Now and Forever by Danielle Steel

The excerpts center on Jessica and Ian Clarke, navigating the fallout of Ian's arrest and subsequent trial for rape and assault involving a woman named Margaret Burton. While Ian insists the encounter was consensual, Jessica faces immense stress, draining her savings to pay Martin Schwartz, their attorney, and dealing with the bail bondsman Barry York, as well as the relentless Inspector Houghton. The strain on their marriage is evident as Jessica deals with the emotional toll, while Ian grapples with his writing career and reliance on his wife's income from her boutique, Lady J. Ultimately, Ian is convicted and imprisoned, leading Jessica to seek emotional distance by selling her shop to her friend Astrid Bonner, and moving to a ranch where she considers divorce and begins a tentative relationship with Geoffrey Bates, before finally reconciling with Ian and expressing her renewed commitment and desire to start a family with him.