as he glared at us both over the rim of his glasses.

“Sir,” I began almost immediately, “Sarah had nothing to do with—”

“Sit down. Both of you.”