- 21 hours ago
Leaving Port, Scum Is Unworthy
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Short filmTranscript
00:02i gave up everything to move to port victoria for my husband three years later i found out i wasn't
00:08his legal wife in port victoria right after our wedding my husband sean sterling was recruited
00:14by port victoria university i left my entire career behind to go with him i thought i was
00:19sacrificing for love yet three years went by i still didn't even have valid status let alone a
00:25local id card sean told me i was on a temporary dependent permit but his assistant zoe she
00:32already had her permanent residency he got it for her through his connections i was furious i
00:38threatened to leave for the first time ever my calm husband actually cried i'm already supporting you
00:45those documents can wait and zoe came here to work for me helping her settle in is only fair i
00:51believed
00:52him until last week i went to the immigration bureau to check my status i handed the clerk
00:57at the desk our marriage certificate she stared at her screen ma'am our system shows you are not
01:05listed as mr sterling's spouse in that instant everything became clear all those delays all
01:11those excuses sean had never listed me as his wife i said nothing i went straight home and started
01:18packing my bags but when i reached my own front door my fingerprint was rejected three times
01:24access denied the lock had been changed i called sean immediately why did you change the lock
01:31oh zoe's lock was broken she's familiar with this model so i had ours taken off and sent over to
01:39her
01:39just stay in a hotel tonight i'll be working late anyway my mind went blank my husband had taken the
01:45lock off our door and given it to another woman so i went to a hotel but when i swiped
01:50my card it was
01:51declined when we first moved in sean had given me an unlimited black card but little by little zoe took
01:58over his personal shopping eventually that card ended up in her wallet and somehow i believed him
02:04until our third anniversary just as the evening was turning intimate it was zoe she casually handed
02:11sean a box of ultra thin condoms professor it's a special night you always say this brand feels the
02:19best thoughtful of me right i didn't even know what brand he preferred for the past three years
02:24we've been trying for a baby we never used protection the dinner was pure torture he made
02:30some lame excuse about a work emergency and rushed out when the door closed behind him i finally understood
02:36by then it was obvious her role as his assistant extended all the way to his bed the next morning
02:42i was about to book a one-way ticket out of port victoria when my friend called claire
02:47i pulled some strings but all they would give me was the official marriage record it's fine
02:53just tell me what you found in port victoria sean was legally married to zoe zimmerman claire are you
03:02okay i'm fine the woman by his side had never been me it had always been zoe and in that
03:10moment
03:10every detail i had forced myself to ignore came rushing back all those weekends when he claimed he
03:15had work at the university and was gone all day whenever i asked what could possibly be so important
03:20he always gave me the same answer even if i told you you wouldn't understand then i remembered the time
03:26he forgot an important file i took it to the apartment he kept near campus on the bathroom counter
03:32were two toothbrushes and stupidly i didn't think anything of it my mind drifted back to the day
03:38i first arrived in port victoria three years ago sean pulled me into his arms and spun me around like
03:43that was his whole world then zoe waved at us from nearby sean smiled took her suitcase
03:49oh i forgot to tell you zoe came too
03:55she's here all by herself things haven't been easy for her the whole ride his attention was already on
04:01another woman and i had actually been happy for him i really thought he had found the perfect
04:05assistant during those first few months in port victoria i couldn't find a job for the first time
04:11in my life i learned what rejection felt like eventually i swallowed my pride and asked sean for
04:17help doesn't the university have some kind of placement program for spouses
04:22could you look into it for me he didn't even look up he just kept sorting through his papers and
04:28said
04:28i'll ask around i waited three months when i asked again i got the same answer meanwhile zoe had already
04:37landed a job at his university the job the benefits the place at his side and she wasn't nearly as
04:44qualified
04:44as i was that was when it finally hit me nothing had gone wrong that job was never meant for
04:50me
04:50sean had already reserved it all for the real mrs sterling
04:56i had already decided to leave i went to book the earliest flight out of port victoria for good
05:01finally it was my turn i slid my passport across the counter i just wanted to leave but after a
05:08few
05:09taps on the keyboard the agent frowned i'm sorry but there seems to be a problem with your immigration
05:14status why she turned the screen toward me our system shows that you've overstayed your most recent
05:21extension application was denied at the moment you no longer have valid immigration status in port
05:27victoria i had been living in port victoria for three years legally i had no status there at all
05:34not as a wife not as anyone i was just a stranger i stepped aside and immediately called the immigration
05:41consultant
05:44miss parker my extension was never approved now i can't even leave without running into legal trouble
05:49what exactly is going on
05:53mrs sterling let me ask you something when your husband filed on your behalf did he sponsor you as
05:58his spouse because the system shows that the approved spousal sponsor under your husband's file
06:04went to a woman named zoe widzemarkin he did file for you too but not as his spouse he filed
06:09you under
06:10a different category that category stopped accepting applications last year that's why your case has been
06:16stuck this whole time standing there on the sidewalk i suddenly wanted to laugh so that was the truth
06:23sean had already handed zoe the spousal sponsorship that should have been mine and me i had spent three
06:29years in the city only to find out i didn't even have legal status i was only one step away
06:35from
06:35leaving for good one step but there was still one final document he had to sign before my case could
06:40be
06:40cleared without it i still couldn't leave cleanly
06:45i went to his university to get his signature before i even reached his office i heard zoe's voice
06:51inside sean are you really giving me the arts foundation residency but i'm not qualified this
06:57should go to claire she actually trained for this i stopped cold outside the door the arts foundation
07:03residency the opportunity one had needed most and sean had never mentioned it to me then i heard him
07:10answer it's fine i already made the calls as for claire she has me she doesn't need it and even
07:18if you'd
07:18had the same chance you wouldn't have done any worse than claire i stood outside his office and
07:23almost laughed so everything i had sacrificed was just luck in his eyes and the career i had once
07:28been proud of was something he thought anyone could replace then the door opened zoe saw me and smiled
07:34claire visitors aren't allowed on this floor why don't you wait downstairs move
07:41i barely touched her before she stumbled backward are you hurt
07:52i'm fine i just lost my balance it's not claire's fault zoe was just doing her job
07:58why would you shove her i didn't explain i held out the notice this is from immigration i need your
08:05signature claire when did you become this unreasonable sign it now or i go straight to
08:11the dean and ask why the spouse-sponsored placement in your faculty relocation package ended up with your
08:16assistant that's enough don't forget who's been supporting you without me you wouldn't even be able
08:21to stay here legally when he begged me to come he had said i'll take care of you now it
08:27had become
08:28i've been supporting you sign it now and you might still have a little dignity left
08:36escort my wife out she's not feeling well a second later two guards grabbed me i hadn't even spoken
08:42before someone covered my mouth talk tonight stop acting like a child talk tonight there was nothing
08:48left to say at nine that night sean came home he pushed open the half-closed front door the lights
08:54were on so he assumed i was inside enough already i told you from the beginning zoe needed that spot
09:00more than you did then he pushed the bedroom door open and froze the room was empty everything of mine
09:07was gone ten minutes later two police officers were standing in front of sean asking questions mr sterling
09:15are you sure this was a burglary yes my wife's things are all gone when i got back the door
09:21was unlocked
09:23someone must have come in one of the officers examined the lock the lock is brand new there are
09:29no signs of forced entry i changed the lock yesterday i just hadn't gotten around to adding her fingerprint
09:35yet you hadn't added her fingerprint then how was your wife supposed to get in sean opened his mouth
09:41but no words came out then he remembered over the past three years he had made claire wait again and
09:47again maybe she couldn't get in so she found someone to change the lock herself so your wife
09:54couldn't get into her own home and instead of calling you or waiting for you to come back
09:58she hired someone to replace the lock yes
10:05what is your wife's phone number it's been off the whole time when was the last time you saw her
10:12he thought about what he had done to claire that afternoon then he lied
10:19this afternoon she was still home this afternoon besides your wife's belongings was anything else
10:25valuable missing no just her mr sterling this probably wasn't a burglary it looks like your
10:30wife changed the lock packed her things and left on her own that's impossible she wouldn't leave the
10:36doors and windows were intact nothing valuable was missing everything in the house was still there
10:41except claire's things and even then he still insisted my wife loves me she gave up everything
10:47for me there's no way she would leave on her own before leaving the officer asked one last question
10:55mr sterling did you and your wife have an argument this afternoon no we didn't argue the police left
11:03before they went they told him to contact claire's family and friends standing alone in the empty house
11:08he suddenly realized something in the past three years claire had not made a single friend here
11:14because he had always told her you have me that's enough
11:22he pulled out his phone and called claire's mother mom has claire contacted you today no why what happened
11:28nothing she lost her phone after he hung up he went through his contacts again and realized he didn't
11:35have the number of any of claire's friends that was when he remembered over the past three years claire
11:40had brought up going back more than once and every single time he had said don't bother it's too much
11:46trouble so in the end she really never went back he used to think she was simply going along with
11:51him
11:52only now did he understand she had known all along that he never wanted to go back with her
11:59he called her number again and again every time all he heard was the same cold message her phone was
12:06off he walked back into the bedroom and stood in front of the empty side of the closet for him
12:12she had
12:13given up everything and not once had she ever said she regretted it so he had taken it for granted
12:18that
12:18she had done it willingly
12:22just then his phone rang it was the police
12:25mr sterling we reviewed the building's exterior surveillance footage at around five this afternoon
12:31your wife was seen leaving with a suitcase there were no signs that she was being forced
12:36leaning against the closet he looked at their wedding photo on the wall
12:40his face stricken he thought back to the promises they had made three years ago
12:44then he buried his face in his hands in it i was in white and he was in a suit
12:48we were both smiling
12:49at the camera three years ago i had asked him we'll always stay together right of course and i had
12:59believed him for three whole years i had believed him then his phone rang again it was a purchase alert
13:06the card he had given zoe had just been used in central 103 000 for a designer handbag
13:15while sean was still reeling from the fact that i was gone he received a purchase alert from his
13:20assistant it was over a hundred thousand suddenly he remembered two days ago zoe had said she wanted
13:27a new bag he had agreed without even thinking the money he gave me every month was only two thousand
13:33dollars that had to cover everything i had never asked him for anything more the only time i had ever
13:39asked him for anything was when i needed his signature on that immigration form
13:46sean shot to his feet and called miss parker has claire contacted you she came to me before
13:52she asked about her status recently she also asked me about her extension request
13:58she wanted to know what documents she needed to fix everything so she could leave without any legal
14:03complications mr sterling there is something else i think you should know when claire spoke to me she
14:10mentioned the marriage certificate i think she already knows what you did she knows yes that is
14:16why she never asked you again about filing for her as your spouse sean stood there frozen just then
14:22another message came in from zoe sean the bag needs a cute outfit to match too right after that
14:29another charge notification popped up this one was over 20 000 he stared at the number his mind
14:33completely blank when had zoe started spending his money as if she had every right to it then he
14:39remembered it had started the moment the extra card that should have gone to me ended up in her hands
14:43for three years i had given up everything and all that time he had been busy giving all his care
14:49to his
14:49assistant sean soon found out that i had never left port victoria he immediately arranged a
14:57meeting with miss parker and asked urgently what is the fastest way to fix claire status now
15:03mr sterling you have always known what the fastest way is a few years ago someone told me that during
15:09onboarding it was better to come in as single first then once everything was stable i could file the
15:16family paperwork later at the time i had no choice i only did it to keep the older people in
15:23the family
15:23calm that is nonsense who told you that my assistant she specifically asked around for me mr sterling i
15:34have worked in immigration for 15 years i have never heard of any rule like that when you joined the
15:39university you came in through an employment-based status route that permit has never required an
15:44applicant to be single he suddenly remembered what zoe had told him sean it is better not to list
15:53yourself as married during the hiring process the background check gets messy he had believed her
16:00he had always buried himself in research and handed all those details over to the assistant he trusted
16:04most immigration rules onboarding forms relocation paperwork he had barely read any of them himself
16:12later with red eyes zoe had told him she wanted legal status here he had thought about how she was
16:17a
16:18young woman far from home who had followed him all the way here all it would take was one marriage
16:23certificate so he agreed without thinking twice mr sterling that assistant was miss zimmerman wasn't it
16:30he said nothing just as he stood up in a daze his phone rang sean please come to the office
16:39of academic
16:39affairs as soon as possible there are some matters we need you to explain in person
16:46at three o'clock that afternoon sean was sitting in a conference room at the office of academic
16:51affairs i was not there i only learned the details later there had been two documents on the table in
16:57front of him the first was a copy of the certificate for the marriage he had registered in port victoria
17:02with zoe the second was a copy of the certificate for the marriage he had registered with me in
17:06another jurisdiction the director of academic affairs pushed the documents toward him professor
17:13sterling do you confirm that these materials are authentic sean said nothing under port victoria law
17:19bigamy is a criminal offense the university has already received a request for cooperation for
17:25immigration in addition you will need to explain the marital status declaration you submitted when you
17:31joined the university how was he supposed to explain it soon after the investigators arrived professor
17:38sterling are you saying you did not know that forging documents is illegal
17:46later when i heard those words repeated i almost laughed did he know maybe he didn't that was the
17:52cruelest part sean had never carefully planned to ruin me he just never thought about me enough
17:59so he spent three years figuring out how to stay by his side i spent those same three years waiting
18:04for him to come home she fought for a place beside him i waited for him to remember i was
18:09there he never
18:10did sean was suspended from all teaching and research duties during the investigation his salary was
18:17stopped as well when he walked out of academic affairs so he was already standing in the corridor waiting for
18:23him sean sean my work has been suspended too the residency program with the art foundation called
18:30they said my spot has been canceled when i first heard that part i felt nothing no triumph no relief
18:38he looked at her for the first time he really looked the coat the bag the lipstick
18:45all of it had been paid for with my card and me i had never spent like that even buying
18:51something
18:52small for myself i used to hesitate then sean said give the card back sean that card was for claire
19:03not for you
19:06she pulled her handbag behind her back her eyes red and even more sean i've been with you for three
19:12years
19:13you were with me for three years she waited for me for three years
19:17so he bit her lip and said nothing back then you kept claire and me from registering our marriage
19:23properly this was what you wanted wasn't it
19:29sean
19:31i just wanted to stay after that the legal battle turned ugly
19:35zoe refused to dissolve the spousal relationship she hired a lawyer and demanded compensation sean gave
19:42her nothing during those three years in port victoria she had already gotten plenty a respectable job
19:48residency status and the card he had handed over without a second thought what had i gotten nothing
19:55in court the two of them tore at each other until there was almost nothing left
19:59zoe was ordered to repay what she owed her reputation was ruined and she left
20:05sean did not fare much better he came back to my hometown several times to look for me
20:09but the people all told him the same thing i had never gone back he kept traveling back and forth
20:16day
20:16after day passed then month after month by the time i heard the rest his life had already been
20:23stripped down to almost nothing no job no home no one
20:31a year later i was at the port victoria art fair claire i turned around i saw sean the moment
20:38i saw him
20:39the smile faded from my face there was no surprise no anger no grievance nothing at all it was just
20:47like the last time i had looked at him from the doorway of his office there were only a few
20:51steps left
20:51between us then a hand came across in front of him and stopped him sir what exactly do you want
20:58with my
20:58your wife your wife she's my wife it's fine i'll handle it mr sterling do you need something
21:13claire i've been looking for you for a year as for the marriage certificate i can explain mr sterling it
21:21has
21:21been a year my husband and i are doing very well you made me wait for three years he has
21:29never made
21:29me wait even three days at the time i had no money no connections and no way to leave port
21:35victoria
21:35i worked part-time jobs trying to save enough to pay the penalty first and buy a ticket out
21:42adrian could stand in a gallery for half an hour just to ask me how i read a painting what
21:46you could
21:46never give me he gave back to me one by one legal status respect and the chance to become myself
21:52again
21:54sean stood there and said nothing i looked at him for a few seconds i have things to do i'll
21:59be going
22:00now i turned away adrian followed beside me his hand resting lightly at the small of my back behind me
22:08sean instinctively took a step forward adrian turned his head and looked at him he did not say a
22:12word the meaning in his eyes was obvious enough don't come any closer sean stopped i did not look
22:19back again by the time i disappeared into the crowd he was still standing there the exhibition hall was
22:24full of people moving back and forth and in front of him was the painting i had been standing before
22:29before its title was leaving port
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