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00:00seven years i left new york and left new york when i found out julian had extended his out-of
00:06-town
00:07project for another seven years i left new york and traveled hours to reach his project site
00:12only to be stopped at the gate by an older guard hello does julian work here what do you want
00:17with
00:17my son-in-law the words hit me like a thunderclap i told myself it was a coincidence same name
00:23different man relax mr miller everyone around here knows julian is totally whipped she's probably
00:29here on business from corporate i kept my composure and pulled up a photo of julian on my phone i
00:34am
00:34here on business is this the julian you're talking about the old man relaxed yeah that's him that's
00:40my son-in-law the blood in my veins froze before i could process a single word a woman appeared
00:46well-dressed smiling you here to talk business with my man she asked cheerfully come wait at our place
00:52our son's got a fever he took him to the hospital in town i stared at her thunderstruck barely able
00:57to breathe she noticed i wasn't moving and waved me over i'm julian's wife mia just call me mia she
01:08was warm and talkative smile never leaving her face there's nothing but rough guys around here
01:12and half of them don't know how to act a woman shouldn't be standing around alone out here
01:16come on back to the house he'll be a while she reached out and touched my arm and i followed
01:21her
01:21i watched her as we walked she looked more than 10 years younger than julian lord you women from new
01:27york
01:27really are something else look at that skin smooth as a peeled egg my man's got skin just like yours
01:33all soft and clear i forced a smile julian and i both had good skin i was older than mia
01:39by a fair
01:40margin but i'd taken care of myself i still looked like i was in my mid-20s no one would
01:45guess i'd been
01:45married for 12 years but what did any of that matter i had a career raised our son looked after
01:51his
01:51parents managed everything on my own and my husband had still gone and built an entirely different life
01:57out here behind my back mia talked the whole way she didn't seem to need a response a couple on
02:02a
02:02motorcycle slowed down as they passed us the woman on the back held out a small paper bag your man
02:07thinks of everything takes the kid to the doctor and still remembers you wanted chestnuts asked me to
02:11drop these off your husband really does take care of you i said keeping my voice even the woman on
02:17the
02:17motorcycle laughed everyone knows julian is totally whipped julian turns into a whole different man the
02:24second mia gives him a look one tear and he's done mia shook her head and smiled oh stop it
02:30a bitter
02:31ache welled up inside me my husband the man who had spent 12 years talking to me about equality in
02:38marriage about respect and partnership that man had come out here and made himself completely
02:43voluntarily another woman's lapdog
02:50mia's house stopped me in my tracks it was a massive villa nothing like the other houses around
02:55it distinctive well built clearly the only one of its kind in town my man built it she said
03:02nobody else around here has anything like it and he's the first husband in town to move in with
03:07his wife's family moved in with her family the moment i stepped into the living room i saw it
03:13a framed family portrait on the wall six people everyone smiling a boy who looked about five a
03:20little girl maybe three we had a portrait just like it hanging in our apartment back in new york
03:25except ours only had three people julian me and our 10 year old son no daughter the year julian first
03:32left for this project he had cupped my face in his hands and made me a promise two years max
03:38i'll find
03:39a way to transfer back and when i do if you're up for it we'll try for a second baby
03:43after that we'll
03:45never be apart again two years became seven he came home for a few days every christmas and that was
03:51all we got last year when he was home for the holidays i mentioned offhand how i still wished we'd
03:57had a daughter he brushed it off honestly with the way things are smart people aren't having more kids
04:02one is enough i thought he'd simply changed his mind turns out he already had his daughter he just
04:08hadn't had her with me we've got wi-fi passwords nine nine zero nine thirteen my man said it to
04:13my
04:13birthday mia said already heading to the kitchen she came back with a cup of tea and said it in
04:18front
04:18of me still smiling something jolted in my chest julian had told me there was no reliable internet signal
04:25out here that was why i could never reach him directly he always had to be the one to contact
04:30me first i connected to the network full bars one lie after another each one like a blade going in
04:36clean
04:39i kept my voice easy you two seem really happy does it worry you that he might get transferred back
04:45to new york someday mia's smile didn't waver not at all they almost pulled him back earlier this year
04:50he called in every favor he had to stay my heart dropped like it had been thrown off a cliff
04:56it
04:56wasn't the company keeping him out here he had fought to stay although he had knowing his mother
05:01had suffered a stroke and couldn't care for herself although he had knowing his father had broken his
05:06leg in a fall and needed help although he had knowing our son had cried more than once over missing
05:12his father although he had knowing i had been worn down by work and family until i ended up in
05:18the
05:18hospital more than once and he had stayed anyway comfortably contentedly a chill ran through me
05:24my shoulders trembling slightly mia crossed the room and switched on the air conditioning thinking i
05:29was cold it'll warm up in a minute my husband bought me the best air conditioner a big brand name
05:35she said everything about julian casually warmly nobody else in town has one i didn't even want it i told
05:42him it was too much but he insisted i kept the smile on my face he's quite a bit older
05:49than you
05:50is this his second marriage
05:5810 years older
06:00we are both getting married for the first time mia smiled
06:04i'm the lucky one a girl like me barely finished high school ending up with a man who has a
06:09master's
06:09degree he's the project manager for the whole development i never imagined i'd end up married
06:14to someone like that but instead he says meeting me was the best thing that ever happened to him
06:19she kept talking age gap's a good thing older men is responsible at work and at home every paycheck
06:26goes straight to me bitterness welled up in my chest for years julian had been transferring money
06:33back to our joint account every month only left one thousand dollars for himself he told me his
06:38housing and meals were covered that he barely needed anything for himself out here i had a
06:43college roommate who worked in payroll department of his company years ago i quietly confirmed his
06:48monthly salary once eleven thousand dollars he takes good care of the whole family i said god yes
06:54my mom has a bad back he bought her that massage chair without blinking my dad likes his whiskey so
07:01julian keeps cases of the good top shelf stuff stocked for him she added and he gives me a separate
07:07allowance every month for whatever i want she said the number plainly i heard it and i knew julian had
07:13been taking the bribes the bitterness turned colder not just for myself but for his parents who had no idea
07:22three months ago his mother had nearly died a severe stroke i had stood outside the icu and called him
07:30crying julian please she's in critical condition she keeps asking for you please come home i'm so sorry
07:37chloe the project is at a critical stage right now i really can't leave she'll be okay so many nights
07:45like that his phone unanswered or always some excuse he never came back and the whole time he was here
07:52being a good husband a good father a good son-in-law the irony was sickening mia's phone rang she
07:59didn't
07:59step away or lower her voice she just answered it right there close enough that i heard every word
08:05hey baby julian's voice the same warm tone he used to use with me our son still hasn't broken his
08:11fever
08:11the doctor wants to keep him overnight i'm a little short on cash can you transfer me some
08:16three hundred dollars should cover it i laughed inwardly how a devoted family husband mia smiled
08:23into the phone of course i'll send it now then julian's voice softened i can't hold you tonight
08:28baby stay warm okay don't kick off the blankets 12 years of marriage and the last time he'd said
08:34anything like that to me is ages ago these days he didn't even show that kind of warmth toward our
08:40own son time had made us an old married couple in name only and slowly without me noticing it had
08:48made us the most familiar of strangers
08:53mia hung up and turned to me with a smile i just realized i never asked your name
09:01chloe what a pretty name she was as cheerful as ever even now i was still giving her the benefit
09:08of
09:08the doubt that she had no idea just as deceived as i was since julian won't be back tonight she
09:15said
09:15why don't you just stay you can talk to him about the work stuff tomorrow that evening mia cooked a
09:20full dinner a proper spread balanced and generous i met their daughter for the first time mr and mrs
09:27miller were polite to me but there was a wariness in the way they looked at me at the table
09:32the
09:33conversation kept coming back to julian the way they talked about him he wasn't a son-in-law
09:38he was their son mia was there an only child in a rural area like this her parents had spent
09:44their
09:44whole lives looked down on for not having a son then julian arrived moved in supported the whole
09:49family mrs miller said julian is the backbone of this family we can't do without him something
09:55lodged in my throat like a thorn i couldn't remove the backbone of our family gone for seven years
10:01had been holding up someone else's the whole time mia put me in the guest room for the night
10:06after the lights went out i lay there unable to sleep through the wall i could hear mr and mrs
10:12miller
10:12talking quietly for a long time i made two decisions i filed a report with documentation
10:18within evidence to julian's corporate headquarters then i sent my brother a message he was a police
10:24officer i'm going to need you to come make an arrest julian broke the law neither decision felt
10:29satisfying but both were right and accounting for my own life a consequence he had earned
10:38the next morning mia pulled a coat from her closet and held it out to me it's cold and you're
10:42not
10:42dressed for it she added quickly my husband just bought this for me only been washed once never worn
10:49a designer label i had spent an entire winter looking at adding to my cart removing it telling
10:55myself there were more important things to spend money on parents to care for a child to raise i used
11:01to say things like that to julian other husbands buy their wives things in all these years you've
11:07never once picked something out for me he always had the same answer calm and easy the money's yours
11:12i wouldn't know what to choose anyway i'm no good with that kind of thing he just didn't want to
11:17bother
11:17not for me thank you i said and took it it was beautiful it was warm a flash of surprise
11:24crossing mia's face she had clearly expected me to politely refuse at breakfast she was back to her
11:30usual self cheerful talkative dropping julian's name into every other sentence at one point she
11:36looked at me and asked are you happy i smiled lightly it's fine my husband just isn't as attentive
11:43as yours she smiled widely at that then just before noon the front door swung open julian's voice
11:49filled the house honey i'm home mia and i both stood up from the couch he walked in with their
11:54five-year-old son the moment his eyes landed on me he went rigid i looked at him steadily which
12:00honey
12:01are you talking to julian's face locked up he stood there holding the boy and said absolutely nothing
12:10i held his gaze my eyes said everything i didn't speak aloud why how could you do you have any
12:17idea
12:17what you've done to your son to your parents he was an only child his whole life they had sacrificed
12:23everything for him and he had walked away from all of it and quietly become the son of someone else's
12:29family i would never understand it i would never forgive it mia broke first what what does that mean
12:35her voice cracked she grabbed my arm then turned to julian why is she asking you that the paralysis
12:42broke from julian's face he quickly set the boy down he took a few steps forward then stopped
12:47caught exactly halfway between us unable to choose a direction
12:54i'll explain everything he said weakly explain what i kept my voice level that our 12-year marriage
13:01is nothing but an empty shell that you have no parents no son or that you a married man have
13:08been
13:08living out here as another woman's husband and you're ready to file for divorce so she can finally
13:13have your last name every word landed he had no answer he looked like a man caught with nowhere to
13:20run i know i don't deserve forgiveness he finally said i'm sorry mia fell apart sorry what does that
13:27mean for me she was crying now fully you said i was everything to you you said i was your
13:32life say
13:33something tell me what's happening right now and then julian turned away from me and moved to pull
13:39her into his arms my heart was bleeding fury rose through me then what are you saying i demanded he
13:47let go of her he didn't dare hold her again he stood there looking cornered miserable caught between two
13:52directions with no good move left in the silence my phone rang julian's father a video call
14:02i answered without hesitating and switched to the rear camera have you found julian yet the old man's
14:08voice was full of hope he hadn't seen his son in almost two years i walked the phone slowly across
14:14the living room until the camera landed on the family portrait on the wall all six of them all smiling
14:20found him i said along with his new wife his new son his new daughter his new family i turned
14:27the
14:27camera to julian and mia this is his other home he moved in with her family he's been taking care
14:33of
14:33them for years i heard my father-in-law's sharp intake of breath for a moment he was too furious
14:39to speak dad meet the new family the old man erupted julian is this what you've been doing this you
14:48have
14:48no regard for your mother and me no regard for your wife and son are you trying to put me
14:54in the grave
14:54julian snapped he lunged for the phone turn it off stop filming just stop i no longer have a son
15:02his father shouted from the screen do you hear me i have no son in the middle of it all
15:09mr and mrs
15:10miller walked through the front door
15:15i ended the call the moment mr and mrs miller understood who i was mr miller spoke first if julian
15:23chose to marry my daughter and have children with her that tells you everything about where he stands
15:28end it clean and move on we're not giving him up mrs miller nodded i've treated julian like my own
15:36son
15:36from the day he walked into this house he and mia love each other that's not going to change i
15:43turned
15:43to julian and what do you say he had been staring at the floor when my eyes finally forced his
15:49head up
15:50he hesitated then asked me slowly do you still want me back before i could answer mia flew across
15:58the room she dropped to the floor in front of him and grabbed his collar what kind of question is
16:02that
16:02if she still wants you does that mean you'll throw me away julian if you dare leave this family i'll
16:09take
16:09the kids and end it all i mean it she gave you one child i gave you two i have
16:16given you more
16:20julian pulled her up and tried to calm her i just need to know what she i laughed hollowly to
16:26myself
16:27then deliberately i said i want you to come home cut everything here off for good i knew exactly what
16:35he was doing he was waiting for me to make the choice for him sure that someone like me with
16:40my
16:40standards would never accept a man who had done this he expected me to say i want a divorce and
16:46hand
16:46him his exit when i didn't surprise flickered across his face even a trace of disappointment
16:51i stared at him now it's your turn to choose
16:58his lips moved nothing came out mia shook him by the arm crying say something you said i'm the love
17:04of your life you said you'd grow old with me say it to her face julian had no choice he
17:10looked at me
17:10with pleading eyes could we just keep things the way they are the way they are i stared at him
17:17cold
17:18he wanted to keep both of us my look made him too ashamed to repeat himself you stay out here
17:23and keep
17:24playing husband i go back to new york take care of your parents raise our son alone run your whole
17:31life
17:31from the background while you enjoy this one he had nothing to say but i could see it in his
17:36face that was
17:37exactly what he'd hoped for mia grabbed his arm again sobbing if you don't choose this family
17:43i'll take these kids and die in front of you you promised me we'd grow old together you can't
17:48abandon us she pulled both children over to her crying ask your daddy she said to them ask him if
17:55he's going to keep you the two children didn't understand what was happening but seeing mia cry they
18:01cried too crowding into julian's arms heartbroken daddy please don't leave us daddy mommy's crying
18:10you always said you can't stand to see mommy cry please
18:19julian finally broke he pulled all three of them into his arms his eyes went red then he looked at
18:25me
18:26he had made his decision chloe i'm sorry i know you can manage on your own i know you'll be
18:31okay
18:32he swallowed she can't she has nothing without me he glanced at mia and the children then back at me
18:41take everything in the house i won't fight you for custody but this is the choice i have to make
18:47i'm asking you to let us go
18:54i'm asking you to let us go i laughed not from humor from the absurdity of what i was hearing
19:00she's the
19:01one to be pitied what about your mother who had a stroke and can't care for herself who wants nothing
19:07more than to see her own son what about your father who broke his leg and needed you home and
19:13never once
19:14said a word about the fact that you didn't come what about your son who gets mocked at school for
19:19not having a father around who has cried more times than i can count as i spoke tears fell from
19:25my eyes not for him never again for him only because a man like this was never worth everything
19:32our family had given him julian stood there in silence shame was written across his entire face
19:39mia filled the gap don't worry she said looking at me i'll bring his parents here i'll take care of
19:45them myself you don't need to concern yourself with any of it then her eyes hardened and you you knew
19:51who
19:51i was from the very beginning didn't you you sat there and let me talk and talk and you were
19:56just
19:57collecting evidence what kind of person does that i smiled at her contemptuous then i called julian's
20:03parents back right there and told them in front of everyone what julian had chosen
20:11julian had chosen his mother's voice shook with fury if you divorce chloe you are not my son do you
20:19understand me she has done everything for this family for us while you were gone and you want to
20:27throw her away i will never accept that woman and those children i don't know them and i never will
20:33julian's father said the same mia broke down crying julian was at his breaking point i ended the
20:39call he wiped his eyes couldn't look at me and finally said chloe i have no right to ask anything
20:45of you but name your terms whatever i can give you i will mia knelt down in front of me
20:51please you're
20:52educated you're capable you're beautiful you'll find someone better than him i can't he is all i have
20:59she pulled both children over kneel down she told them softly ask her to let your daddy stay
21:05two small faces turned up toward me please madam don't take our daddy
21:14our family needs a daddy otherwise it won't be whole she was using the children to work on my
21:20conscience anger surged through me your children need a father and mine doesn't mia hesitated then said a
21:28little wounded your child is older mine are still small i laughed the truth is none of these children
21:37yours or mine will have a father from here on out both julian and mia looked up sharply not
21:44understanding not until my brother walked through the door with local police officers behind him
21:49and julian's boss and two company directors right after only then did julian understand i had never
21:56intended to give him a choice and i was certainly not going to let them walk away clean
22:05the sight of so many strangers sent both children into tears an officer quietly asked mrs miller to
22:11take them to another room julian stood still calm as if he had always known this day would come
22:18mia was anything but what is this you have no right to come in here and take my husband
22:23when no one responded to her satisfaction she turned all of it on me her pointing finger trembled
22:29you call yourself a decent person he already told you you can have everything what more do you want
22:35from him he's your son's father how can you be this heartless stop julian touched her arm i looked at
22:43her and said plainly everything you've been wearing living in eating that money didn't just come out of my
22:51pocket it was dirty it came from fraud and corruption you told me yourself what he was giving you every
22:58month that figure is exactly what i used as evidence you handed it to me yourself
23:09julian freezed his boss stepped forward his disappointment total i trusted you with this entire
23:15project bribery kickbacks substandard materials embezzlement of public funds i gave you everything
23:22and this is what you did with it julian kept his eyes on the floor and said nothing mia spun
23:29toward
23:29the officers and grabbed one by the arm we'll pay it all back every cent just please he's a father
23:35we
23:36have children please give him one more chance ma'am the officer's voice was firm this is a criminal
23:42investigation repayment is not the issue i said calmly and while that's being sorted out mia you
23:49should probably find yourself a lawyer what you and julian have constitutes bigamy that's a separate
23:55charge she went white julian finally looked up his control snapped
24:05everything i did i'll take responsibility for all of it but she had nothing to do with any of it
24:11she didn't know why are you going after her i smiled cold and contemptuous inside the hatred
24:19was overwhelming enough that i wanted to strike him across the face and then right at the peak of
24:24it i felt it all drain away into something vast and empty none of this is worth anything she didn't
24:31know i said she knew i was your wife she brought me home deliberately to force the confrontation to
24:37pressure you into a divorce and if she hadn't bragged about the 50 000 a month i wouldn't have
24:42had the evidence i needed julian stared at mia stunned demanding the truth
24:53mia shook her head frantically i didn't know she was going to report you i never thought she would
24:59i played a recording julian's face drained of color at the first two sentences julian's going to have to go
25:05back and deal with his wife eventually even if he drags his feet mia will raise hell until he files
25:10she's not the type to share mr miller's voice unmistakable then mrs miller's look at that woman
25:17she sat here and took it all without a word either she has no backbone or she's playing a very
25:22long game
25:23oh she's playing a game but it won't matter julian has no feelings for her anymore mia just has to
25:29cry
25:30and he'll sign the papers you know why mia brought her home right to light the fuse herself julian's
25:36expression moved from shock to disbelief to a deep exhausted disappointment he looked at mia so you knew
25:43all along that i was married you brought her here on purpose to force my hand mia couldn't argue her
25:51way
25:51out of it she broke down and admitted it through tears i just wanted you to belong to me completely
25:57what's wrong with that i never thought she'd go this far i never thought she'd actually mr miller
26:02who had said nothing until now opened his mouth and immediately began deflecting blame if you weren't
26:09so spineless and indecisive none of this would have happened now you've brought this on yourself
26:14what happens to the children what happens to mia what are we supposed to do how do we ever show
26:20our faces around here again
26:27julian suddenly laughed as he laughed tears slipped from the corners of his eyes his face
26:32was full of helpless exhausted disbelief at how stupid mia had been for a moment he genuinely didn't
26:39know who to blame he kept his head down the entire walk to the police car outside people had gathered
26:45then more from neighboring streets by the time the officers walked julian out over a thousand people
26:51were watching all of them there to see the most famously devoted husband in town taken away in
26:57handcuffs his wife back in new york is beautiful educated a professor i heard and he threw all of
27:03that away for this men are never satisfied doesn't matter how good things are at home he did everything
27:10mia said never questioned her once and he was rotten the whole time mia knew he was married brought his
27:16wife
27:17here herself to force a divorce backfired didn't it tried to steal another woman's husband and burned
27:23her own life down at the police car door julian stopped he turned and found me in the crowd take
27:30care of yourself he said quietly i'm sorry chloe find someone who deserves you i looked at him i said
27:36nothing
27:36he got in
27:43mia ran after the car stumbling falling picking herself up and running again pounding on the
27:50window screaming his name until it turned the corner and disappeared she came back and collapsed
27:56at my feet please she was on her knees in front of everyone past caring who saw please help him
28:02you're educated you understand how this works better than i do i don't care about anything else
28:08anymore i just need him not to go to prison she held on to the hem of my coat believe
28:12me or don't but
28:14i did love him that part was real i looked at her calmly the hatred i had carried into this
28:21situation was gone
28:28she kept going her voice breaking i genuinely didn't know he was married when we first got together
28:34i found out when our son was almost a year old i found a photo of you on his phone
28:39by then i was
28:40already in too deep the children this house my parents we were all depending on him i didn't know
28:47what to do i know nothing i say matters now i'm only asking if there's anything you can do she
28:53didn't get up she just stayed there on the ground in front of everyone her hand clutching my coat
28:58not caring about the stairs i reached down and removed her hand i looked at her you know what your
29:04tears mean to me i said quietly crocodile tears she blinked up at me then she folded over and wept
29:11into the ground and i walked away
29:19i did not soften i pressed forward with every charge including bigamy julian's parents never
29:25blamed me they supported every decision i made my son did not take it well he spent months in therapy
29:31struggling to accept that his father had another family out there other children living a parallel life
29:37it took a long time six months later mia was sentenced to one year for bigamy julian's sentencing came
29:44three months after that the court found that he had embezzled nearly 97 million taken over 10 million
29:50in bribes paid out 60 million in kickbacks misused 20 million in public funds violated construction
29:56regulations and committed bigamy multiple charges concurrent sentencing 11 years he asked to see me
30:03the day he was taken in i didn't go i sent my lawyer to handle the divorce julian's parents were
30:08good to me
30:09and my son until the end before they passed they transferred both of their properties into my son's
30:15name and left everything they had to us i kept my promise to them regardless i cared for them and
30:20i
30:20was there when they left
30:28in the seventh year of julian's sentence they both passed his mother went first another stroke
30:33too severe to survive his father followed the next day they had been devoted to each other their
30:39entire lives he simply could not face a morning without her i arranged a proper funeral for both of
30:45them i had my lawyer notify julian he sent back one message through the attorney thank you can i see
30:50you i didn't respond my son was accepted to an ivy league school the following year that more than
30:56anything let me breathe i heard mia remarried about three years after her release a divorced man with
31:02two children of his own she moved on i moved on to my son played matchmaker he introduced me to
31:08the
31:09single father of one of his college friends by then i wasn't looking for anything grand what i found
31:14instead was someone steady someone present someone who picked up when i called we agreed from the
31:19start no children together we weren't starting over from scratch we were two people who chose to share
31:25the rest of the road three years into that marriage julian was released he came to find me 11 years
31:31had not been kind to him he looked far older than a man his age should worn down diminished nothing
31:38left of
31:38the confidence he used to carry he stood at my door and asked quietly chloe is there any way i
31:45could
31:45come home i looked at him i took your advice i said i found someone good i married him
31:51you
31:53you
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