“I'd almost forgotten what it was like to watch him lose it,” Marisa said. “But now it's all coming back to me.”

Liam put his arm around Lily's shoulders.

Edward's rage was so blatant, everyone saw it. Lily's stomach clenched. This is what Rose will face, she thought, if Edward wins today. She shook off her emotions and felt her spine stiffen.

“He called the press, but he didn't count on Marisa showing up,” Patrick said.

“Hello, everyone,” Lindsey Winship said, joining them.

“Lindsey,” Lily said, and began making introductions. She saved Marisa for last. “This is my wonderful friend Marisa Taylor. She came all the way down from Nova Scotia to show up today.”

“It's so good of you to be here,” Lindsey said warmly to Marisa. “He might easily deny the allegations of one woman—but your story will make that much more difficult.”

“I want to be called by my real name today,” Marisa said. “So he doesn't figure out my alias. I want to be able to leave again, and not have him find me and Jessica. So it's Patricia Hunter.”

“Patty,” Sam said, putting her arm around her sister's shoulders.

“Good idea, Patty,” Lindsey said, her eyes shining. “Although perhaps that won't be necessary.”

“Heads up,” Liam said, tightening his arm around Lily as Edward left his lawyer and walked over.

“Well,” Edward said sharply, looking back and forth between Lily and Marisa. “Isn't this something? You couldn't win on your own, Lily, so you had to get another liar to help you?”

Lily and Marisa faced him together, Liam, Patrick, and Sam standing right there. Lily didn't know what the judge would say, or what the reporters would report, but she knew in that moment that she was the most blessed person ever—to have such wonderful friends.

“We don't lie, Edward,” Lily said softly.

“No, Ted,” Marisa said. “And you, of all people, know that . . .”

“We were good and loving and true,” Lily whispered.

“And you just trashed them,” Sam said.

“You're deluded,” Edward said. “And I'm going to prove to the judge exactly that.”

Lily just shook her head. Standing in the courthouse corridor, she felt her strength building, as if every angel in her life had come to earth, to be with her now. Her father and mother were here. Liam's brother Connor . . .

Lily felt the courage of her convictions. She felt the warmth of her humanity, and her big, loving heart. She felt the energy of being a woman. She felt the tenderness of Liam's love for her, and hers for him. She felt the flow of friendships, some old, some new. She felt the respect of strangers—the reporters who had come to witness, and the marshals who guarded the courthouse. She felt the strength that came from being Rose's mother.