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Short filmTranscript
00:00When I found out Julian had extended his out-of-town project for another seven years,
00:04I didn't call. I didn't text.
00:06I left New York and traveled hours to reach his project site,
00:10only to be stopped at the gate by an older guard.
00:13Hello? Does Julian work here?
00:19What do you want with my son-in-law?
00:20The words hit me like a thunderclap.
00:22I told myself it was a coincidence.
00:25Relax, Mr. Miller.
00:26Everyone around here knows Julian is totally whipped.
00:29Other guys might mess around, but your son-in-law wouldn't dare.
00:32She's probably here on business from corporate.
00:35I kept my composure and pulled up a photo of Julian on my phone.
00:39I am here on business.
00:40Is this the Julian you're talking about?
00:42The old man relaxed.
00:44Yeah, that's him. That's my son-in-law.
00:47The blood in my veins froze.
00:49Before I could process a single word, a woman appeared, well-dressed, smiling.
00:55You here to talk business with my man?
00:59Come wait at our place.
01:01Our son's got a fever.
01:02He took him to the hospital in town.
01:04I stared at her.
01:05Thunderstruck.
01:06Barely able to breathe.
01:09I'm Julian's wife.
01:10Just call me Mia.
01:12She was warm and talkative,
01:13smile never leaving her face.
01:15There's nothing but rough guys around here,
01:17and half of them don't know how to act.
01:20A woman shouldn't be standing around alone out here.
01:23Come on back to the house.
01:24He'll be a while.
01:25And I followed her.
01:27I watched her as we walked.
01:28Her foundation was uneven,
01:30powder caked at her eye corners,
01:32but she was clearly over ten years younger than Julian,
01:35who'd just turned thirty-seven.
01:37Lord, you women from New York really are something else.
01:42Look at that skin.
01:45Smooth as a baby's bottom.
01:48Her eyes were full of admiration.
01:50My man's got skin just like yours.
01:52All soft and clear.
01:53She laughed.
01:53You city girls really do have it all.
01:55I forced a smile.
01:56She wasn't wrong.
01:58Julian and I both had good skin.
02:00I was older than Mia by a fair margin,
02:02but I'd taken care of myself.
02:04I still looked like I was in my mid-twenties.
02:06No one would guess I'd been married for twelve years.
02:09But what did any of that matter?
02:11I had a career, raised our son,
02:13cared for his parents,
02:14and handled everything alone.
02:16But my husband still built an entirely different life
02:18here behind my back.
02:20Mia talked the whole way.
02:21She didn't seem to need a response.
02:23At some point,
02:24a couple on a motorcycle slowed as they passed up.
02:26The woman on the back held out a small paper bag.
02:29Your man thinks of everything,
02:31takes the kid to the doctor,
02:32and still remembers you wanted roasted peanuts,
02:34asked me to drop these off.
02:35He worries too much.
02:37Your husband really does take care of you.
02:39That man does whatever she says,
02:41no questions asked.
02:42Doesn't matter how tough he acts out here,
02:44one look for Mia and he folds.
02:46One tear and he's completely hers.
02:47Oh, stop it.
02:48A bitter ache welled up inside me.
02:50My husband,
02:52the man who spent twelve years
02:53talking to me about equality,
02:55respect, and partnership.
02:57That man had come out here
02:58and willingly turned himself
03:00into another woman's lapdog.
03:02Mia's house stopped me in my track.
03:09My man built it.
03:10Nobody else around here has anything like it.
03:14And he's the first guy in town
03:16to move in with his wife's family.
03:18Takes care of my parents
03:19like they're his own.
03:23Moved in with her family.
03:25The moment I stepped into the living room,
03:27I saw it.
03:28We had a photo just like it.
03:30Only ours had just three people,
03:32no daughter.
03:33The year Julian first left for this project.
03:37Two years max.
03:38I'll get transferred back.
03:40And when I do,
03:41if you want,
03:42we'll try for a second baby.
03:45After that,
03:46we'll never be apart again.
03:49Two years turned into seven.
03:51He came home for a few days every Christmas,
03:53and that was it.
03:57Last year,
03:58while he was back for the holidays,
03:59I casually said
04:00I still wished we'd had a daughter.
04:02Honestly,
04:03with the way things are,
04:04smart people aren't having more kids.
04:07One's enough.
04:09Why put yourself through it?
04:11I thought he'd simply changed his mind.
04:13Turns out he already had his daughter.
04:15He just hadn't had her with me.
04:18We've got Wi-Fi.
04:21Password's 990913.
04:25Something jolted in my chest.
04:27Dot Julian had told me
04:28there was no reliable internet signal out here.
04:31That was why I could never reach him directly.
04:33He always had to be the one
04:35to contact me first.
04:36I connected to the network.
04:39Full bars.
04:40One lie after another.
04:41Each one like a knife sinking in deep.
04:44You two seem really happy.
04:45Does it worry you
04:46that he might get transferred back to New York someday?
04:48Not really.
04:49Between us,
04:50they almost called him back earlier this year.
04:51My chest tightened.
04:53He used every favor he had just to stay.
04:54My heart dropped.
04:56It wasn't the company keeping him here.
04:58He'd asked to stay.
04:59He'd fought to stay.
05:01He'd done that
05:02knowing his mother had suffered a stroke
05:04and couldn't care for herself.
05:05He'd done that
05:06knowing his father had broken his leg in a fall
05:09and needed help.
05:10He'd done that knowing our son had cried
05:12over and over about missing his father.
05:15He'd done that knowing
05:16I'd been worn down by work and family
05:18until I'd ended up in the hospital more than once.
05:21And he'd stayed anyway dot comfortably dot
05:24a thousand miles away.
05:29A chill ran through me.
05:31My shoulders trembling slightly.
05:33Mia crossed the room
05:34and switched on the air conditioning
05:35thinking I was cold.
05:37It'll warm up in a minute.
05:39My man got me a good one.
05:40A big brand name.
05:42Didn't even blink at the price.
05:47Nobody else in town has one.
05:49I didn't even want it.
05:51I told him it was too much.
05:53But he insisted.
05:55Said he was worried I'd be cold in the winter.
05:57I kept the smile on my face.
05:59He's quite a bit older than you.
06:01I said.
06:02Is this his second marriage?
06:03Ten years older.
06:05We're both getting married for the first time.
06:07Mia smiled.
06:08I'm the lucky one.
06:10A girl like me barely finished high school.
06:12Ending up with a man
06:14who has a master's degree.
06:17He's the project manager for the whole development.
06:21Basically second in command under the owner.
06:23I never imagined I'd end up married to someone like that.
06:26He says meeting me
06:28was the best thing that ever happened to him.
06:30The age gap's a good thing, honestly.
06:32Older men know how to take care of you.
06:34He's responsible at work
06:36and at home
06:37every paycheck goes straight to me.
06:40I give him a little spending money
06:41and that's it.
06:42Bitterness welled up in my chest.
06:44For years Julian had been sending money
06:46back to our joint account every month.
06:48Only left $1,000 for himself.
06:50He told me his housing and meals were covered
06:52that he barely spent anything out here.
06:55I had a college roommate
06:56who worked in his company's payroll department.
06:59Years ago
06:59I'd quietly checked his monthly salary
07:02once $11,000
07:03and let myself be believe him.
07:05I didn't believe him anymore.
07:07He takes good care of the whole family.
07:10God, yes!
07:11She gestured around the room.
07:13My mom has a bad back.
07:15He bought her that massage chair without blinking.
07:17My dad likes his whiskey
07:19so Julian keeps cases of the good stuff stocked for him
07:22and he gives me a separate allowance every month
07:25for whatever I want.
07:28I heard it
07:29and I knew
07:30Julian had been taking bribe.
07:32The bitterness turned colder
07:33not just for myself
07:34but for his parents
07:36who had no idea.
07:38Three months ago
07:39his mother had nearly died.
07:41A severe stroke.
07:43Julian, please.
07:46She's in critical condition.
07:48She keeps asking for you.
07:49Please come home.
07:50I'm so sorry, Chloe.
07:51The project is at a critical stage right now.
07:54I really can't leave.
07:55She'll be okay.
07:56So many nights like that
07:57his phone unanswered
07:59or always some excuse
08:00he couldn't come.
08:01He never came back.
08:03He ignored his own family
08:04his parents
08:05his son
08:06and the whole time
08:08he was here being a good husband
08:09a good father
08:11a good son-in-law.
08:13The irony was sickening.
08:15Mia's phone rang.
08:16She didn't step away
08:17or lower her voice.
08:18She just answered it right there.
08:20Hey, baby.
08:21Close enough that I heard every word.
08:23Julian's voice.
08:24The same warm tone
08:26he used to use with me.
08:27Our son still hasn't broken his fever.
08:29The doctor wants to keep him overnight.
08:31I'm a little short on cash.
08:33Can you transfer me some?
08:34$300 should cover it.
08:36Of course.
08:37I'll send it now.
08:38I laughed inwardly.
08:40The devoted family husband.
08:42Then Julian's voice softened.
08:44I can't hold you tonight, baby.
08:46Stay warm, okay?
08:47Don't kick off the blankets.
08:49One day away from you
08:50and I already feel off.
08:51Those words stabbed at my chest
08:53like sharp blades.
08:5412 years of marriage
08:56and the last time he'd said anything like that to me
08:58felt like a lifetime ago.
09:00These days,
09:01he didn't even show that warmth
09:03toward our own son.
09:04Time had turned us an old married couple
09:06in name only.
09:14I just realized I never asked your name.
09:17Chloe.
09:19What a pretty name.
09:20She was as cheerful as ever.
09:22Even now,
09:23I was still giving her the benefit of the doubt.
09:26There was a good chance she had no idea
09:28that she was just as deceived as I was.
09:32Since Julian won't be back tonight,
09:35why don't you just stay?
09:37You can talk to him about the work stuff tomorrow.
09:40That evening,
09:42Mia cooked a full dinner,
09:44a proper, generous spread.
09:45I met their daughter for the first time.
09:47She had Julian's eyes.
09:49Mr. and Mrs. Miller were polite to me,
09:51but barely.
09:53There was a wariness in their gaze that I noticed,
09:55but didn't mention.
09:56At the table,
09:57the conversation kept circling back to Julian.
10:00The way they talked about him,
10:02he wasn't a son-in-law.
10:03He was their son.
10:04Mia was an only child.
10:06In a town like this,
10:07that had always meant something for her parents.
10:09They'd spent their whole lives
10:11looked down on for not having a son.
10:14Then Julian arrived,
10:15moved in,
10:16supported the whole family,
10:17treated them like his own.
10:19And for the first time,
10:20they held their heads up.
10:22Julian is the rock of this family.
10:26We can't do without him.
10:28Something stuck in my throat.
10:30Like a thorn I couldn't pull out.
10:32The rock of our family,
10:34gone for seven years,
10:35had been holding up someone else's family all along.
10:39Mia put me in the guest room for the night.
10:42After the lights went out,
10:43I lay awake,
10:44unable to sleep.
10:46Through the wall,
10:47I could hear Mr. and Mrs. Miller
10:49talking quietly for a long time.
10:52I made two decisions.
10:54I filed a report,
10:55with documentation,
10:56with proof,
10:57to Julian's corporate headquarters.
10:59Then,
11:00I texted my brother.
11:01He was a police officer.
11:03I'm going to need you to make an arrest.
11:04Neither decision felt satisfying.
11:06But both were right.
11:08Justice for my life.
11:09A consequence he'd earned.
11:11The next morning,
11:13It's cold and you're not dressed for it.
11:15Um,
11:16my man just bought this for me.
11:18Only been washed once,
11:19never worn.
11:20A designer label I'd spent an entire winter eyeing.
11:23Adding to my cart,
11:24removing it,
11:25telling myself there were more important things to spend money on.
11:28Parents to care for,
11:30a son to raise.
11:31I used to say things like that to Julian.
11:33Other husbands buy their wives things.
11:35In all these years,
11:36you've never once picked something out for me.
11:38In all these years,
11:39he always had the same answer.
11:41Calm and easy.
11:42The money's yours.
11:43Buy whatever you want.
11:45I wouldn't know what to choose anyway.
11:47I'm no good with that kind of thing.
11:50He wasn't no good.
11:52He just didn't care enough to try.
11:54Not for me.
11:55Thank you so much.
11:56It was beautiful.
11:58It was warm.
11:59Mia blinked.
12:00A flash of surprise crossing her face.
12:02She'd clearly expected me to refuse politely.
12:05At breakfast,
12:06she was back to her usual self.
12:08Cheerful.
12:09Talkative.
12:10Dropping Julian's name into every other sentence.
12:12She asked me questions too.
12:14What was New York like?
12:15What did I do for work?
12:17At one point,
12:18she looked at me and asked,
12:19Are you happy?
12:20It's fine.
12:21My husband just isn't as attentive as yours.
12:24She smiled widely at that.
12:26Then just before noon,
12:28the front door swung open.
12:30Honey, I'm home.
12:31Julian's voice filled the house.
12:33He walked in,
12:34carrying their five-year-old son.
12:36The moment his eyes landed on me,
12:38he went rigid.
12:39I looked at him steadily.
12:40Which honey are you talking to?
12:42Exactly.
12:45Julian's face locked up.
12:46He stood there,
12:47holding the boy and said absolutely nothing.
12:49I held his gaze.
12:51My eyes said everything I didn't speak aloud.
12:54Why?
12:54How could you?
12:55Do you have any idea what you've done to your son?
12:58To your parents?
12:59He was an only child.
13:01His whole life,
13:02they had sacrificed everything for him.
13:04And he had walked away from all of it
13:06and quietly become the son of someone else's family.
13:10I would never understand it.
13:11I would never forgive it.
13:13Mia broke first.
13:15I...
13:16I...
13:18What...
13:18What...
13:19What does that mean?
13:20She grabbed my arm,
13:21then turned to Julian.
13:22Julian?
13:23Julian, look at me.
13:25What is going on?
13:27I...
13:27I don't understand.
13:28Why...
13:29Why would she call you that?
13:31Why is she calling you that?
13:32The paralysis broke from Julian's face.
13:35He quickly set the boy down.
13:36He took a few steps forward,
13:38then stopped.
13:39Caught exactly halfway between us,
13:41unable to choose a direction.
13:43I'll explain everything.
13:45Explain what?
13:47That our 12-year marriage is nothing but an empty shell?
13:50That you have no parents?
13:51No son?
13:52Or that you,
13:53a married man,
13:54have been living out here as another woman's husband,
13:55and you're ready to file for divorce
13:57so she can finally have your last name?
13:58Every word landed.
14:00He had no answer.
14:01He looked like a man caught with nowhere to run.
14:04I know I don't deserve forgiveness.
14:06He finally said.
14:07I'm sorry.
14:08Mia fell apart.
14:09Sorry?
14:10What does that mean for me?
14:12She was crying now, fully.
14:13You said I was everything to you.
14:15You said I was your life.
14:17Say something.
14:17Tell me what's happening right now.
14:19And then Julian turned away from me
14:21and moved to pull her into his arms.
14:23My heart was bleeding.
14:24Fury rose through me.
14:26Then what are you saying?
14:27I demanded.
14:28He let go of her.
14:29He didn't dare hold her again.
14:31He stood there looking cornered,
14:33miserable,
14:34caught between two directions
14:35with no good move left.
14:37In the silence,
14:38my phone rang.
14:39Julian's father.
14:40A video call.
14:42I answered without hesitating
14:43and switched to the rear camera.
14:45Have you found Julian yet?
14:46The old man's voice was full of hope.
14:48He hadn't seen his son in almost two years.
14:50I walked the phone slowly across the living room
14:52until the camera landed on the family portrait on the wall.
14:56All six of them, all smiling.
14:57Found him.
14:59Along with his new wife.
15:01His new son.
15:03His new daughter.
15:04His new family.
15:07This is other home.
15:09He moved in with her family.
15:11He's been taking care of them for years.
15:14I heard my father-in-law's sharp intake of breath.
15:16For a moment, he was too furious.
15:17To speak, I turned the camera to Julian and Mia.
15:20Dad, meet the new family.
15:25Julian, is this what you've been doing?
15:28This.
15:28You have no regard for your mother and me.
15:31No regard for your wife and son.
15:33Are you trying to put me in the grave?
15:36Turn it off.
15:37Stop filming.
15:38Just stop.
15:40I no longer have a son.
15:44Do you hear me?
15:46I have no son.
15:48In the middle of it all, Mr. and Mrs. Miller walked through the front door.
15:51The moment Mr. and Mrs. Miller understood who I was.
15:55If Julian chose to marry my daughter and have children with her,
16:00that tells you everything about where he stands,
16:03end it clean and move on.
16:06We're not giving him up.
16:08I've treated Julian like my own son from the day he walked into this house.
16:13He and Mia love each other.
16:14That's not going to change.
16:16And what do you say?
16:18He had been staring at the floor.
16:19When my eyes finally forced his head up, he hesitated, then asked me slowly,
16:24Do you still want me back?
16:26Before I could answer, Mia flew across the room.
16:29She dropped to the floor in front of him and grabbed his collar.
16:33What kind of question is that?
16:34If she still wants you, does that mean you'll throw me away?
16:37Julian, if you dare leave this family, I'll take the kids and end it all.
16:41I mean it.
16:42She gave you one child.
16:44I gave you two.
16:46I have given you more.
16:48You can't just-
16:48Julian pulled her up and tried to calm her.
16:50I just need to know what she-
16:54I laughed hollowly to myself.
16:56Then deliberately I said-
16:57I want you to come home.
16:58Cut everything here off.
17:00For good.
17:01I knew exactly what he was doing.
17:02He was waiting for me to make the choice for him.
17:04Sure that someone like me, with my standards, would never accept a man who had done this.
17:09He expected me to say-
17:10I want a divorce!
17:11...and hand him his exit.
17:13When I didn't, surprise flickered across his face.
17:15Even a trace of disappointment.
17:17I stared at him.
17:17Now it's your turn to choose.
17:19His lips moved.
17:20Nothing came out.
17:21Mia shook him by the arm, crying.
17:22Say something!
17:23You said I'm the love of your life!
17:25You said you'd grow old with me!
17:26Say it to her face!
17:27Julian had no choice.
17:28He looked at me with pleading eyes.
17:31Could we...
17:32just keep things the way they are?
17:35The way they are?
17:36I stared at him, cold.
17:37He wanted to keep both of us.
17:39My look made him too ashamed to repeat himself.
17:41You stay out here and keep playing husband?
17:43I go back to New York?
17:44Take care of your parents?
17:45Raise our son alone?
17:46Run your whole life from the background?
17:48Enjoy this one?
17:49He had nothing to say, but I could see it in his face.
17:52That was exactly what he'd hoped for.
17:54Mia grabbed his arm again, sobbing.
17:55If you don't choose this family, I'll take these kids and die in front of you.
18:00You promised me we'd grow old together.
18:04You can't abandon us.
18:06She pulled both children over to her, crying.
18:08I'm understanding it.
18:12Ask your daddy, she said to them.
18:15Ask him if he's going to keep you.
18:17The two children didn't understand what was happening.
18:19But seeing Mia cry, they cried too, crowding into Julian's arms.
18:23Daddy, please don't leave us.
18:25Daddy, mommy's crying.
18:27You always said you can't stand to see mommy cry, please.
18:30Julian finally broke.
18:31He pulled all three of them into his arms.
18:34His eyes went red.
18:35Then he looked at me.
18:35He had made his decision.
18:39Chloe, I'm sorry.
18:41I know you can manage on your own.
18:43I know you'll be okay.
18:45She can't.
18:47She has nothing without me.
18:48He glanced at Mia and the children, then back at me.
18:53Take everything in the house.
18:54I won't fight you for custody.
18:56But this is the choice I have to make.
19:01I'm asking you to let us go.
19:03I laughed, not from humor, from the absurdity of what I was hearing.
19:08She's the one to be pitied?
19:10What about your mother, who had a stroke and can't care for herself, who wants nothing more
19:15than to see her own son?
19:16What about your father, who broke his leg and needed you home and never once said a word
19:20about the fact that you didn't come?
19:22What about your son, who gets mocked at school for not having a father around,
19:26who has cried more times than I can count?
19:28As I spoke, tears fell from my eyes.
19:31Not for him.
19:32Never again for him.
19:33Only because a man like this was never worth everything our family had given him.
19:38Julian stood there in silence.
19:40Shame was written across his entire face.
19:42Mia filled the gap.
19:44Don't worry.
19:44I'll bring his parents here.
19:46I'll take care of them myself.
19:48You don't need to concern yourself with any of it.
19:50Then her eyes hardened.
19:52And you?
19:53You knew who I was from the very beginning, didn't you?
19:55You sat there and let me talk and talk and you were just collecting evidence.
19:59I smiled at her.
20:01The temptions.
20:02Then I called Julian's parents back right there and told her, in front of everyone,
20:07what your marriage is.
20:08His mother's voice shook her very well.
20:10If you divorce Chloe, you're not my son.
20:13Do you understand me?
20:14While you were gone, she gave everything to this family, to us.
20:18And you want to throw her away?
20:19I will never accept that woman.
20:20And those children, I don't know them and I never will.
20:23Julian's father said the same.
20:25Mia broke down crying.
20:27Julian was at his breaking point.
20:29I ended the call.
20:31He wiped his eyes, couldn't look at me, and finally said,
20:34Chloe, I have no right to ask anything of you.
20:38But name your terms.
20:40Whatever I can give you, I will.
20:42Mia knelt down in front of me.
20:48Please.
20:51Please.
20:53You're educated, you're capable, you're beautiful.
20:56You'll find someone better than him.
21:00I can't.
21:02He is all I have.
21:03She pulled both children over.
21:10Kneel down.
21:14Ask her to let your daddy stay.
21:16Two small faces turned up toward me.
21:18Please, madam, don't take our daddy.
21:20Our family needs a daddy, otherwise it won't be whole.
21:25She was using the children to work on my conscience.
21:27Anger surged through me.
21:28Your children need a father, and mine doesn't.
21:32Your child is older.
21:34Mine are still small.
21:35I laughed and stood up from the couch.
21:42The truth is, none of these children, yours or mine,
21:47will have a father from here on out.
21:49Both Julian and Mia looked up sharply, not understanding.
21:52Not until my brother walked through the door,
21:54with local police officers behind him,
21:56and Julian's boss and two company directors right after.
22:00Only then did Julian understand.
22:01I had never intended to give him a choice,
22:03and I was certainly not going to let them walk away clean.
22:06The sight of so many strangers sent both children into tears.
22:10An officer quietly asked Mrs. Miller to take them to another room.
22:13Julian stood still, calm, as if he had always known this day would come.
22:18Mia was anything but.
22:20What is this?
22:22Hides!
22:23You have no right to come in here and take my husband!
22:26When no one responded to her satisfaction, she turned all of it on me.
22:31Her pointing finger trembled.
22:33You call yourself a decent person?
22:35He already told you, you can have everything.
22:39What more do you want from him?
22:41He's your son's father.
22:43How can you be this heartless?
22:46Julian touched her arm.
22:47Stop.
22:48She didn't stop.
22:49I looked at her and said plainly,
22:51everything you've been wearing, living in, eating.
22:54That money didn't just come out of my pocket.
22:56It was dirty.
22:57It came from fraud and corruption.
22:59You told me yourself what he was giving you every month.
23:04That figure is exactly what I used as evidence.
23:07You handed it to me yourself.
23:09Julian turned to stone.
23:10His boss stepped forward.
23:11His disappointment total.
23:13I trusted you with this entire project.
23:16Bribery, kickbacks, substandard materials, embezzlement of public funds.
23:23I gave you everything and this is what you did with it.
23:27Julian kept his eyes on the floor and said nothing.
23:30Mia spun toward the officers and grabbed one by the arm.
23:33We'll pay it all back.
23:35Every cent.
23:36Just please, he's a father.
23:39We have children.
23:41Please, give him one more chance.
23:44Ma'am.
23:45The officer's voice was firm.
23:47This is a criminal investigation.
23:49Repayment is not the issue.
23:51And while that's being sorted out,
23:53Mia, you should probably find yourself a lawyer.
23:55What you and Julian have constitutes bigamy.
23:57That's a separate charge.
23:59She went white.
24:00Julian finally looked up.
24:01His control snapped.
24:02Everything I did, I'll take responsibility for all of it.
24:05But she had nothing to do with any of it.
24:06She didn't know.
24:08Why are you going after her?
24:09I smiled, cold and contemptuous.
24:11Inside, the hatred was overwhelming enough that I wanted to strike him across the face.
24:15And then, right at the peak of it, I felt it all drain away into something vast and empty.
24:21None of this is worth anything.
24:23She didn't know?
24:24I said.
24:25She knew I was your wife.
24:28She brought me home deliberately to force the confrontation.
24:31To pressure you into a divorce.
24:34And if she hadn't bragged about the 50,000 a month.
24:40I wouldn't have had the evidence I needed.
24:44Julian stared at Mia, stunned, demanding the truth.
24:47Mia shook her head frantically.
24:49I didn't know she was going to report you.
24:52I never thought she would.
24:54I played a recording.
24:56Julian's face drained of color at the first two sentences.
24:59Julian's gonna have to go back and deal with his wife eventually.
25:02Even if he drags his feet, Mia will raise hell until he files.
25:06She's not the type to share.
25:08Look at that woman.
25:09She sat here and took it all without a word.
25:12Either she has no backbone, or she's playing a very long game.
25:16Oh, she's playing a game.
25:18But it won't matter.
25:20Julian has no feelings for her anymore.
25:23Mia just has to cry and he'll sign the papers.
25:26You know why Mia brought her home, right?
25:28To light the fuse herself.
25:30Julian's expression moved from shock to disbelief,
25:33to a deep, exhausted disappointment.
25:35He looked at Mia.
25:37So you knew all along that I was married.
25:40You brought her here on purpose.
25:42To force my hand.
25:44Mia couldn't argue her way out of it.
25:46She broke down and admitted it through tears.
25:48I just wanted you to belong to me completely.
25:51What's wrong with that?
25:52I never thought she'd go this far.
25:54I never thought she'd actually.
25:58Mr. Miller, who had said nothing and immediately began deflecting blame.
26:02If you weren't so spinless and indecisive, none of this would have happened.
26:07Now you've brought this on yourself.
26:09What happens to the children?
26:12What happens to Mia?
26:14What are we supposed to do?
26:17How do we ever show our faces around here again?
26:20As he laughed, tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.
26:23His face was full of helpless, exhausted disbelief at how stupid Mia had been.
26:28For a moment, he genuinely didn't know who to blame.
26:32He kept his head down the entire walk to the police car.
26:35Outside, people had gathered.
26:37Then more from neighboring streets.
26:39He brought them there to see the most famously devoted husband in town taken away.
26:44And his wife back in New York is beautiful, educated, a professor, I heard.
26:49And he threw all of that away for this.
26:51Men are never satisfied.
26:53Doesn't matter how good things are at home.
26:54Something Mia said.
26:56Never questioned her once.
26:58And he was rotten the whole time.
27:01Not knew he was married.
27:03Brought his wife here himself to force a divorce.
27:07Backfired, didn't it?
27:09Tried to steal another woman's husband.
27:12Burned her own life down.
27:14The police car door, Julian stopped.
27:16He turned and found me in the crowd.
27:18Take care of yourself.
27:19I'm sorry, Chloe.
27:22Find someone who deserves you.
27:24I looked at him.
27:24I said nothing.
27:25He got in.
27:27Mia ran after the car.
27:28Stumbling.
27:29Falling.
27:30Picking herself up and running again.
27:32Pounding on the windows, screaming his name.
27:35Until it turned the corner and disappeared.
27:38She came back and collapsed at my feet.
27:42She was on her knees in front of everyone.
27:44Past caring who saw.
27:46Please.
27:47Please help him.
27:48You're educated.
27:50You understand how this works better than I do.
27:52I don't care about anything else anymore.
27:54I just need him not to go to prison.
27:56She held onto the hem of my coat.
27:57Believe me or don't.
27:59But I did love him.
28:01That part was real.
28:02I looked at her calmly.
28:04The hatred I had carried into this situation was gone.
28:07She kept going.
28:09Her voice breaking.
28:10I genuinely didn't know he was married when we first got together.
28:13I found out when our son was almost a year old.
28:16I found a photo of you on his phone.
28:18By then I was already in too deep.
28:21The children, this house, my parents.
28:23We were all depending on him.
28:25I didn't know what to do.
28:29I know nothing I say matters now.
28:32I'm only asking if there's anything you can do.
28:37She didn't get up.
28:38She just stayed there on the ground.
28:40In front of everyone.
28:42Her hand clutching my coat.
28:44Not caring about the stairs.
28:46I reached down and removed her hand.
28:48I looked at her.
28:50You know what your tears mean to me?
28:53I said quietly.
28:56Crocodile tears.
28:58She blinked up at me.
29:00Then she folded over and wept into the ground.
29:02And I walked away.
29:04I did not soften.
29:05I pressed forward with every charge.
29:07Including bigamy.
29:09Julian's parents never blamed me.
29:11They supported every decision I made.
29:13My son did not take it well.
29:15He spent months in therapy.
29:16Struggling to accept that his father had another family out there.
29:20Other children.
29:21Living a parallel life.
29:23It took a long time.
29:24Six months later, Mia was sentenced to one year for bigamy.
29:28Julian's sentencing came three months after that.
29:31The court found that he had embezzled nearly 97 million.
29:35Taken over 10 million in bribes.
29:37Paid out 60 million in kickbacks.
29:39Misused 20 million in public funds.
29:41Violated construction regulations and committed bigamy.
29:44Multiple charges.
29:46Concurrent sentencing.
29:4711 years.
29:48He asked to see me the day he was taken in.
29:51I didn't go.
29:52I sent my lawyer to handle the divorce.
29:54Julian's parents were good to me and my son until the end.
29:57Before they passed.
29:59They transferred both of their properties into my son's name.
30:02And left everything they had to us.
30:03I kept my promise to them regardless.
30:05I cared for them.
30:06And I was there when they left.
30:08In the seventh year of Julian's sentence.
30:10They both passed.
30:11His mother went first.
30:13Another stroke.
30:14Too severe to.
30:15His father followed the next day.
30:17They had been devoted to each other their entire lives.
30:20He simply could not face a mourning without her.
30:22I arranged a proper funeral for both of them.
30:25I had my lawyer notify Julian.
30:27He sent back one message through the attorney.
30:30Can I see you?
30:31I didn't respond.
30:32My son was accepted to an Ivy League school the following year.
30:36That, more than anything, let me breathe.
30:38I heard Mia remarried about three years after her release.
30:42A divorced man with two children of his own.
30:44She moved on.
30:46I moved on too.
30:47My son played matchmaker.
30:49He introduced me to the single father of one of his college friends.
30:53By then I wasn't looking for anything grand.
30:55What I found instead was someone steady.
30:58Someone present.
30:59Someone who picked up when I called.
31:01We agreed from the start.
31:02No children together.
31:04We weren't starting over from scratch.
31:06We were two people who chose to share the rest of the road.
31:10Three years into that marriage, Julian was released.
31:13He came to find me.
31:14Eleven years had not been kind to him.
31:16He looked far older than a man his age should.
31:19Worn down.
31:20Diminished.
31:21Nothing left of the confidence he used to carry.
31:24He stood at my door and asked, quietly,
31:26Chloe, is there any way I could come home?
31:30I looked at him.
31:31I took your advice.
31:35I found someone good.
31:36I married him.
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