The Verdict on My Husband the Judge: GUILTY novel Chapter 21

Chapter 5

Watching Sander fuss over me with that anxious energy, I couldn’t help but smile.

The moment I did, I froze.

Ever since I’d married Theo and endured all those hopeless, hollow disappointments, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d smiled like this–freely, without any shadow hanging over it.

The realization stirred something complicated in my chest.

Sander caught the shift in my mood immediately. “Jules?”

I shook my head to show I was fine.

It was just that thinking about how he’d spent years dressed as a girl to make his grandparents happy struck me as absurdly funny.

Sander’s grandparents had only one regret in life–they’d had just one son, Sander’s father, and never got the sweet little daughter they’d dreamed of doting on.

They’d hoped for a granddaughter at least, but Sander’s mother had health complications and could only manage one pregnancy before the doctors said no more.

The extended family wasn’t any help either. It was like some cosmic joke–every branch of the Blackwood family tree produced nothing but boys.

It became a sore spot for Sander’s grandparents, who’d clutch their heads dramatically whenever they saw another baby boy.

So the youngest, Sander, got talked into wearing dresses by his parents and older cousins and was sent to live with his grandparents in Santa Fe for five years, playing the part of their precious granddaughter with his androgynous features that fooled everyone in that small town, including His aging grandparents whose eyesight wasn’t what it

used to be.

They genuinely believed their son had given them a second child–a little girl this time–and were over the moon about it.

My family lived right next door to the Blackwoods.

Little Sander got the full princess treatment from his grand other–long black hair styled in elaborate braids that changed daily, frilly dresses in every color imaginable, neve repeating.

His parents coached him to stay quiet and maintain an air of delicate refinement, mostly so he wouldn’t talk enough to give himself away.

But Sander took it dead seriously and kept his lips pressed together with this haughty expression that scared off most The Verdict on My Husband the Judge: GUILTY

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Chapter 5

of the other kids who were curious about the pretty new girl in town.

I was different though, because my parents raised me like a boy. I climbed trees, caught fish in the creek, caused general mayhem–basically the neighborhood terror.

Some of the local boys had crushes on little Sander but were too chicken to approach, so they sent me in as a spy to scope things out.

And then I switched sides completely.

I started copying his quiet, graceful manners while he learned to climb and roughhouse from me.

The other kids called us traitors and excluded us both.

We became inseparable for five years, right up until his grandparents passed away one after the other.

Sander’s parents showed up without warning and whisked him away.

Not long after, my family moved too.

I thought I’d never see Sander again, but turns out the world’s smaller than you think.

Not only had we known each other all along, but he’d apparently changed genders and become a living legend.

“The infamous Lysander Blackwood, the man who makes Boston’s elite go silent, known for his brutal methods and dangerous tastes. They say he’s got a thing for blood and violence, never sleeps with the same woman twice.”

“Every woman he sets his sights on ends up in his bed, and by morning she’s either broken beyond recognition or completely out of her mind. His name became taboo in certain circles–the mysterious figure no one dared mention

out loud-”

Sander finally realized what I was saying and slapped his hand over my mouth.

“Would you just stop? You’re supposed to be recovering.”

The second he let go, I burst out laughing.

“Can you imagine? The legendary Lysander Blackwood… nickname Sander… running around in dresses for five years-”

The nearby doctor stiffened, but Sander’s sharp glare sent him scuttling back to work.

Sander’s gaze softened on me, helpless but tender in a way ouldn’t read. My laughter caught in my throat.

Maybe it was relief–seeing someone from home after all these years always made me act like my old self.

I cleared my throat, trying to sound casual. “So…. those rumors about you obviously aren’t true. But why make

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Chapter 5

yourself sound so terrifying?”

“Seriously, just hearing that reputation, I never would’ve guessed it was you.”

He sighed, shoulders heavy. “You know my family–every cousin is a softie. I used to be the same. But the Blackwoods are too big, too wealthy. If no one projected strength, we’d be easy targets.”

I remembered little Sander crying for days over the chickens and fish he’d been playing with.

“So… that’s why they picked you for the job?” I asked, grinning.

He nodded. “They wanted someone strong. Someone who could scare people off. Unlike me, most of them already had someone they loved… but what if the bad reputation kept others away?”

“Someone you loved?” I blurted. “Who?”

His eyes flickered, but before he could answer, there was a knock.

“Sir, Theo Harrington’s downstairs. He says he’s here to take his wife home.”

I glanced out the window. Dawn had already broken.

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