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His Secret Wife - Short Drama Full HD 720p
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Short filmTranscript
00:05I left New York when I found out Julian had extended his out-of-town project for another
00:13seven years.
00:14I left New York and traveled hours to reach his project site, only to be stopped at the
00:18gate by an older guard.
00:20Hello, does Julian work here?
00:21What do you want with my son-in-law?
00:23The words hit me like a thunderclap.
00:25I told myself it was a coincidence.
00:27Same name, different man.
00:29Relax, Mr. Miller.
00:30Everyone around here knows Julian is totally whipped.
00:33She's probably here on business from corporate.
00:35I kept my composure and pulled up a photo of Julian on my phone.
00:39I am here on business.
00:40Is this the Julian you're talking about?
00:42The old man relaxed.
00:43Yeah, that's him.
00:45That's my son-in-law.
00:46The blood in my veins froze.
00:48Before I could process a single word, a woman appeared, well-dressed, smiling.
00:53You here to talk business with my man?
00:54She asked cheerfully.
00:56Come wait at our place.
00:57Our son's got a fever.
00:59He took him to the hospital in town.
01:00I stared at her, thunderstruck, barely able to breathe.
01:07She noticed I wasn't moving and waved me over.
01:10I'm Julian's wife, Mia.
01:12Just call me Mia.
01:13She was warm and talkative, smile never leaving her face.
01:16There's nothing but rough guys around here, and half of them don't know how to act.
01:20A woman shouldn't be standing around alone out here.
01:22Come on back to the house.
01:23He'll be a while.
01:24She reached out and touched my arm, and I followed her.
01:26I watched her as we walked.
01:28She looked more than 10 years younger than Julian.
01:30Lord, you women from New York really are something else.
01:33Look at that skin.
01:35Smooth as a peeled egg.
01:36My man's got skin just like yours, all soft and clear.
01:40I forced a smile.
01:41Julian and I both had good skin.
01:43I was older than Mia by a fair margin, but I'd taken care of myself.
01:47I still looked like I was in my mid-20s.
01:49No one would guess I'd been married for 12 years.
01:52But what did any of that matter?
01:53I had a career, raised our son, looked after his parents, managed everything on my own.
01:59And my husband had still gone and built an entirely different life out here behind my back.
02:03Mia talked the whole way.
02:05She didn't seem to need a response.
02:06A couple on a motorcycle slowed down as they passed us.
02:09The woman on the back held out a small paper bag.
02:12Your man thinks of everything, takes the kid to the doctor, and still remembers you wanted chestnuts.
02:16Asked me to drop these off.
02:18Your husband really does take care of you, I said, keeping my voice even.
02:22The woman on the motorcycle laughed.
02:23Everyone knows Julian is totally whipped.
02:27Julian turns into a whole different man the second Mia gives him a look.
02:30One tear, and he's done.
02:32Mia shook her head and smiled.
02:34Oh, stop it.
02:35A bitter ache welled up inside me.
02:38My husband, the man who had spent 12 years talking to me about equality in marriage,
02:43about respect and partnership.
02:45That man had come out here and made himself completely, voluntarily, another woman's lapdog.
02:55Mia's house stopped me in my tracks.
02:57It was a massive villa.
02:58Nothing like the other houses around it.
03:01Distinctive, well-built, clearly the only one of its kind in town.
03:05My man built it, she said.
03:07Nobody else around here has anything like it.
03:10And he's the first husband in town to move in with his wife's family.
03:14Moved in with her family?
03:16The moment I stepped into the living room, I saw it.
03:18A framed family portrait on the wall.
03:21Six people, everyone smiling.
03:23A boy who looked about five.
03:24A little girl, maybe three.
03:26We had a portrait just like it hanging in our apartment back in New York.
03:30Except ours only had three people.
03:32Julian, me, and our 10-year-old son.
03:35No daughter.
03:36The year Julian first left for this project, he had cupped my face in his hands and made
03:41me a promise.
03:42Two years max.
03:43I'll find a way to transfer back.
03:45And when I do, if you're up for it, we'll try for a second baby.
03:49After that, we'll never be apart again.
03:51Two years became seven.
03:53He came home for a few days every Christmas.
03:56And that was all we got.
03:57Last year, when he was home for the holidays, I mentioned offhand how I still wished we'd
04:02had a daughter.
04:03He brushed it off.
04:04Honestly, with the way things are, smart people aren't having more kids.
04:08One is enough.
04:09I thought he'd simply changed his mind.
04:10Turns out, he already had his daughter.
04:12He just hadn't had her with me.
04:14We've got Wi-Fi.
04:15Passwords 990913.
04:17My man said it to my birthday.
04:19Mia said, already heading to the kitchen.
04:21She came back with a cup of tea and set it in front of me, still smiling.
04:25Something jolted in my chest.
04:27Julian had told me there was no reliable internet signal out here.
04:31That was why I could never reach him directly.
04:33He always had to be the one to contact me first.
04:36I connected to the network.
04:37Full bars, one lie after another, each one like a blade going in clean.
04:44I kept my voice easy.
04:46You two seem really happy.
04:48Does it worry you that he might get transferred back to New York someday?
04:51Mia's smile didn't waver.
04:53Not at all.
04:54They almost pulled him back earlier this year.
04:56He called in every favor he had to stay.
04:59My heart dropped like it had been thrown off a cliff.
05:01It wasn't the company keeping him out here.
05:03He had fought to stay.
05:04Although he had, knowing his mother had suffered a stroke and couldn't care for herself.
05:09Although he had, knowing his father had broken his leg in a fall and needed help.
05:13Although he had, knowing our son had cried more than once over missing his father.
05:18Although he had knowing I had been worn down by work and family until I ended up in the hospital
05:23more than once.
05:24And he had stayed anyway.
05:26Comfortably, contentedly, a chill ran through me.
05:29My shoulders trembling slightly.
05:31Mia crossed the room and switched on the air conditioning, thinking I was cold.
05:34It'll warm up in a minute.
05:36My husband bought me the best air conditioner.
05:39A big brand name.
05:40She said everything about Julian casually, warmly.
05:43Nobody else in town has one.
05:45I didn't even want it.
05:47I told him it was too much.
05:48But he insisted.
05:51I kept the smile on my face.
05:53He's quite a bit older than you.
05:55Is this his second marriage?
06:03Ten years older.
06:05We are both getting married for the first time.
06:08Mia smiled.
06:09I'm the lucky one.
06:10A girl like me, barely finished high school, ending up with a man who has a master's degree.
06:15He's the project manager for the whole development.
06:17I never imagined I'd end up married to someone like that.
06:20But instead, he says meeting me was the best thing that ever happened to him.
06:25She kept talking.
06:25The age gap's a good thing.
06:27Older men is responsible at work and at home.
06:30Every paycheck goes straight to me.
06:33Bitterness welled up in my chest.
06:35For years, Julian had been transferring money back to our joint account every month.
06:40Only left $1,000 for himself.
06:43He told me his housing and meals were covered, that he barely needed anything for himself out here.
06:48I had a college roommate who worked in payroll department of his company.
06:51Years ago, I quietly confirmed his monthly salary, once $11,000.
06:56He takes good care of the whole family.
06:58I said, God, yes.
07:00My mom has a bad back.
07:01He bought her that massage chair without blinking.
07:04My dad likes his whiskey.
07:06So Julian keeps cases of the good top shelf stuff stocked for him.
07:10She added, and he gives me a separate allowance every month for whatever I want.
07:15She said the number plainly.
07:16I heard it and I knew.
07:18Julian had been taking the bribes.
07:20The bitterness turned colder.
07:21Not just for myself, but for his parents who had no idea.
07:27Three months ago, his mother had nearly died.
07:30A severe stroke.
07:32I had stood outside the ICU and called him, crying.
07:35Julian, please.
07:37She's in critical condition.
07:38She keeps asking for you.
07:40Please come home.
07:41I'm so sorry, Chloe.
07:43The project is at a critical stage right now.
07:46I really can't leave.
07:47She'll be okay.
07:48So many nights like that.
07:50His phone unanswered or always some excuse.
07:53He never came back.
07:55And the whole time, he was here, being a good husband, a good father, a good son-in-law.
08:01The irony was sickening.
08:03Mia's phone rang.
08:04She didn't step away or lower her voice.
08:06She just answered it right there.
08:08Close enough that I heard every word.
08:10Hey, baby.
08:11Julian's voice.
08:12The same warm tone he used to use with me.
08:14Our son still hasn't broken his fever.
08:16The doctor wants to keep him overnight.
08:19I'm a little short on cash.
08:20Can you transfer me some?
08:22$300 should cover it.
08:23I laughed inwardly.
08:25How a devoted family husband.
08:27Mia smiled into the phone.
08:29Of course.
08:30I'll send it now.
08:31Then Julian's voice softened.
08:32I can't hold you tonight, baby.
08:34Stay warm, okay?
08:35Don't kick off the blankets.
08:3612 years of marriage.
08:38And the last time he'd said anything like that to me is ages ago.
08:42These days, he didn't even show that kind of warmth toward our own son.
08:46Time had made us an old married couple.
08:49In name only.
08:50And slowly, without me noticing, it had made us the most familiar of strangers.
08:59Mia hung up and turned to me with a smile.
09:01I just realized I never asked your name.
09:06Chloe.
09:07What a pretty name.
09:09She was as cheerful as ever.
09:11Even now, I was still giving her the benefit of the doubt that she had no idea.
09:15Just as deceived as I was.
09:18Since Julian won't be back tonight, she said, why don't you just stay?
09:21You can talk to him about the work stuff tomorrow.
09:24That evening, Mia cooked a full dinner, a proper spread.
09:28Balanced and generous.
09:29I met their daughter for the first time.
09:32Mr. and Mrs. Miller were polite to me, but there was a wariness in the way they looked at me.
09:37At the table, the conversation kept coming back to Julian.
09:40The way they talked about him, he wasn't a son-in-law.
09:43He was their son.
09:44Mia was their and only child.
09:46In a rural area like this, her parents had spent their whole lives looked down on for not having a
09:51son.
09:52Then Julian arrived, moved in, supported the whole family.
09:55Mrs. Miller said, Julian is the backbone of this family.
09:58We can't do without him.
09:59Something lodged in my throat like a thorn I couldn't remove.
10:03The backbone of our family, gone for seven years, had been holding up someone else's the whole time.
10:10Mia put me in the guest room for the night.
10:12After the lights went out, I lay there unable to sleep.
10:15Through the wall, I could hear Mr. and Mrs. Miller talking quietly for a long time.
10:20I made two decisions.
10:21I filed a report with documentation, within evidence to Julian's corporate headquarters.
10:26Then I sent my brother a message.
10:28He was a police officer.
10:29I'm going to need you to come make an arrest.
10:32Julian broke the law.
10:33Neither decision felt satisfying.
10:35But both were right.
10:36And accounting for my own life.
10:38A consequence he had earned.
10:43The next morning, Mia pulled a coat from her closet and held it out to me.
10:46It's cold and you're not dressed for it.
10:48She added quickly,
10:50My husband just bought this for me.
10:52Only been washed once, never worn.
10:54A designer label I had spent an entire winter looking at.
10:58Adding to my cart.
10:59Removing it.
11:00Telling myself there were more important things to spend money on.
11:03Parents to care for.
11:04A child to raise.
11:06I used to say things like that to Julian.
11:08Other husbands buy their wives things.
11:10In all these years, you've never once picked something out for me.
11:13He always had the same answer.
11:15Calm and easy.
11:16The money's yours.
11:17I wouldn't know what to choose anyway.
11:19I'm no good with that kind of thing.
11:21He just didn't want to bother.
11:23Not for me.
11:24I said and took it.
11:25It was beautiful.
11:26It was warm.
11:28A flash of surprise crossing Mia's face.
11:30She had clearly expected me to politely refuse.
11:33At breakfast, she was back to her usual self.
11:36Cheerful, talkative, dropping Julian's name into every other sentence.
11:40At one point, she looked at me and asked,
11:42Are you happy?
11:43I smiled lightly.
11:45It's fine.
11:46My husband just isn't as attentive as yours.
11:49She smiled widely at that.
11:51Then just before noon, the front door swung open.
11:53Julian's voice filled the house.
11:55Honey, I'm home.
11:56Mia and I both stood up from the couch.
11:58He walked in with their five-year-old son.
12:00The moment his eyes landed on me, he went rigid.
12:04I looked at him steadily.
12:05Which honey are you talking to?
12:10Julian's face locked up.
12:12He stood there holding the boy and said absolutely nothing.
12:15I held his gaze.
12:17My eyes said everything I didn't speak aloud.
12:19Why?
12:20How could you?
12:21Do you have any idea what you've done to your son?
12:24To your parents?
12:24He was an only child.
12:26His whole life, they had sacrificed everything for him.
12:29And he had walked away from all of it and quietly become the son of someone else's family.
12:35I would never understand it.
12:37I would never forgive it.
12:38Mia broke first.
12:39What?
12:39What does that mean?
12:41Her voice cracked.
12:42She grabbed my arm then turned to Julian.
12:44Why is she asking you that?
12:46The paralysis broke from Julian's face.
12:49He quickly set the boy down.
12:50He took a few steps forward, then stopped.
12:52Caught exactly halfway between us, unable to choose a direction.
12:59I'll explain everything, he said weakly.
13:02Explain what?
13:03I kept my voice level.
13:04That our 12-year marriage is nothing but an empty shell.
13:08That you have no parents, no son.
13:10Or that you, a married man, have been living out here as another woman's husband.
13:15And you're ready to file for divorce so she can finally have your last name?
13:19Every word landed.
13:22He had no answer.
13:23He looked like a man caught with nowhere to run.
13:25I know I don't deserve forgiveness, he finally said.
13:28I'm sorry.
13:29Mia fell apart.
13:30Sorry?
13:31What does that mean for me?
13:32She was crying now, fully.
13:34You said I was everything to you.
13:37You said I was your life.
13:38Say something.
13:39Tell me what's happening right now.
13:40And then Julian turned away from me and moved to pull her into his arms.
13:45My heart was bleeding.
13:47Fury rose through me.
13:49Then what are you saying?
13:50I demanded.
13:51He let go of her.
13:52He didn't dare hold her again.
13:54He stood there looking cornered, miserable, caught between two directions with no good move left.
14:00In the silence, my phone rang.
14:02Julian's father, a video call.
14:07I answered without hesitating and switched to the rear camera.
14:10Have you found Julian yet?
14:12The old man's voice was full of hope.
14:15He hadn't seen his son in almost two years.
14:18I walked the phone slowly across the living room until the camera landed on the family portrait on the wall.
14:23All six of them.
14:24All smiling.
14:25Found him, I said.
14:27Along with his new wife.
14:28His new son.
14:29His new daughter.
14:30His new family.
14:31I turned the camera to Julian and Mia.
14:34This is his other home.
14:35He moved in with her family.
14:37He's been taking care of them for years.
14:39I heard my father-in-law's sharp intake of breath.
14:42For a moment, he was too furious to speak.
14:45Dad, meet the new family.
14:47The old man erupted.
14:49Julian, is this what you've been doing?
14:52This?
14:53You have no regard for your mother and me.
14:55No regard for your wife and son.
14:58Are you trying to put me in the grave?
15:00Julian snapped.
15:01He lunged for the phone.
15:02Turn it off.
15:03Stop filming.
15:04Just stop.
15:05I no longer have a son.
15:07His father shouted from the screen.
15:09Do you hear me?
15:10I have no son.
15:12In the middle of it all, Mr. and Mrs. Miller walked through the front door.
15:20I ended the call.
15:22The moment Mr. and Mrs. Miller understood who I was, Mr. Miller spoke first.
15:27If Julian chose to marry my daughter and have children with her, that tells you everything
15:32about where he stands.
15:34End it clean and move on.
15:36We're not giving him up.
15:37Mrs. Miller nodded.
15:38I've treated Julian like my own son from the day he walked into this house.
15:43He and Mia love each other.
15:46That's not going to change.
15:47I turned to Julian.
15:49And what do you say?
15:50He had been staring at the floor.
15:52When my eyes finally forced his head up, he hesitated, then asked me slowly,
15:58Do you still want me back?
16:00Before I could answer, Mia flew across the room.
16:03She dropped to the floor in front of him and grabbed his collar.
16:06What kind of question is that?
16:08If she still wants you, does that mean you'll throw me away?
16:11Julian, if you dare leave this family, I'll take the kids and end it all.
16:16I mean it.
16:17She gave you one child.
16:19I gave you two.
16:20I have given you more.
16:25Julian pulled her up and tried to calm her.
16:27I just need to know what she...
16:29I laughed hollowly to myself.
16:32Then deliberately, I said,
16:34I want you to come home.
16:36Cut everything here off.
16:38For good.
16:39I knew exactly what he was doing.
16:41He was waiting for me to make the choice for him.
16:43Sure, that someone like me, with my standards, would never accept a man who had done this.
16:48He expected me to say, I want a divorce, and hand him his exit.
16:52When I didn't, surprise flickered across his face.
16:55Even a trace of disappointment.
16:56I stared at him.
16:58Now it's your turn to choose.
17:03His lips moved.
17:04Nothing came out.
17:06Mia shook him by the arm, crying.
17:07Say something.
17:08You said I'm the love of your life.
17:10You said you'd grow old with me.
17:12Say it to her face.
17:13Julian had no choice.
17:15He looked at me with pleading eyes.
17:17Could we...
17:18Just keep things the way they are?
17:20The way they are?
17:21I stared at him, cold.
17:23He wanted to keep both of us.
17:25My look made him too ashamed to repeat himself.
17:27You stay out here and keep playing husband?
17:30I go back to New York, take care of your parents, raise our son alone, run your whole life from
17:36the background, while you enjoy this one?
17:39He had nothing to say, but I could see it in his face.
17:42That was exactly what he'd hoped for.
17:44Mia grabbed his arm again, sobbing.
17:46If you don't choose this family, I'll take these kids and die in front of you.
17:50You promised me we'd grow old together.
17:53You can't abandon us.
17:54She pulled both children over to her, crying.
17:57Ask your daddy, she said to them.
17:59Ask him if he's going to keep you.
18:01The two children didn't understand what was happening.
18:04But seeing Mia cry, they cried too.
18:08Crowding into Julian's arms, heartbroken.
18:10Daddy, please don't leave us.
18:13Daddy, mommy's crying.
18:16You always said you can't stand to see mommy cry.
18:19Please.
18:24Julian finally broke.
18:25He pulled all three of them into his arms.
18:28His eyes went red.
18:30Then he looked at me.
18:31He had made his decision.
18:33Chloe, I'm sorry.
18:34I know you can manage on your own.
18:36I know you'll be okay.
18:37He swallowed.
18:39She can't.
18:40She has nothing without me.
18:42He glanced at Mia and the children, then back at me.
18:46Take everything in the house.
18:48I won't fight you for custody.
18:50But this is the choice I have to make.
18:53I'm asking you to let us go.
18:59I'm asking you to let us go.
19:01I laughed, not from humor, from the absurdity of what I was hearing.
19:05She's the one to be pitied?
19:07What about your mother, who had a stroke and can't care for herself?
19:11Who wants nothing more than to see her own son?
19:14What about your father, who broke his leg and needed you home and never once said a word about the
19:20fact that you didn't come?
19:22What about your son, who gets mocked at school for not having a father around, who has cried more times
19:27than I can count?
19:28As I spoke, tears fell from my eyes.
19:31Not for him.
19:32Never again for him.
19:34Only because a man like this was never worth everything our family had given him.
19:39Julian stood there in silence.
19:41Shame was written across his entire face.
19:44Mia filled the gap.
19:45Don't worry, she said, looking at me.
19:48I'll bring his parents here.
19:49I'll take care of them myself.
19:51You don't need to concern yourself with any of it.
19:53Then her eyes hardened.
19:55And you, you knew who I was from the very beginning, didn't you?
19:59You sat there and let me talk and talk and you were just collecting evidence.
20:03What kind of person does that?
20:04I smiled at her, contemptuous.
20:07Then I called Julian's parents back right there and told them in front of everyone what Julian had chosen.
20:16Julian had chosen.
20:18His mother's voice shook with fury.
20:20If you divorce Chloe, you are not my son.
20:24Do you understand me?
20:25She has done everything for this family.
20:28For us.
20:29While you were gone and you want to throw her away?
20:33I will never accept that woman and those children.
20:36I don't know them and I never will.
20:38Julian's father said the same.
20:39Mia broke down crying.
20:41Julian was at his breaking point.
20:43I ended the call.
20:44He wiped his eyes, couldn't look at me and finally said,
20:47Chloe, I have no right to ask anything of you, but name your terms.
20:53Whatever I can give you, I will.
20:55Mia knelt down in front of me.
20:57Please, you're educated, you're capable, you're beautiful.
21:00You'll find someone better than him.
21:02I can't.
21:03He is all I have.
21:04She pulled both children over.
21:06Kneel down, she told them softly.
21:09Ask her to let your daddy stay.
21:10Two small faces turned up toward me.
21:13Please, madam, don't take our daddy.
21:20Our family needs a daddy.
21:22Otherwise, it won't be whole.
21:23She was using the children to work on my conscience.
21:26Anger surged through me.
21:28Your children need a father and mine doesn't?
21:31Mia hesitated, then said, a little wounded,
21:33Your child is older.
21:35Mine are still small.
21:37I laughed.
21:39The truth is, none of these children, yours or mine, will have a father from here on out.
21:46Both Julian and Mia looked up sharply, not understanding.
21:50Not until my brother walked through the door with local police officers behind him
21:54and Julian's boss and two company directors right after.
21:58Only then did Julian understand.
22:00I had never intended to give him a choice.
22:03And I was certainly not going to let them walk away clean.
22:10The sight of so many strangers sent both children into tears.
22:14An officer quietly asked Mrs. Miller to take them to another room.
22:18Julian stood still, calm.
22:20As if he had always known this day would come.
22:23Mia was anything but.
22:25What is this?
22:26You have no right to come in here and take my husband.
22:29When no one responded to her satisfaction, she turned all of it on me.
22:33Her pointing finger trembled.
22:35You call yourself a decent person?
22:37He already told you.
22:38You can have everything.
22:40What more do you want from him?
22:41He's your son's father.
22:43How can you be this heartless?
22:45Stop.
22:46Julian touched her arm.
22:48I looked at her and said plainly,
22:50everything you've been wearing, living in, eating.
22:54That money didn't just come out of my pocket.
22:57It was dirty.
22:58It came from fraud and corruption.
23:00You told me yourself what he was giving you every month.
23:04That figure is exactly what I used as evidence.
23:07You handed it to me yourself.
23:14Julian freezed.
23:15His boss stepped forward.
23:16His disappointment total.
23:18I trusted you with this entire project.
23:21Bribery, kickbacks, substandard materials, embezzlement of public funds.
23:26I gave you everything.
23:27And this is what you did with it.
23:30Julian kept his eyes on the floor and said nothing.
23:33Mia spun toward the officers and grabbed one by the arm.
23:37We'll pay it all back.
23:38Every cent.
23:39Just please.
23:40He's a father.
23:41We have children.
23:42Please give him one more chance.
23:43Ma'am, the officer's voice was firm.
23:46This is a criminal investigation.
23:48Repayment is not the issue.
23:50I said calmly.
23:51And while that's being sorted out, Mia, you should probably find yourself a lawyer.
23:56What you and Julian have constitutes bigamy.
23:59That's a separate charge.
24:01She went white.
24:02Julian finally looked up.
24:04His control snapped.
24:10Everything I did, I'll take responsibility for all of it.
24:14But she had nothing to do with any of it.
24:17She didn't know.
24:18Why are you going after her?
24:20I smiled, cold and contemptuous.
24:22Inside, the hatred was overwhelming enough that I wanted to strike him across the face.
24:27And then, right at the peak of it, I felt it all drain away into something vast and empty.
24:33None of this is worth anything.
24:35She didn't know, I said.
24:37She knew I was your wife.
24:38She brought me home deliberately to force the confrontation.
24:42To pressure you into a divorce.
24:44And if she hadn't bragged about the $50,000 a month, I wouldn't have had the evidence I needed.
24:49Julian stared at Mia, stunned, demanding the truth.
24:58Mia shook her head frantically.
25:00I didn't know she was going to report you.
25:02I never thought she would.
25:04I played a recording.
25:06Julian's face drained of color at the first two sentences.
25:09Julian's going to have to go back and deal with his wife eventually.
25:12Even if he drags his feet, Mia will raise hell until he files.
25:16She's not the type to share.
25:17Mr. Miller's voice, unmistakable.
25:20Then Mrs. Miller's.
25:21Look at that woman.
25:22She sat here and took it all without a word.
25:25Either she has no backbone,
25:26or she's playing a very long game.
25:28Oh, she's playing a game.
25:30But it won't matter.
25:31Julian has no feelings for her anymore.
25:34Mia just has to cry and he'll sign the papers.
25:37You know why Mia brought her home, right?
25:39To light the fuse herself.
25:40Julian's expression moved from shock to disbelief,
25:43to a deep, exhausted disappointment.
25:46He looked at Mia.
25:47So you knew all along that I was married.
25:51You brought her here on purpose.
25:53To force my hand.
25:54Mia couldn't argue her way out of it.
25:57She broke down and admitted it through tears.
25:59I just wanted you to belong to me completely.
26:02What's wrong with that?
26:03I never thought she'd go this far.
26:05I never thought she'd actually...
26:07Mr. Miller, who had said nothing until now,
26:09opened his mouth and immediately began deflecting blame.
26:13If you weren't so spineless and indecisive,
26:16none of this would have happened.
26:17Now you've brought this on yourself.
26:19What happens to the children?
26:21What happens to Mia?
26:22What are we supposed to do?
26:24How do we ever show our faces around here again?
26:32Julian suddenly laughed.
26:33As he laughed, tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.
26:37His face was full of helpless, exhausted disbelief at how stupid Mia had been.
26:42For a moment, he genuinely didn't know who to blame.
26:45He kept his head down the entire walk to the police car.
26:48Outside, people had gathered, then more from neighboring streets.
26:53By the time the officers walked Julian out, over a thousand people were watching,
26:57all of them there to see the most famously devoted husband in town taken away in handcuffs.
27:02His wife back in New York is beautiful, educated, a professor I heard.
27:07And he threw all of that away for this?
27:10Men are never satisfied.
27:12Doesn't matter how good things are at home.
27:14He did everything Mia said, never questioned her once, and he was rotten the whole time.
27:19Mia knew he was married.
27:21Brought his wife here herself to force a divorce.
27:24Backfired, didn't it?
27:25Tried to steal another woman's husband and burned her own life down.
27:29At the police car door, Julian stopped.
27:32He turned and found me in the crowd.
27:34Take care of yourself, he said quietly.
27:37I'm sorry, Chloe.
27:38Find someone who deserves you.
27:40I looked at him.
27:41I said nothing.
27:41He got in.
27:48Mia ran after the car.
27:51Stumbling, falling, picking herself up and running again.
27:54Pounding on the windows, screaming his name, until it turned the corner and disappeared.
27:59She came back and collapsed at my feet.
28:02Please.
28:02She was on her knees in front of everyone, past caring who saw.
28:06Please help him.
28:08You're educated.
28:09You understand how this works better than I do.
28:11I don't care about anything else anymore.
28:13I just need him not to go to prison.
28:15She held onto the hem of my coat.
28:17Believe me or don't.
28:19But I did love him.
28:20That part was real.
28:22I looked at her calmly.
28:24The hatred I had carried into this situation was gone.
28:33She kept going, her voice breaking.
28:36I genuinely didn't know he was married when we first got together.
28:40I found out when our son was almost a year old.
28:42I found a photo of you on his phone.
28:44By then, I was already in too deep.
28:47The children, this house, my parents.
28:50We were all depending on him.
28:52I didn't know what to do.
28:53I know nothing I say matters now.
28:55I'm only asking if there's anything you can do.
28:58She didn't get up.
28:59She just stayed there on the ground in front of everyone, her hand clutching my coat, not
29:03caring about the stairs.
29:04I reached down and removed her hand.
29:07I looked at her.
29:08You know what your tears mean to me?
29:10I said quietly.
29:12Crocodile tears.
29:13She blinked up at me.
29:14Then she folded over and wept into the ground, and I walked away.
29:24I did not soften.
29:25I pressed forward with every charge, including bigamy.
29:29Julian's parents never blamed me.
29:31They supported every decision I made.
29:34My son did not take it well.
29:35He spent months in therapy, struggling to accept that his father had another family out
29:40there, other children, living a parallel life.
29:43It took a long time.
29:44Six months later, Mia was sentenced to one year for bigamy.
29:47Julian's sentencing came three months after that.
29:50The court found that he had embezzled nearly $97 million, taken over $10 million in bribes,
29:56paid out $60 million in kickbacks, misused $20 million in public funds, violated construction
30:01regulations, and committed bigamy.
30:03Multiple charges, concurrent sentencing, 11 years.
30:06He asked to see me the day he was taken in.
30:09I didn't go.
30:10I sent my lawyer to handle the divorce.
30:12Julian's parents were good to me and my son until the end.
30:16Before they passed, they transferred both of their properties into my son's name and
30:20left everything they had to us.
30:22I kept my promise to them regardless.
30:24I cared for them, and I was there when they left.
30:33In the seventh year of Julian's sentence, they both passed.
30:36His mother went first.
30:37Another stroke.
30:38Too severe to survive.
30:40His father followed the next day.
30:42They had been devoted to each other their entire lives.
30:45He simply could not face a mourning without her.
30:48I arranged a proper funeral for both of them.
30:50I had my lawyer notify Julian.
30:52He sent back one message through the attorney.
30:55Can I see you?
30:56I didn't respond.
30:57My son was accepted to an Ivy League school the following year.
31:00That, more than anything, let me breathe.
31:03I heard Mia remarried about three years after her release.
31:06A divorced man with two children of his own.
31:09She moved on.
31:10I moved on too.
31:11My son played matchmaker.
31:12He introduced me to the single father of one of his college friends.
31:16By then, I wasn't looking for anything grand.
31:18What I found instead was someone steady, someone present,
31:21someone who picked up when I called.
31:23We agreed from the start.
31:25No children together.
31:26We weren't starting over from scratch.
31:28We were two people who chose to share the rest of the road.
31:31Three years into that marriage, Julian was released.
31:34He came to find me.
31:35Eleven years had not been kind to him.
31:37He looked far older than a man his age should.
31:40Worn down.
31:41Diminished.
31:42Nothing left of the confidence he used to carry.
31:45He stood at my door and asked quietly,
31:48Chloe, is there any way I could come home?
31:51I looked at him.
31:52I took your advice, I said.
31:54I found someone good.
31:55I married him.
31:56We need a child.
31:58I told you about to step one and туда.
31:59I tried to figure her out.
32:00I was like, no, definitely.
32:01I knew I was like, no, I knew he knew he'd run out in ch ole.
32:04I knew he did to many times about that.
32:04I knew I didn't feel?
32:04He'd much better.
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