- 18 hours ago
His Secret Wife
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00When I found out Julian had extended his out of town project for another 7 years, I left New York
00:05and traveled hours to reach his project site, only 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. I told myself it was a coincidence. Same name, different man.
00:20Relax, Mr. Miller. Everyone around here knows Julian is totally whipped. She'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. Is this the Julian you're talking about?
00:32The old man relaxed.
00:34Yeah, that's him. That's my son-in-law.
00:37The blood in my veins froze. Before I could process a single word, a woman appeared, well-dressed, smiling.
00:43You here to talk business with my man? She asked cheerfully.
00:47Come wait at our place. Our son's got a fever. He 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. Just call me Mia.
01:01She was warm and talkative, smile never leaving her face.
01:05There'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.
01:11Come on back to the house. He'll be a while.
01:12She reached out and touched my arm, and I followed her.
01:15I watched her as we walked. She looked more than 10 years younger than Julian.
01:19Lord, you women from New York really are something else.
01:22Look at that skin. Smooth 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.
01:41But 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. She 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 down 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,
02:32about respect and partnership.
02:34That man had come out here and made himself completely, voluntarily, another woman's lapdog.
02:42Mia's house stopped me in my tracks.
02:44It was a massive villa.
02:45Nothing like the other houses around it.
02:48Distinctive, well-built, clearly the only one of its kind in town.
02:52My 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.
03:01Moved in with her family?
03:03The moment I stepped into the living room, I saw it.
03:05A framed family portrait on the wall.
03:08Six people, everyone smiling.
03:10A 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.
03:23The 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.
03:43And 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.
03:55One 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.
04:01We've got Wi-Fi.
04:02Passwords 990913.
04:04My man said it to my birthday.
04:06Mia said, already heading to the kitchen.
04:08She came back with a cup of tea and set it in front of me, still smiling.
04:12Something jolted in my chest.
04:14Julian had told me there was no reliable internet signal out here.
04:18That was why I could never reach him directly.
04:20He always had to be the one to contact me first.
04:23I connected to the network, full bars, one lie after another, each one like a blade going
04:28in clean.
04:30I kept my voice easy.
04:32You two seem really happy.
04:34Does it worry you that he might get transferred back to New York someday?
04:37Mia'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.
04:47It wasn't the company keeping him out here.
04:49He had fought to stay, although he had, knowing his mother had suffered a stroke and couldn't
04:53care for herself.
04:54Although he had, knowing his father had broken his leg in a fall and needed help.
04:59Although he had, knowing our son had cried more than once over missing his father.
05:04Although he had, knowing I had been worn down by work and family until I ended up in the
05:09hospital more than once, and he had stayed anyway.
05:11Comfortably, contentedly, a chill ran through me, my shoulders trembling slightly.
05:16Mia crossed the room and switched on the air conditioning, thinking I was cold.
05:21It'll warm up in a minute.
05:22My husband bought me the best air conditioner, a big brand name.
05:26She said everything about Julian casually, warmly.
05:29Nobody else in town has one.
05:31I didn't even want it.
05:32I told him it was too much, but 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, barely finished high school, ending up with a man who has a master's degree.
05:59He's the project manager for the whole development.
06:02I 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.
06:10The age gap's a good thing.
06:11Older men is responsible at work and at home.
06:14Every paycheck goes straight to me.
06:17Bitterness welled up in my chest.
06:20For years, Julian had been transferring money back to our joint account every month.
06:25Only left $1,000 for himself.
06:27He told me his housing and meals were covered, that 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 once $11,000.
06:41He takes good care of the whole family.
06:42I said, God, yes.
06:44My mom has a bad back.
06:46He 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, and he gives me a separate allowance every month for whatever I want.
06:59She said the number plainly.
07:01I heard it and I knew Julian had been taking the bribes.
07:04The bitterness turned colder, not just for myself, but for his parents who had no idea.
07:11Three months ago, his mother had nearly died.
07:14A severe stroke.
07:15I had stood outside the ICU and called him, crying.
07:19Julian, please.
07:20She's in critical condition.
07:22She keeps asking for you.
07:23Please come home.
07:25I'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.
07:32So many nights like that.
07:34His phone unanswered or always some excuse.
07:37He never came back.
07:38And the whole time he was here, being a good husband, a good father, a good son-in-law.
07:44The 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.
07:54Hey, baby.
07:54Julian's voice, the same warm tone he used to use with me.
07:58Our son still hasn't broken his fever.
08:00The doctor wants to keep him overnight.
08:02I'm a little short on cash.
08:03Can you transfer me some?
08:05$300 should cover it.
08:07I laughed inwardly.
08:08How a devoted family husband.
08:10Mia smiled into the phone.
08:12Of course.
08:13I'll send it now.
08:14Then Julian's voice softened.
08:16I can't hold you tonight, baby.
08:17Stay warm, okay?
08:18Don't kick off the blankets.
08:1912 years of marriage, and the last time he'd said anything like that to me is ages ago.
08:26These days, he didn't even show that kind of warmth toward our own son.
08:29Time had made us an old married couple, in name only.
08:34And slowly, without me noticing, it had made us the most familiar of strangers.
08:41Mia hung up and turned to me with a smile.
08:43I just realized I never asked your name.
08:48Chloe.
08:49What a pretty name.
08:51She was as cheerful as ever.
08:53Even now, I was still giving her the benefit of the doubt that she had no idea.
08:57Just as deceived as I was.
09:00Since Julian won't be back tonight, she said,
09:02Why don't you just stay?
09:04You can talk to him about the work stuff tomorrow.
09:06That evening, Mia cooked a full dinner, a proper spread.
09:10Balanced and generous.
09:12I met their daughter for the first time.
09:14Mr. and Mrs. Miller were polite to me,
09:16but there was a wariness in the way they looked at me.
09:19At the table, the conversation kept coming back to Julian.
09:23The way they talked about him, he wasn't a son-in-law.
09:25He was their son.
09:26Mia was their and only child.
09:28In a rural area like this, her parents had spent their whole lives looked down on for not having a
09:34son.
09:34Then Julian arrived, moved in, supported the whole family.
09:37Mrs. Miller said,
09:39Julian is the backbone of this family.
09:40We can't do without him.
09:42Something lodged in my throat, like a thorn I couldn't remove.
09:46The 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.
09:54After 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.
10:04I filed a report, with documentation, within evidence to Julian's corporate headquarters.
10:09Then 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.
10:24The next morning, Mia pulled a coat from her closet and held it out to me.
10:28It's cold and you're not dressed for it.
10:29She added quickly,
10:30My husband just bought this for me.
10:33Only been washed once, never worn.
10:35A designer label I had spent an entire winter looking at.
10:39Adding to my cart, removing it, telling myself there were more important things to spend money on.
10:44Parents to care for.
10:45A child to raise.
10:47I used to say things like that to Julian.
10:49Other husbands buy their wives things.
10:51In all these years, you've never once picked something out for me.
10:54He always had the same answer.
10:56Calm and easy.
10:57The money's yours.
10:59I wouldn't know what to choose anyway.
11:00I'm no good with that kind of thing.
11:02He just didn't want to bother.
11:04Not for me.
11:04Thank you.
11:05I said and took it.
11:06It was beautiful.
11:08It was warm.
11:09A 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, talkative, dropping 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.
11:26It's fine.
11:27My husband just isn't as attentive as yours.
11:30She smiled widely at that.
11:32Then 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.
11:45I looked at him steadily.
11:46Which honey are you talking to?
11:50Julian's face locked up.
11:52He stood there holding the boy and said absolutely nothing.
11:55I held his gaze.
11:56My eyes said everything I didn't speak aloud.
11:59Why?
12:00How could you?
12:01Do you have any idea what you've done to your son?
12:03To your parents?
12:04He was an only child.
12:06His whole life, they had sacrificed everything for him.
12:09And he had walked away from all of it.
12:11And quietly become the son of someone else's family.
12:15I would never understand it.
12:16I would never forgive it.
12:18Mia broke first.
12:19What?
12:19What does that mean?
12:20Her voice cracked.
12:22She grabbed my arm, then turned to Julian.
12:24Why is she asking you that?
12:26The paralysis broke from Julian's face.
12:28He quickly set the boy down.
12:30He took a few steps forward, then stopped.
12:32Caught exactly halfway between us, unable to choose a direction.
12:38I'll explain everything, he said weakly.
12:40Explain what?
12:41I kept my voice level.
12:43That our 12-year marriage is nothing but an empty shell.
12:46That you have no parents, no son.
12:49Or 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?
12:58Every word landed.
13:00He had no answer.
13:01He looked like a man caught with nowhere to run.
13:04I know I don't deserve forgiveness, he finally said.
13:07I'm sorry.
13:08Mia fell apart.
13:09Sorry?
13:10What does that mean for me?
13:11She was crying now, fully.
13:13You said I was everything to you.
13:15You said I was your life.
13:17Say something.
13:17Tell me what's happening right now.
13:19And then Julian turned away from me and moved to pull her into his arms.
13:24My heart was bleeding.
13:25Fury rose through me.
13:27Then what are you saying?
13:29I demanded.
13:30He let go of her.
13:31He didn't dare hold her again.
13:33He stood there looking cornered, miserable, caught between two directions with no good move left.
13:38In the silence, my phone rang.
13:41Julian's father, a video call.
13:44I answered without hesitating and switched to the rear camera.
13:48Have you found Julian yet?
13:49The old man's voice was full of hope.
13:52He hadn't seen his son in almost two years.
13:55I 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.
14:03Found him, I said, along with his new wife, his new son, his new daughter, his new family.
14:09I turned the camera to Julian and Mia.
14:11This is his other home.
14:13He moved in with her family.
14:14He's been taking care of them for years.
14:16I heard my father-in-law's sharp intake of breath.
14:19For a moment, he was too furious to speak.
14:22Dad, meet the new family.
14:25The old man erupted.
14:26Julian, is this what you've been doing?
14:29This?
14:30You have no regard for your mother and me.
14:32No regard for your wife and son.
14:35Are you trying to put me in the grave?
14:37Julian snapped.
14:38He lunged for the phone.
14:40Turn it off.
14:41Stop filming.
14:42Just stop.
14:42I no longer have a son.
14:45His father shouted from the screen.
14:46Do you hear me?
14:48I have no son.
14:50In the middle of it all, Mr. and Mrs. Miller walked through the front door.
14:56I ended the call.
14:57The moment Mr. and Mrs. Miller understood who I was, Mr. Miller spoke first.
15:03If Julian chose to marry my daughter and have children with her, that tells you everything
15:08about where he stands.
15:10End it clean and move on.
15:12We're not giving him up.
15:13Mrs. Miller nodded.
15:14I've treated Julian like my own son from the day he walked into this house.
15:19He and Mia love each other.
15:22That's not going to change.
15:23I turned to Julian.
15:25And what do you say?
15:26He had been staring at the floor.
15:28When my eyes finally forced his head up, he hesitated, then asked me slowly,
15:33Do you still want me back?
15:36Before I could answer, Mia flew across the room.
15:39She dropped to the floor in front of him and grabbed his collar.
15:42What kind of question is that?
15:44If she still wants you, does that mean you'll throw me away?
15:47Julian, if you dare leave this family, I'll take the kids and end it all.
15:52I mean it.
15:53She gave you one child.
15:55I gave you two.
15:56I have given you more.
16:00Julian pulled her up and tried to calm her.
16:02I just need to know what she...
16:04I laughed hollowly to myself.
16:06Then deliberately, I said, I want you to come home.
16:10Cut everything here off.
16:12For good.
16:13I knew exactly what he was doing.
16:15He was waiting for me to make the choice for him.
16:17I'm sure that someone like me, with my standards, would never accept a man who had done this.
16:23He expected me to say, I want a divorce, and hand him his exit.
16:26When I didn't, surprise flickered across his face.
16:30Even a trace of disappointment.
16:31I stared at him.
16:32Now it's your turn to choose.
16:36His lips moved.
16:38Nothing came out.
16:39Mia shook him by the arm, crying.
16:40Say something.
16:41You said I'm the love of your life.
16:43You said you'd grow old with me.
16:45Say it to her face.
16:46Julian had no choice.
16:48He looked at me with pleading eyes.
16:50Could we...
16:51Just keep things the way they are?
16:54The way they are?
16:55I stared at him, cold.
16:56He wanted to keep both of us.
16:58My look made him too ashamed to repeat himself.
17:00You stay out here and keep playing husband?
17:04I go back to New York, take care of your parents, raise our son alone, run your whole life from
17:09the background, while you enjoy this one?
17:12He had nothing to say, but I could see it in his face.
17:15That was exactly what he'd hoped for.
17:17Mia grabbed his arm again, sobbing.
17:19If you don't choose this family, I'll take these kids and die in front of you.
17:23You promised me we'd grow old together.
17:26You can't abandon us.
17:28She pulled both children over to her, crying.
17:30Ask your daddy, she said to them.
17:32Ask him if he's going to keep you.
17:34The two children didn't understand what was happening, but seeing Mia cry, they cried too.
17:41Crowding into Julian's arms, heartbroken.
17:43Daddy, please don't leave us.
17:46Daddy, mommy's crying.
17:48You always said you can't stand to see mommy cry.
17:52Please.
17:55Julian finally broke.
17:56He pulled all three of them into his arms.
17:59His eyes went red.
18:01Then he looked at me.
18:02He had made his decision.
18:04Chloe, I'm sorry.
18:05I know you can manage on your own.
18:07I know you'll be okay.
18:08He swallowed.
18:10She can't.
18:12She has nothing without me.
18:13He glanced at Mia and the children, then back at me.
18:17Take everything in the house.
18:19I won't fight you for custody.
18:21But this is the choice I have to make.
18:24I'm asking you to let us go.
18:28I'm asking you to let us go.
18:30I laughed, not from humor, from the absurdity of what I was hearing.
18:34She's the one to be pitied?
18:36What about your mother, who had a stroke and can't care for herself, who wants nothing more than to see
18:42her own son?
18:43What about your father, who broke his leg and needed you home, and never once said a word about the
18:49fact that you didn't come?
18:50What about your son, who gets mocked at school for not having a father around, who has cried more times
18:56than I can count?
18:57As I spoke, tears fell from my eyes.
19:00Not for him.
19:01Never again for him.
19:03Only because a man like this was never worth everything our family had given him.
19:08Julian stood there in silence.
19:10Shame was written across his entire face.
19:13Mia filled the gap.
19:14Don't worry, she said, looking at me.
19:17I'll bring his parents here.
19:18I'll take care of them myself.
19:19You don't need to concern yourself with any of it.
19:22Then her eyes hardened.
19:24And you, you knew who I was from the very beginning, didn't you?
19:28You sat there and let me talk and talk, and you were just collecting evidence.
19:32What kind of person does that?
19:33I smiled at her, contemptuous.
19:35Then I called Julian's parents back right there and told them, in front of everyone, what Julian had chosen.
19:43Julian had chosen.
19:44His mother's voice shook with fury.
19:46If you divorce Chloe, you are not my son.
19:50Do you understand me?
19:52She has done everything for this family.
19:55For us.
19:56While you were gone and you want to throw her away?
19:59I will never accept that woman and those children.
20:02I don't know them and I never will.
20:04Julian's father said the same.
20:06Mia broke down crying.
20:07Julian was at his breaking point.
20:09I ended the call.
20:11He wiped his eyes, couldn't look at me, and finally said,
20:14Chloe, I have no right to ask anything of you, but name your terms.
20:19Whatever I can give you, I will.
20:21Mia knelt down in front of me.
20:23Please.
20:24You're educated.
20:25You're capable.
20:26You're beautiful.
20:27You'll find someone better than him.
20:28I can't.
20:29He is all I have.
20:31She pulled both children over.
20:33Kneel down, she told them softly.
20:35Ask her to let your daddy stay.
20:36Two small faces turned up toward me.
20:39Please, madam, don't take our daddy.
20:44Our family needs a daddy.
20:45Otherwise, it won't be whole.
20:47She was using the children to work on my conscience.
20:50Anger surged through me.
20:52Your children need a father and mine doesn't?
20:54Mia hesitated, then said, a little wounded,
20:57Your child is older.
20:59Mine are still small.
21:01I laughed.
21:02The truth is, none of these children, yours or mine, will have a father from here on out.
21:10Both Julian and Mia looked up sharply, not understanding.
21:14Not until my brother walked through the door with local police officers behind him
21:18and Julian's boss and two company directors right after.
21:22Only then did Julian understand.
21:24I had never intended to give him a choice.
21:27And I was certainly not going to let them walk away clean.
21:32The sight of so many strangers sent both children into tears.
21:36An officer quietly asked Mrs. Miller to take them to another room.
21:39Julian stood still, calm, as if he had always known this day would come.
21:44Mia was anything but.
21:46What is this?
21:47You have no right to come in here and take my husband.
21:50When no one responded to her satisfaction, she turned all of it on me.
21:54Her pointing finger trembled.
21:56You call yourself a decent person?
21:58He already told you.
22:00You can have everything.
22:01What more do you want from him?
22:02He's your son's father.
22:04How can you be this heartless?
22:07Stop.
22:08Julian touched her arm.
22:09I looked at her and said plainly,
22:11Everything you've been wearing, living in, eating.
22:15That money didn't just come out of my pocket.
22:18It was dirty.
22:19It came from fraud and corruption.
22:22You told me yourself what he was giving you every month.
22:25That figure is exactly what I used as evidence.
22:28You handed it to me yourself.
22:33Julian freezed.
22:34His boss stepped forward.
22:35His disappointment total.
22:37I trusted you with this entire project.
22:39Bribery, kickbacks, substandard materials, embezzlement of public funds.
22:44I gave you everything.
22:46And this is what you did with it.
22:48Julian kept his eyes on the floor and said nothing.
22:52Mia spun toward the officers and grabbed one by the arm.
22:55We'll pay it all back.
22:57Every cent.
22:58Just please.
22:59He's a father.
22:59We have children.
23:01Please give him one more chance.
23:02Ma'am, the officer's voice was firm.
23:05This is a criminal investigation.
23:07Repayment is not the issue.
23:09I said calmly.
23:10And while that's being sorted out,
23:12Mia, you should probably find yourself a lawyer.
23:15What you and Julian have constitutes bigamy.
23:18That's a separate charge.
23:20She went white.
23:21Julian finally looked up.
23:23His control snapped.
23:26Everything I did, I'll take responsibility for all of it.
23:30But she had nothing to do with any of it.
23:33She didn't know.
23:34Why are you going after her?
23:36I smiled, cold and contemptuous.
23:38Inside, the hatred was overwhelming enough that I wanted to strike him across the face.
23:43And then, right at the peak of it, I felt it all drain away into something vast and empty.
23:49None of this is worth anything.
23:51She didn't know, I said.
23:53She knew I was your wife.
23:55She brought me home deliberately to force the confrontation.
23:58To pressure you into a divorce.
24:00And if she hadn't bragged about the $50,000 a month, I wouldn't have had the evidence I needed.
24:05Julian stared at Mia, stunned, demanding the truth.
24:11Mia shook her head frantically.
24:13I didn't know she was going to report you.
24:15I never thought she would.
24:17I played a recording.
24:18Julian's face drained of color at the first two sentences.
24:21Julian's going to have to go back and deal with his wife eventually.
24:24Even if he drags his feet, Mia will raise hell until he files.
24:29She's not the type to share.
24:30Mr. Miller's voice, unmistakable.
24:32Then Mrs. Miller's.
24:33Look at that woman.
24:35She sat here and took it all without a word.
24:37Either she has no backbone, or she's playing a very long game.
24:41Oh, she's playing a game.
24:43But it won't matter.
24:44Julian has no feelings for her anymore.
24:46Mia just has to cry, and he'll sign the papers.
24:49You know why Mia brought her home, right?
24:51To light the fuse herself.
24:53Julian's expression moved from shock to disbelief,
24:56to a deep, exhausted disappointment.
24:58He looked at Mia.
25:00So you knew all along that I was married.
25:03You brought her here on purpose, to force my hand.
25:07Mia couldn't argue her way out of it.
25:09She broke down and admitted it through tears.
25:12I just wanted you to belong to me completely.
25:15What's wrong with that?
25:16I never thought she'd go this far.
25:18I never thought she'd actually...
25:20Mr. Miller, who had said nothing until now,
25:22opened his mouth and immediately began deflecting blame.
25:26If you weren't so spineless and indecisive,
25:28none of this would have happened.
25:30Now you've brought this on yourself.
25:32What happens to the children?
25:34What happens to Mia?
25:35What are we supposed to do?
25:36How do we ever show our faces around here again?
25:41Julian suddenly laughed.
25:43As he laughed, tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.
25:46His face was full of helpless,
25:48exhausted disbelief at how stupid Mia had been.
25:51For a moment, he genuinely didn't know who to blame.
25:54He kept his head down the entire walk to the police car.
25:58Outside, people had gathered,
26:00then more from neighboring streets.
26:02By the time the officers walked Julian out,
26:05over a thousand people were watching,
26:07all of them there to see the most famously devoted husband in town taken away in handcuffs.
26:11His wife back in New York is beautiful, educated,
26:14a professor, I heard.
26:15And he threw all of that away for this?
26:19Men are never satisfied.
26:21Doesn't matter how good things are at home.
26:23He did everything Mia said.
26:25Never questioned her once.
26:26And he was rotten the whole time.
26:28Mia knew he was married.
26:30Brought his wife here herself to force a divorce.
26:33Backfired, didn't it?
26:34Tried to steal another woman's husband and burned her own life down.
26:39At the police car door, Julian stopped.
26:41He turned and found me in the crowd.
26:43Take care of yourself, he said quietly.
26:46I'm sorry, Chloe.
26:47Find someone who deserves you.
26:49I looked at him.
26:50I said nothing.
26:51He got in.
26:53Mia ran after the car.
26:55Stumbling, falling, picking herself up and running again.
26:59Pounding on the window, screaming his name,
27:01until it turned the corner and disappeared.
27:04She came back and collapsed at my feet.
27:06Please.
27:07She was on her knees in front of everyone,
27:09past caring who saw.
27:11Please help him.
27:12You're educated.
27:13You understand how this works better than I do.
27:16I don't care about anything else anymore.
27:18I just need him not to go to prison.
27:20She held onto the hem of my coat.
27:22Believe me or don't, but I did love him.
27:25That part was real.
27:27I looked at her calmly.
27:28The hatred I had carried into this situation was gone.
27:34She kept going, her voice breaking.
27:36I genuinely didn't know he was married when we first got together.
27:40I found out when our son was almost a year old, I found a photo of you on his phone.
27:44By then, I was already in too deep.
27:47The children, this house, my parents.
27:50We were all depending on him.
27:52I didn't know what to do.
27:53I know nothing I say matters now.
27:55I'm only asking if there's anything you can do.
27:58She didn't get up.
27:59She just stayed there on the ground in front of everyone, her hand clutching my coat,
28:03not caring about the stairs.
28:04I reached down and removed her hand.
28:07I looked at her.
28:08You know what your tears mean to me?
28:10I said quietly, crocodile tears.
28:13She blinked up at me.
28:14Then she folded over and wept into the ground, and I walked away.
28:20I did not soften.
28:22I pressed forward with every charge, including bigamy.
28:26Julian's parents never blamed me.
28:28They supported every decision I made.
28:30My son did not take it well.
28:31He spent months in therapy, struggling to accept that his father had another family out there.
28:36Other children, living a parallel life.
28:39It took a long time.
28:41Six months later, Mia was sentenced to one year for bigamy.
28:44Julian's sentencing came three months after that.
28:46The court found that he had embezzled nearly $97 million,
28:50taken over $10 million in bribes, paid out $60 million in kickbacks,
28:54misused $20 million in public funds, violated construction regulations, and committed bigamy.
28:59Multiple charges, concurrent sentencing, 11 years.
29:03He asked to see me the day he was taken in.
29:05I didn't go.
29:06I sent my lawyer to handle the divorce.
29:09Julian's parents were good to me and my son until the end.
29:12Before they passed, they transferred both of their properties into my son's name
29:16and left everything they had to us.
29:18I kept my promise to them regardless.
29:20I cared for them, and I was there when they left.
29:25In the seventh year of Julian's sentence, they both passed.
29:28His mother went first.
29:29Another stroke.
29:30Too severe to survive.
29:32His father followed the next day.
29:34They had been devoted to each other their entire lives.
29:37He simply could not face a mourning without her.
29:40I arranged a proper funeral for both of them.
29:42I had my lawyer notify Julian.
29:44He sent back one message through the attorney.
29:46Thank you.
29:47Can I see you?
29:47I didn't respond.
29:49My son was accepted to an Ivy League school the following year.
29:52That, more than anything, let me breathe.
29:55I heard Mia remarried about three years after her release.
29:58A divorced man with two children of his own.
30:00She moved on.
30:01I moved on, too.
30:03My son played matchmaker.
30:04He introduced me to the single father of one of his college friends.
30:08By then, I wasn't looking for anything grand.
30:10What I found instead was someone steady, someone present, someone who picked up when I called.
30:15We agreed from the start.
30:16No children together.
30:18We weren't starting over from scratch.
30:20We were two people who chose to share the rest of the road.
30:23Three years into that marriage, Julian was released.
30:26He came to find me.
30:27Eleven years had not been kind to him.
30:29He looked far older than a man his age should.
30:32Worn down.
30:33Diminished.
30:34Nothing left of the confidence he used to carry.
30:37He stood at my door and asked, quietly,
30:40Chloe, is there any way I could come home?
30:43I looked at him.
30:44I took your advice, I said.
30:46I found someone good.
30:47I married him.
Comments