- 4 hours ago
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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 left New York and traveled hours to reach his project site,
00:08only to be stopped at the gate by an older guard.
00:10Hello, does Julian work here?
00:12What do you want with my son-in-law?
00:14The words hit me like a thunderclap.
00:16I told myself it was a coincidence.
00:18Same name, different man.
00:19Relax, Mr. Miller.
00:21Everyone around here knows Julian is totally whipped.
00:24She's probably here on business from corporate.
00:26I kept my composure and pulled up a photo of Julian on my phone.
00:29I am here on business.
00:30Is this the Julian you're talking about?
00:32The old man relaxed.
00:34Yeah, that's him.
00:35That's my son-in-law.
00:37The blood in my veins froze.
00:39Before I could process a single word, a woman appeared, well-dressed, smiling.
00:43You here to talk business with my man?
00:45She asked cheerfully.
00:47Come wait at our place.
00:48Our son's got a fever.
00:49He took him to the hospital in town.
00:51I stared at her, thunderstruck, barely able to breathe.
00:56She noticed I wasn't moving and waved me over.
00:58I'm Julian's wife, Mia.
01:00Just call me Mia.
01:01She was warm and talkative, smile never leaving her face.
01:04There's nothing but rough guys around here, and half of them don't know how to act.
01:08A woman shouldn't be standing around alone out here.
01:10Come on back to the house.
01:12He'll be a while.
01:12She reached out and touched my arm, and I followed her.
01:15I watched her as we walked.
01:17She looked more than 10 years younger than Julian.
01:19Lord, you women from New York really are something else.
01:22Look at that skin.
01:23Smooth as a peeled egg.
01:25My man's got skin just like yours, all soft and clear.
01:28I forced a smile.
01:30Julian and I both had good skin.
01:32I was older than Mia by a fair margin, but I'd taken care of myself.
01:36I still looked like I was in my mid-20s.
01:38No one would guess I'd been married for 12 years.
01:40But what did any of that matter?
01:42I had a career, raised our son, looked after his parents, managed everything on my own.
01:47And my husband had still gone and built an entirely different life out here behind my back.
01:52Mia talked the whole way.
01:53She didn't seem to need a response.
01:55A couple on a motorcycle slowed down as they passed us.
01:58The woman on the back held out a small paper bag.
02:00Your man thinks of everything, takes the kid to the doctor, and still remembers you wanted chestnuts.
02:05Ask me to drop these off.
02:06Your husband really does take care of you, I said, keeping my voice even.
02:10The woman on the motorcycle laughed.
02:12Everyone knows Julian is totally whipped.
02:15Julian turns into a whole different man the second Mia gives him a look.
02:19One tear, and he's done.
02:21Mia shook her head and smiled.
02:23Oh, stop it.
02:24A bitter ache welled up inside me.
02:26My husband, the man who had spent 12 years talking to me about equality in marriage, about respect and partnership.
02:34That man had come out here and made himself completely, voluntarily, another woman's lapdog.
02:41Mia's house stopped me in my tracks.
02:44It was a massive villa.
02:45Nothing like the other houses around it.
02:47Distinctive, well-built, clearly the only one of its kind in town.
02:51My man built it, she said.
02:54Nobody else around here has anything like it.
02:57And he's the first husband in town to move in with his wife's family.
03:00Moved in with her family?
03:02The moment I stepped into the living room, I saw it.
03:05A framed family portrait on the wall.
03:08Six people, everyone smiling.
03:09A boy who looked about five.
03:11A little girl, maybe three.
03:13We had a portrait just like it hanging in our apartment back in New York.
03:17Except ours only had three people.
03:19Julian, me, and our 10-year-old son.
03:22No daughter.
03:22The year Julian first left for this project, he had cupped my face in his hands and made
03:28me a promise.
03:29Two years max.
03:30I'll find a way to transfer back.
03:32And when I do, if you're up for it, we'll try for a second baby.
03:36After that, we'll never be apart again.
03:38Two years became seven.
03:40He came home for a few days every Christmas.
03:42And that was all we got.
03:44Last year, when he was home for the holidays, I mentioned offhand how I still wished we'd
03:49had a daughter.
03:50He brushed it off.
03:51Honestly, with the way things are, smart people aren't having more kids.
03:54One is enough.
03:55I thought he'd simply changed his mind.
03:57Turns out, he already had his daughter.
03:59He just hadn't had her with me.
04:01You've got Wi-Fi.
04:02Passwords 990913.
04:04My man said it to my birthday.
04:06Mia said, already heading to the kitchen.
04:07She came back with a cup of tea and set it in front of me, still smiling.
04:11Something jolted in my chest.
04:13Julian had told me there was no reliable internet signal out here.
04:18That was why I could never reach him directly.
04:19He always had to be the one to contact me first.
04:23I connected to the network.
04:24Full bars.
04:25One lie after another.
04:26Each one like a blade going in clean.
04:30I kept my voice easy.
04:31You two seem really happy.
04:33Does it worry you that he might get transferred back to New York someday?
04:36Mia's smile didn't waver.
04:38Not at all.
04:39They almost pulled him back earlier this year.
04:41He called in every favor he had to stay.
04:44My heart dropped like it had been thrown off a cliff.
04:46It wasn't the company keeping him out here.
04:49He had fought to stay.
04:50Although he had.
04:51Knowing his mother had suffered a stroke and couldn't care for herself.
04:54Although he had.
04:55Knowing his father had broken his leg in a fall and needed help.
04:59Although he had.
05:00Knowing our son had cried more than once over missing his father.
05:04Although he had.
05:05Knowing I had been worn down by work and family.
05:07Until I ended up in the hospital more than once.
05:10And he had stayed anyway.
05:11Comfortably.
05:12Contentedly.
05:13A chill ran through me.
05:14My shoulders trembling slightly.
05:16Mia crossed the room and switched on the air conditioning.
05:19Thinking I was cold.
05:20It'll warm up in a minute.
05:22My husband bought me the best air conditioner.
05:24A big brand name.
05:26She said everything about Julian casually.
05:28Warmly.
05:29Nobody else in town has one.
05:31I didn't even want it.
05:32I told him it was too much.
05:34But he insisted.
05:36I kept the smile on my face.
05:38He's quite a bit older than you.
05:40Is this his second marriage?
05:47Ten years older.
05:49We are both getting married for the first time.
05:52Mia smiled.
05:53I'm the lucky one.
05:54A girl like me.
05:55Barely finished high school.
05:57Ending up with a man who has a master's degree.
05:59He's the project manager for the whole development.
06:01I never imagined I'd end up married to someone like that.
06:05But instead, he says meeting me was the best thing that ever happened to him.
06:09She kept talking.
06:09The age gap's a good thing.
06:10Older men is responsible at work and at home.
06:14Every paycheck goes straight to me.
06:17Bitterness welled up in my chest.
06:19For years, Julian had been transferring money back to our joint account every month.
06:24Only left $1,000 for himself.
06:27He told me his housing and meals were covered.
06:29That he barely needed anything for himself out here.
06:32I had a college roommate who worked in payroll department of his company.
06:35Years ago, I quietly confirmed his monthly salary.
06:39Once $11,000.
06:40He takes good care of the whole family.
06:42I said,
06:43God, yes.
06:44My mom has a bad back.
06:45He bought her that massage chair without blinking.
06:48My dad likes his whiskey.
06:50So Julian keeps cases of the good top shelf stuff stocked for him.
06:54She added,
06:55And he gives me a separate allowance every month for whatever I want.
06:59She said the number plainly.
07:00I heard it and I knew.
07:02Julian had been taking the bribes.
07:04The bitterness turned colder.
07:05Not just for myself, but for his parents who had no idea.
07:10Three months ago, his mother had nearly died.
07:13A severe stroke.
07:14I had stood outside the ICU and called him, crying.
07:18Julian, please.
07:20She's in critical condition.
07:22She keeps asking for you.
07:23Please come home.
07:24I'm so sorry, Chloe.
07:26The project is at a critical stage right now.
07:29I really can't leave.
07:30She'll be okay.
07:31So many nights like that.
07:33His phone unanswered or always some excuse.
07:36He never came back.
07:38And the whole time, he was here.
07:40Being a good husband.
07:41A good father.
07:42A good son-in-law.
07:43The irony was sickening.
07:46Mia's phone rang.
07:47She didn't step away or lower her voice.
07:49She just answered it right there.
07:51Close enough that I heard every word.
07:53Hey, baby.
07:54Julian's voice.
07:55The same warm tone he used to use with me.
07:57Our son still hasn't broken his fever.
07:59The doctor wants to keep him overnight.
08:01I'm a little short on cash.
08:03Can you transfer me some?
08:04$300 should cover it.
08:06I laughed inwardly.
08:08How a devoted family husband.
08:10Mia smiled into the phone.
08:11Of course.
08:12I'll send it now.
08:13Then Julian's voice softened.
08:15I can't hold you tonight, baby.
08:17Stay warm, okay?
08:18Don't kick off the blankets.
08:1912 years of marriage.
08:21And the last time he'd said anything like that to me is ages ago.
08:25These days, he didn't even show that kind of warmth toward our own son.
08:29Time had made us an old married couple.
08:32In name only.
08:33And slowly, without me noticing, it had made us the most familiar of strangers.
08:40Mia hung up and turned to me with a smile.
08:43I just realized I never asked your name.
08:47Chloe.
08:49What a pretty name.
08:50She was as cheerful as ever.
08:52Even now, I was still giving her the benefit of the doubt that she had no idea.
08:57Just as deceived as I was.
08:59Since Julian won't be back tonight, she said, why don't you just stay?
09:03You can talk to him about the work stuff tomorrow.
09:05That evening, Mia cooked a full dinner, a proper spread.
09:09Balanced and generous.
09:11I met their daughter for the first time.
09:13Mr. and Mrs. Miller were polite to me, but there was a wariness in the way they looked at me.
09:19At the table, the conversation kept coming back to Julian.
09:22The way they talked about him, he wasn't a son-in-law.
09:25He was their son.
09:26Mia was there and only child.
09:28In a rural area like this, her parents had spent their whole lives looked down on for not having a
09:33son.
09:34Then Julian arrived, moved in, supported the whole family.
09:37Mrs. Miller said,
09:38Julian is the backbone of this family.
09:40We can't do without him.
09:41Something lodged in my throat like a thorn I couldn't remove.
09:45The backbone of our family, gone for seven years, had been holding up someone else's the whole time.
09:52Mia put me in the guest room for the night.
09:53After the lights went out, I lay there unable to sleep.
09:57Through the wall, I could hear Mr. and Mrs. Miller talking quietly for a long time.
10:02I made two decisions.
10:03I filed a report with documentation within evidence to Julian's corporate headquarters.
10:08Then I sent my brother a message.
10:10He was a police officer.
10:11I'm going to need you to come make an arrest.
10:14Julian broke the law.
10:15Neither decision felt satisfying, but both were right.
10:18An accounting for my own life.
10:20A consequence he had earned.
10:23The next morning, Mia pulled a coat from her closet and held it out to me.
10:27It's cold and you're not dressed for it.
10:29She added quickly,
10:30My husband just bought this for me.
10:32Only been washed once, never worn.
10:35A designer label I had spent an entire winter looking at.
10:38Adding to my cart.
10:40Removing it.
10:40Telling myself there were more important things to spend money on.
10:43Parents to care for.
10:45A child to raise.
10:46I used to say things like that to Julian.
10:49Other husbands buy their wives things.
10:50In all these years, you've never once picked something out for me.
10:54He always had the same answer.
10:55Calm and easy.
10:57The money's yours.
10:58I wouldn't know what to choose anyway.
11:00I'm no good with that kind of thing.
11:01He just didn't want to bother.
11:03Not for me.
11:04I said and took it.
11:06It was beautiful.
11:07It was warm.
11:08A flash of surprise crossing Mia's face.
11:11She had clearly expected me to politely refuse.
11:14At breakfast, she was back to her usual self.
11:17Cheerful.
11:17Talkative.
11:18Dropping Julian's name into every other sentence.
11:21At one point, she looked at me and asked,
11:23Are you happy?
11:24I smiled lightly.
11:25It's fine.
11:27My husband just isn't as attentive as yours.
11:29She smiled widely at that.
11:31Then just before noon, the front door swung open.
11:34Julian's voice filled the house.
11:36Honey, I'm home.
11:37Mia and I both stood up from the couch.
11:39He walked in with their five-year-old son.
11:41The moment his eyes landed on me, he went rigid.
11:44I looked at him steadily.
11:46Which honey are you talking to?
11:49Julian's face locked up.
11:51He stood there holding the boy and said absolutely nothing.
11:54I held his gaze.
11:56My eyes said everything I didn't speak aloud.
11:58Why?
11:59How could you?
12:00Do you have any idea what you've done to your son?
12:03To your parents?
12:03He was an only child.
12:05His whole life, they had sacrificed everything for him.
12:08And he had walked away from all of it and quietly become the son of someone else's family.
12:14I would never understand it.
12:15I would never forgive it.
12:17Mia broke first.
12:18What?
12:18What does that mean?
12:20Her voice cracked.
12:21She grabbed my arm then turned to Julian.
12:23Why is she asking you that?
12:25The paralysis broke from Julian's face.
12:28He quickly set the boy down.
12:29He took a few steps forward then stopped.
12:32Caught exactly halfway between us, unable to choose a direction.
12:37I'll explain everything, he said weakly.
12:40Explain what?
12:40I kept my voice level.
12:42That our 12-year marriage is nothing but an empty shell.
12:46That you have no parents, no son.
12:48Or that you, a married man, have been living out here as another woman's husband.
12:53And you're ready to file for divorce so she can finally have your last name.
12:57Every word landed.
12:59He had no answer.
13:00He looked like a man caught with nowhere to run.
13:03I know I don't deserve forgiveness, he finally said.
13:06I'm sorry.
13:07Mia fell apart.
13:08Sorry?
13:09What does that mean for me?
13:10She was crying now, fully.
13:12You said I was everything to you.
13:14You said I was your life.
13:16Say something.
13:16Tell me what's happening right now.
13:18And then Julian turned away from me and moved to pull her into his arms.
13:23My heart was bleeding.
13:24Fury rose through me.
13:26Then what are you saying?
13:28I demanded.
13:29He let go of her.
13:30He didn't dare hold her again.
13:32He stood there looking cornered, miserable, caught between two directions with no good move left.
13:38In the silence, my phone rang.
13:40Julian's father.
13:41A video call.
13:44I answered without hesitating and switched to the rear camera.
13:47Have you found Julian yet?
13:49The old man's voice was full of hope.
13:51He hadn't seen his son in almost two years.
13:54I walked the phone slowly across the living room until the camera landed on the family portrait on the wall,
14:00all six of them, all smiling.
14:02Found him, I said, along with his new wife, his new son, his new daughter, his new family.
14:08I turned the camera to Julian and Mia.
14:10This is his other home.
14:12He moved in with her family.
14:13He's been taking care of them for years.
14:15I heard my father-in-law's sharp intake of breath.
14:18For a moment, he was too furious to speak.
14:22Dad, meet the new family.
14:24The old man erupted.
14:26Julian, is this what you've been doing?
14:28This?
14:29You have no regard for your mother and me.
14:32No regard for your wife and son.
14:34Are you trying to put me in the grave?
14:36Julian snapped.
14:38He lunged for the phone.
14:39Turn it off.
14:40Stop filming.
14:41Just stop.
14:42I no longer have a son, his father shouted from the screen.
14:46Do you hear me?
14:47I have no son.
14:49In the middle of it all, Mr. and Mrs. Miller walked through the front door.
14:55I ended the call.
14:57The moment Mr. and Mrs. Miller understood who I was, Mr. Miller spoke first.
15:02If Julian chose to marry my daughter and have children with her, that tells you everything
15:07about where he stands.
15:09End it clean and move on.
15:11We're not giving him up.
15:12Mrs. Miller nodded.
15:13I've treated Julian like my own son from the day he walked into this house.
15:18He and Mia love each other.
15:21That's not going to change.
15:22I turned to Julian.
15:24And what do you say?
15:25He had been staring at the floor.
15:27When my eyes finally forced his head up, he hesitated, then asked me slowly,
15:33Do you still want me back?
15:35Before I could answer, Mia flew across the room.
15:38She dropped to the floor in front of him and grabbed his collar.
15:41What kind of question is that?
15:43If she still wants you, does that mean you'll throw me away?
15:46Julian, if you dare leave this family, I'll take the kids and end it all.
15:51I mean it.
15:52She gave you one child.
15:54I gave you two.
15:55I have given you more.
15:59Julian pulled her up and tried to calm her.
16:01I just need to know what shape.
16:03I laughed hollowly to myself.
16:05Then deliberately, I said, I want you to come home.
16:09Cut everything here off.
16:11For good.
16:12I knew exactly what he was doing.
16:14He was waiting for me to make the choice for him.
16:17Sure, that someone like me, with my standards, would never accept a man who had done this.
16:22He expected me to say, I want a divorce, and hand him his exit.
16:25When I didn't, surprise flickered across his face.
16:29Even a trace of disappointment.
16:30I stared at him.
16:31Now it's your turn to choose.
16:35His lips moved.
16:37Nothing came out.
16:38Mia shook him by the arm, crying.
16:39Say something.
16:40You said I'm the love of your life.
16:42You said you'd grow old with me.
16:44Say it to her face.
16:45Julian had no choice.
16:47He looked at me with pleading eyes.
16:49Could we just keep things the way they are?
16:52The way they are?
16:54I stared at him, cold.
16:55He wanted to keep both of us.
16:57My look made him too ashamed to repeat himself.
16:59You stay out here and keep playing husband?
17:02I go back to New York, take care of your parents, raise our son alone, run your whole life from
17:08the background, while you enjoy this one?
17:11He had nothing to say.
17:12But I could see it in his face.
17:14That was exactly what he'd hoped for.
17:16Mia grabbed his arm again, sobbing.
17:18If you don't choose this family, I'll take these kids and die in front of you.
17:22You promised me we'd grow old together.
17:25You can't abandon us.
17:26She pulled both children over to her, crying.
17:29Ask your daddy, she said to them.
17:31Ask him if he's going to keep you.
17:33The two children didn't understand what was happening.
17:36But seeing Mia cry, they cried too.
17:40Crowding into Julian's arms, heartbroken.
17:42Daddy, please don't leave us.
17:45Daddy, mommy's crying.
17:47You always said you can't stand to see mommy cry.
17:51Please.
17:54Julian finally broke.
17:55He pulled all three of them into his arms.
17:58His eyes went red.
18:00Then he looked at me.
18:01He had made his decision.
18:03Chloe, I'm sorry.
18:04I know you can manage on your own.
18:06I know you'll be okay.
18:07He swallowed.
18:09She can't.
18:10She has nothing without me.
18:12He glanced at Mia and the children, then back at me.
18:16Take everything in the house.
18:18I won't fight you for custody.
18:20But this is the choice I have to make.
18:23I'm asking you to let us go.
18:27I'm asking you to let us go.
18:28I laughed, not from humor, from the absurdity of what I was hearing.
18:33She's the one to be pitied?
18:35What about your mother, who had a stroke and can't care for herself?
18:39Who wants nothing more than to see her own son?
18:41What about your father, who broke his leg and needed you home and never once said a word
18:47about the fact that you didn't come?
18:49What about your son, who gets mocked at school for not having a father around who has cried
18:54more times than I can count?
18:56As I spoke, tears fell from my eyes.
18:59Not for him.
19:00Never again for him.
19:02Only because a man like this was never worth everything our family had given him.
19:07Julian stood there in silence.
19:09Shame was written across his entire face.
19:12Mia filled the gap.
19:13Don't worry, she said, looking at me.
19:15I'll bring his parents here.
19:17I'll take care of them myself.
19:18You don't need to concern yourself with any of it.
19:21Then her eyes hardened.
19:23And you, you knew who I was from the very beginning, didn't you?
19:26You sat there and let me talk and talk and you were just collecting evidence.
19:31What kind of person does that?
19:32I smiled at her, contemptuous.
19:34Then I called Julian's parents back right there and told them in front of everyone what
19:39Julian had chosen.
19:42Julian had chosen.
19:43His mother's voice shook with fury.
19:45If you divorce Chloe, you are not my son.
19:49Do you understand me?
19:51She has done everything for this family.
19:53For us.
19:54While you were gone and you want to throw her away?
19:58I will never accept that woman and those children.
20:01I don't know them and I never will.
20:03Julian's father said the same.
20:05Mia broke down crying.
20:06Julian was at his breaking point.
20:08I ended the call.
20:10He wiped his eyes, couldn't look at me and finally said,
20:13Chloe, I have no right to ask anything of you, but name your terms.
20:18Whatever I can give you, I will.
20:20Mia knelt down in front of me.
20:22Please, you're educated.
20:24You're capable.
20:25You're beautiful.
20:26You'll find someone better than him.
20:27I can't.
20:28He is all I have.
20:29She pulled both children over.
20:32Kneel down, she told them softly.
20:34Ask her to let your daddy stay.
20:36Two small faces turned up toward me.
20:38Please, madam, don't take our daddy.
20:42Our family needs a daddy.
20:44Otherwise, it won't be whole.
20:46She was using the children to work on my conscience.
20:49Anger surged through me.
20:50Your children need a father and mine doesn't?
20:53Mia hesitated, then said, a little wounded.
20:56Your child is older.
20:58Mine are still small.
21:00I laughed.
21:01The truth is, none of these children, yours or mine, will have a father from here on out.
21:08Both Julian and Mia looked up sharply, not understanding.
21:12Not until my brother walked through the door with local police officers behind him and Julian's boss and two company
21:19directors right after.
21:20Only then did Julian understand.
21:22I had never intended to give him a choice, and I was certainly not going to let them walk away
21:28clean.
21:30The sight of so many strangers sent both children into tears.
21:34An officer quietly asked Mrs. Miller to take them to another room.
21:38Julian stood still, calm, as if he had always known this day would come.
21:43Mia was anything but.
21:44What is this?
21:46You have no right to come in here and take my husband.
21:49When no one responded to her satisfaction, she turned all of it on me.
21:53Her pointing finger trembled.
21:55You call yourself a decent person?
21:57He already told you.
21:58You can have everything.
22:00What more do you want from him?
22:01He's your son's father.
22:03How can you be this heartless?
22:05Stop.
22:06Julian touched her arm.
22:08I looked at her and said plainly, everything you've been wearing, living in, eating, that money didn't just come out
22:16of my pocket.
22:16It was dirty.
22:18It came from fraud and corruption.
22:20You told me yourself what he was giving you every month.
22:24That figure is exactly what I used as evidence.
22:27You handed it to me yourself.
22:31Julian freezed.
22:32His boss stepped forward.
22:34His disappointment total.
22:35I trusted you with this entire project.
22:38Bribery, kickbacks, substandard materials, embezzlement of public funds.
22:43I gave you everything.
22:45And this is what you did with it.
22:47Julian kept his eyes on the floor and said nothing.
22:51Mia spun toward the officers and grabbed one by the arm.
22:54We'll pay it all back.
22:56Every cent.
22:56Just please.
22:57He's a father.
22:58We have children.
22:59Please give him one more chance.
23:01Ma'am, the officer's voice was firm.
23:03This is a criminal investigation.
23:06Repayment is not the issue.
23:07I said calmly.
23:09And while that's being sorted out, Mia, you should probably find yourself a lawyer.
23:14What you and Julian have constitutes bigamy.
23:17That's a separate charge.
23:19She went white.
23:20Julian finally looked up.
23:21His control snapped.
23:25Everything I did, I'll take responsibility for all of it.
23:28But she had nothing to do with any of it.
23:31She didn't know.
23:32Why are you going after her?
23:34I smiled, cold and contemptuous.
23:37Inside, the hatred was overwhelming enough that I wanted to strike him across the face.
23:42And then, right at the peak of it, I felt it all drain away into something vast and empty.
23:47None of this is worth anything.
23:50She didn't know, I said.
23:51She knew I was your wife.
23:53She brought me home deliberately to force the confrontation.
23:57To pressure you into a divorce.
23:58And if she hadn't bragged about the $50,000 a month, I wouldn't have had the evidence I needed.
24:04Julian stared at Mia, stunned, demanding the truth.
24:10Mia shook her head frantically.
24:12I didn't know she was going to report you.
24:13I never thought she would.
24:15I played a recording.
24:17Julian's face drained of color at the first two sentences.
24:20Julian's going to have to go back and deal with his wife eventually.
24:23Even if he drags his feet, Mia will raise hell until he files.
24:27She's not the type to share.
24:29Mr. Miller's voice, unmistakable.
24:31Then Mrs. Miller's.
24:32Look at that woman.
24:33She sat here and took it all without a word.
24:36Either she has no backbone, or she's playing a very long game.
24:39Oh, she's playing a game.
24:41But it won't matter.
24:43Julian has no feelings for her anymore.
24:45Mia just has to cry, and he'll sign the papers.
24:48You know why Mia brought her home, right?
24:50To light the fuse herself.
24:51Julian's expression moved from shock to disbelief, to a deep, exhausted disappointment.
24:57He looked at Mia.
24:59So you knew all along that I was married.
25:02You brought her here on purpose.
25:04To force my hand.
25:06Mia couldn't argue her way out of it.
25:08She broke down, and admitted it, through tears.
25:11I just wanted you to belong to me completely.
25:13What's wrong with that?
25:14I never thought she'd go this far.
25:16I never thought she'd actually...
25:18Mr. Miller, who had said nothing until now, opened his mouth, and immediately began deflecting blame.
25:24If you weren't so spineless and indecisive, none of this would have happened.
25:28Now you've brought this on yourself.
25:30What happens to the children?
25:32What happens to Mia?
25:33What are we supposed to do?
25:35How do we ever show our faces around here again?
25:39Julian suddenly laughed.
25:41As he laughed, tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.
25:45His face was full of helpless, exhausted disbelief at how stupid Mia had been.
25:50For a moment, he genuinely didn't know who to blame.
25:53He kept his head down the entire walk to the police car.
25:56Outside, people had gathered.
25:58Then more from neighboring streets.
26:00By the time the officers walked Julian out, over a thousand people were watching.
26:05All of them there to see the most famously devoted husband in town taken away in handcuffs.
26:10His wife back in New York is beautiful, educated.
26:13A professor, I heard.
26:14And he threw all of that away for this?
26:17Men are never satisfied.
26:19Doesn't matter how good things are at home.
26:21He did everything Mia said.
26:23Never questioned her once.
26:25And he was rotten the whole time.
26:27Mia knew he was married.
26:28Brought his wife here herself.
26:30To force a divorce.
26:31Backfired, didn't it?
26:33Tried to steal another woman's husband.
26:35And burned her own life down.
26:37At the police car door, Julian stopped.
26:40He turned and found me in the crowd.
26:42Take care of yourself, he said quietly.
26:44I'm sorry, Chloe.
26:46Find someone who deserves you.
26:47I looked at him.
26:48I said nothing.
26:49He got in.
26:52Mia ran after the car.
26:54Stumbling, falling, picking herself up, and running again.
26:57Pounding on the window, screaming his name.
26:59Until it turned the corner and disappeared.
27:02She came back and collapsed at my feet.
27:05Please.
27:05She was on her knees in front of everyone.
27:08Past caring who saw.
27:09Please help him.
27:10You're educated.
27:12You understand how this works better than I do.
27:14I don't care about anything else anymore.
27:16I just need him not to go to prison.
27:18She held onto the hem of my coat.
27:20Believe me or don't.
27:22But I did love him.
27:23That part was real.
27:25I looked at her calmly.
27:27The hatred I had carried into this situation was gone.
27:32She kept going.
27:33Her voice breaking.
27:34I genuinely didn't know he was married when we first got together.
27:38I found out when our son was almost a year old.
27:41I found a photo of you on his phone.
27:42By then, I was already in too deep.
27:45The children, this house, my parents.
27:48We were all depending on him.
27:50I didn't know what to do.
27:51I know nothing I say matters now.
27:53I'm only asking if there's anything you can do.
27:56She didn't get up.
27:57She just stayed there on the ground in front of everyone.
28:00Her hand clutching my coat.
28:01Not caring about the stairs.
28:03I reached down and removed her hand.
28:05I looked at her.
28:06You know what your tears mean to me?
28:08I said quietly.
28:10Crocodile tears.
28:11She blinked up at me.
28:13Then she folded over and wept into the ground.
28:15And I walked away.
28:19I did not soften.
28:20I pressed forward with every charge, including bigamy.
28:24Julian's parents never blamed me.
28:26They supported every decision I made.
28:28My son did not take it well.
28:30He spent months in therapy, struggling to accept that his father had another family out there.
28:35Other children living a parallel life.
28:37It took a long time.
28:39Six months later, Mia was sentenced to one year for bigamy.
28:42Julian's sentencing came three months after that.
28:44The court found that he had embezzled nearly $97 million,
28:49taken over $10 million in bribes,
28:50paid out $60 million in kickbacks,
28:52misused $20 million in public funds,
28:55violated construction regulations,
28:56and committed bigamy.
28:57Multiple charges,
28:59concurrent sentencing,
29:0011 years.
29:01He asked to see me the day he was taken in.
29:04I didn't go.
29:05I sent my lawyer to handle the divorce.
29:07Julian's parents were good to me and my son until the end.
29:10Before they passed,
29:11they transferred both of their properties into my son's name
29:14and left everything they had to us.
29:17I kept my promise to them regardless.
29:19I cared for them.
29:19And I was there when they left.
29:23In the seventh year of Julian's sentence,
29:25they both passed.
29:26His mother went first.
29:28Another stroke.
29:28Too severe to survive.
29:30His father followed the next day.
29:32They had been devoted to each other their entire lives.
29:35He simply could not face a mourning without her.
29:38I arranged a proper funeral for both of them.
29:40I had my lawyer notify Julian.
29:42He sent back one message through the attorney.
29:45Can I see you?
29:46I didn't respond.
29:47My son was accepted to an Ivy League school the following year.
29:50That, more than anything, let me breathe.
29:53I heard Mia remarried about three years after her release.
29:56A divorced man with two children of his own.
29:58She moved on.
29:59I moved on too.
30:01My son played matchmaker.
30:02He introduced me to the single father of one of his college friends.
30:06By then, I wasn't looking for anything grand.
30:08What I found instead was someone steady, someone present, someone who picked up when I called.
30:13We agreed from the start.
30:15No children together.
30:16We weren't starting over from scratch.
30:18We were two people who chose to share the rest of the road.
30:21Three years into that marriage, Julian was released.
30:24He came to find me.
30:25Eleven years had not been kind to him.
30:27He looked far older than a man his age should.
30:30Worn down.
30:31Diminished.
30:32Nothing left of the confidence he used to carry.
30:35He stood at my door and asked, quietly,
30:38Chloe, is there any way I could come home?
30:41I looked at him.
30:42I took your advice.
30:43I said, I found someone good.
30:45I married him.
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