- 6 hours ago
Su esposa secreta
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Short filmTranscript
00:02When I found out Julian had extended his out-of-town project for another seven years,
00:07I left New York and traveled hours to reach his project site,
00:11only to be stopped at the gate by an older guard.
00:13Hello, does Julian work here?
00:15What do you want with my son-in-law?
00:17The words hit me like a thunderclap.
00:19I told myself it was a coincidence.
00:21Same name, different man.
00:22Relax, Mr. Miller.
00:24Everyone around here knows Julian is totally whipped.
00:27She's probably here on business from corporate.
00:28I kept my composure and pulled up a photo of Julian on my phone.
00:32I am here on business.
00:33Is this the Julian you're talking about?
00:35The old man relaxed.
00:37Yeah, that's him.
00:38That's my son-in-law.
00:40The blood in my veins froze.
00:42Before I could process a single word, a woman appeared, well-dressed, smiling.
00:46You here to talk business with my man?
00:48She asked cheerfully.
00:50Come wait at our place.
00:51Our son's got a fever.
00:52He took him to the hospital in town.
00:54I stared at her, thunderstruck, barely able to breathe.
00:59She noticed I wasn't moving and waved me over.
01:02I'm Julian's wife, Mia.
01:03Just call me Mia.
01:04She was warm and talkative, smile never leaving her face.
01:07There's nothing but rough guys around here, and half of them don't know how to act.
01:11A woman shouldn't be standing around alone out here.
01:13Come on back to the house.
01:15He'll be a while.
01:15She reached out and touched my arm, and I followed her.
01:18I watched her as we walked.
01:20She looked more than 10 years younger than Julian.
01:22Lord, you women from New York really are something else.
01:25Look at that skin.
01:26Smooth as a peeled egg.
01:28My man's got skin just like yours, all soft and clear.
01:31I forced a smile.
01:33Julian and I both had good skin.
01:35I was older than Mia by a fair margin, but I'd taken care of myself.
01:38I still looked like I was in my mid-20s.
01:41No one would guess I'd been married for 12 years.
01:43But what did any of that matter?
01:45I had a career, raised our son, looked after his parents, managed everything on my own.
01:50And my husband had still gone and built an entirely different life out here behind my back.
01:55Mia talked the whole way.
01:56She didn't seem to need a response.
01:58A couple on a motorcycle slowed down as they passed us.
02:01The woman on the back held out a small paper bag.
02:03Your man thinks of everything, takes the kid to the doctor, and still remembers you wanted chestnuts.
02:07Asked me to drop these off.
02:09Your husband really does take care of you, I said, keeping my voice even.
02:13The woman on the motorcycle laughed.
02:15Everyone knows Julian is totally whipped.
02:18Julian turns into a whole different man the second Mia gives him a look.
02:22One tear, and he's done.
02:24Mia shook her head and smiled.
02:26Oh, stop it.
02:27A bitter ache welled up inside me.
02:29My husband, the man who had spent 12 years talking to me about equality in marriage,
02:35about respect and partnership.
02:37That man had come out here and made himself completely, voluntarily, another woman's lapdog.
02:44Mia's house stopped me in my tracks.
02:47It was a massive villa.
02:48Nothing like the other houses around it.
02:50Distinctive, well-built, clearly the only one of its kind in town.
02:54My man built it, she said.
02:57Nobody else around here has anything like it.
03:00And he's the first husband in town to move in with his wife's family.
03:03Moved in with her family.
03:06The moment I stepped into the living room, I saw it.
03:08A framed family portrait on the wall.
03:11Six people, everyone smiling.
03:13A boy who looked about five.
03:14A little girl, maybe three.
03:16We had a portrait just like it hanging in our apartment back in New York.
03:20Except ours only had three people.
03:22Julian, me, and our 10-year-old son.
03:25No daughter.
03:25The year Julian first left for this project, he had cupped my face in his hands and made me a
03:31promise.
03:32Two years max.
03:33I'll find a way to transfer back.
03:35And when I do, if you're up for it, we'll try for a second baby.
03:39After that, we'll never be apart again.
03:41Two years became seven.
03:43He came home for a few days every Christmas.
03:45And that was all we got.
03:47Last year, when he was home for the holidays, I mentioned offhand how I still wished we'd had a daughter.
03:53He brushed it off.
03:54Honestly, with the way things are, smart people aren't having more kids.
03:57One is enough.
03:58I thought he'd simply changed his mind.
04:00Turns out, he already had his daughter.
04:02He just hadn't had her with me.
04:04We've got Wi-Fi.
04:05Passwords 99-09-13.
04:07My man said it to my birthday.
04:09Mia said, already heading to the kitchen.
04:11She came back with a cup of tea and said it in front of me, still smiling.
04:15Something jolted in my chest.
04:16Julian had told me there was no reliable internet signal out here.
04:21That was why I could never reach him directly.
04:23He always had to be the one to contact me first.
04:26I connected to the network.
04:27Full bars.
04:28One lie after another.
04:29Each one like a blade going in clean.
04:33I kept my voice easy.
04:34You two seem really happy.
04:36Does it worry you that he might get transferred back to New York someday?
04:40Mia's smile didn't waver.
04:41Not at all.
04:42They almost pulled him back earlier this year.
04:44He called in every favor he had to stay.
04:47My heart dropped like it had been thrown off a cliff.
04:49It wasn't the company keeping him out here.
04:52He had fought to stay.
04:53Although he had, knowing his mother had suffered a stroke and couldn't care for herself.
04:57Although he had, knowing his father had broken his leg in a fall and needed help.
05:02Although he had, knowing our son had cried more than once over missing his father.
05:07Although he had, knowing I had been worn down by work and family until I ended up in the hospital
05:12more than once.
05:13And he had stayed anyway.
05:15Comfortably, contentedly, a chill ran through me.
05:17My shoulders trembling slightly.
05:19Mia crossed the room and switched on the air conditioning, thinking I was cold.
05:23It'll warm up in a minute.
05:25My husband bought me the best air conditioner, a big brand name.
05:29She said everything about Julian casually, warmly.
05:32Nobody else in town has one.
05:34I didn't even want it.
05:35I told him it was too much.
05:36But he insisted.
05:39I kept the smile on my face.
05:41He's quite a bit older than you.
05:43Is this his second marriage?
05:50Ten years older.
05:52We are both getting married for the first time.
05:55Mia smiled.
05:56I'm the lucky one.
05:57A girl like me, barely finished high school, ending up with a man who has a master's degree.
06:02He's the project manager for the whole development.
06:04I never imagined I'd end up married to someone like that.
06:08But instead, he says meeting me was the best thing that ever happened to him.
06:12She kept talking.
06:12The age gap's a good thing.
06:14Older men is responsible at work and at home.
06:18Every paycheck goes straight to me.
06:20Bitterness welled up in my chest.
06:22For years, Julian had been transferring money back to our joint account every month.
06:28Only left $1,000 for himself.
06:30He told me his housing and meals were covered, that he barely needed anything for himself out here.
06:35I had a college roommate who worked in payroll department of his company.
06:38Years ago, I quietly confirmed his monthly salary, once $11,000.
06:44He takes good care of the whole family.
06:45I said,
06:47My mom has a bad back.
06:49He bought her that massage chair without blinking.
06:51My dad likes his whiskey.
06:53So Julian keeps cases of the good top shelf stuff stocked for him.
06:57She added,
06:58And he gives me a separate allowance every month.
07:00For whatever I want.
07:02She said the number plainly.
07:03I heard it and I knew.
07:05Julian had been taking the bribes.
07:07The bitterness turned colder.
07:09Not just for myself, but for his parents, who had no idea.
07:14Three months ago, his mother had nearly died.
07:16A severe stroke.
07:18I had stood outside the ICU and called him, crying.
07:21Julian, please.
07:23She's in critical condition.
07:25She keeps asking for you.
07:26Please come home.
07:27I'm so sorry, Chloe.
07:29The project is at a critical stage right now.
07:32I really can't leave.
07:33She'll be okay.
07:34So many nights like that.
07:36His phone unanswered or always some excuse.
07:39He never came back.
07:41And the whole time he was here, being a good husband, a good father, a good son-in-law.
07:47The irony was sickening.
07:49Mia's phone rang.
07:50She didn't step away or lower her voice.
07:52She just answered it right there.
07:54Close enough that I heard every word.
07:56Hey, baby.
07:57Julian's voice.
07:58The same warm tone he used to use with me.
08:00Our son still hasn't broken his fever.
08:02The doctor wants to keep him overnight.
08:05I'm a little short on cash.
08:06Can you transfer me some?
08:07$300 should cover it.
08:10I laughed inwardly.
08:11How a devoted family husband.
08:13Mia smiled into the phone.
08:15Of course.
08:16I'll send it now.
08:17Then Julian's voice softened.
08:18I can't hold you tonight, baby.
08:20Stay warm, okay?
08:21Don't kick off the blankets.
08:2212 years of marriage.
08:24And the last time he'd said anything like that to me is ages ago.
08:28These days, he didn't even show that kind of warmth toward our own son.
08:32Time had made us an old married couple.
08:35In name only.
08:36And slowly, without me noticing, it had made us the most familiar of strangers.
08:43Mia hung up and turned to me with a smile.
08:46I just realized I never asked your name.
08:51Chloe.
08:52What a pretty name.
08:53She was as cheerful as ever.
08:56Even now, I was still giving her the benefit of the doubt that she had no idea.
09:00Just as deceived as I was.
09:03Since Julian won't be back tonight, she said,
09:05Why don't you just stay?
09:06You can talk to him about the work stuff tomorrow.
09:08That evening, Mia cooked a full dinner, a proper spread.
09:13Balanced and generous.
09:14I met their daughter for the first time.
09:17Mr. and Mrs. Miller were polite to me,
09:19but there was a wariness in the way they looked at me.
09:22At the table, the conversation kept coming back to Julian.
09:25The way they talked about him, he wasn't a son-in-law.
09:28He was their son.
09:29Mia was their and only child.
09:31In a rural area like this,
09:33her parents had spent their whole lives looked down on for not having a son.
09:37Then Julian arrived, moved in, supported the whole family.
09:40Mrs. Miller said,
09:42Julian is the backbone of this family.
09:43We can't do without him.
09:44Something lodged in my throat, like a thorn I couldn't remove.
09:48The backbone of our family, gone for seven years,
09:51had been holding up someone else's the whole time.
09:55Mia put me in the guest room for the night.
09:57After the lights went out, I lay there unable to sleep.
10:00Through the wall, I could hear Mr. and Mrs. Miller talking quietly for a long time.
10:05I made two decisions.
10:06I filed a report, with documentation, within evidence to Julian's corporate headquarters.
10:11Then I sent my brother a message.
10:13He was a police officer.
10:14I'm going to need you to come make an arrest.
10:17Julian broke the law.
10:18Neither decision felt satisfying.
10:20But both were right.
10:21An accounting for my own life.
10:23A consequence he had earned.
10:27The next morning, Mia pulled a coat from her closet and held it out to me.
10:30It's cold and you're not dressed for it.
10:32She added quickly,
10:33My husband just bought this for me.
10:36Only been washed once, never worn.
10:38A designer label I had spent an entire winter looking at.
10:42Adding to my cart.
10:43Removing it.
10:44Telling myself there were more important things to spend money on.
10:47Parents to care for.
10:48A child to raise.
10:50I used to say things like that to Julian.
10:52Other husbands buy their wives things.
10:54In all these years, you've never once picked something out for me.
10:57He always had the same answer.
10:59Calm and easy.
11:00The money's yours.
11:01I wouldn't know what to choose anyway.
11:03I'm no good with that kind of thing.
11:05He just didn't want to bother.
11:06Not for me.
11:08I said and took it.
11:09It was beautiful.
11:10It was warm.
11:11A flash of surprise crossing Mia's face.
11:14She had clearly expected me to politely refuse.
11:17At breakfast, she was back to her usual self.
11:20Cheerful.
11:21Talkative.
11:21Dropping Julian's name into every other sentence.
11:24At one point, she looked at me and asked,
11:26Are you happy?
11:27I smiled lightly.
11:29It's fine.
11:30My husband just isn't as attentive as yours.
11:33She smiled widely at that.
11:35Then just before noon, the front door swung open.
11:37Julian's voice filled the house.
11:39Honey, I'm home.
11:40Mia and I both stood up from the couch.
11:42He walked in with their five-year-old son.
11:44The moment his eyes landed on me, he went rigid.
11:48I looked at him steadily.
11:49Which honey are you talking to?
11:53Julian's face locked up.
11:54He stood there holding the boy and said absolutely nothing.
11:58I held his gaze.
11:59My eyes said everything I didn't speak aloud.
12:02Why?
12:02How could you?
12:03Do you have any idea what you've done to your son?
12:06To your parents?
12:07He was an only child.
12:08His whole life, they had sacrificed everything for him.
12:12And he had walked away from all of it and quietly become the son of someone else's family.
12:17I would never understand it.
12:19I would never forgive it.
12:20Mia broke first.
12:21What?
12:22What does that mean?
12:23Her voice cracked.
12:24She grabbed my arm, then turned to Julian.
12:26Why is she asking you that?
12:28The paralysis broke from Julian's face.
12:31He quickly set the boy down.
12:33He took a few steps forward, then stopped.
12:35Caught exactly halfway between us, unable to choose a direction.
12:40I'll explain everything, he said weakly.
12:43Explain what?
12:44I kept my voice level.
12:46That our 12-year marriage is nothing but an empty shell.
12:49That you have no parents, no son, or that you, a married man, have been living out here
12:55as another woman's husband, and you're ready to file for divorce so she can finally have
13:00your last name.
13:01Every word landed.
13:02He had no answer.
13:04He looked like a man caught with nowhere to run.
13:06I know I don't deserve forgiveness, he finally said.
13:09I'm sorry.
13:10Mia fell apart.
13:12Sorry?
13:12What does that mean for me?
13:14She was crying now, fully.
13:16You said I was everything to you.
13:18You said I was your life.
13:19Say something.
13:20Tell me what's happening right now.
13:21And then Julian turned away from me and moved to pull her into his arms.
13:26My heart was bleeding.
13:28Fury rose through me.
13:30Then what are you saying?
13:31I demanded.
13:32He let go of her.
13:34He didn't dare hold her again.
13:35He stood there looking cornered, miserable, caught between two directions with no good
13:40move left.
13:41In the silence, my phone rang.
13:43Julian's father.
13:44A video call.
13:47I answered without hesitating and switched to the rear camera.
13:51Have you found Julian yet?
13:52The old man's voice was full of hope.
13:55He hadn't seen his son in almost two years.
13:57I walked the phone slowly across the living room until the camera landed on the family
14:02portrait on the wall, all six of them, all smiling.
14:06Found him, I said, along with his new wife, his new son, his new daughter, his new family.
14:12I turned the camera to Julian and Mia.
14:14This is his other home.
14:15He moved in with her family.
14:17He's been taking care of them for years.
14:19I heard my father-in-law's sharp intake of breath.
14:22For a moment, he was too furious to speak.
14:25Dad, meet the new family.
14:27The old man erupted.
14:29Julian, is this what you've been doing?
14:32This?
14:33You have no regard for your mother and me.
14:35No regard for your wife and son.
14:38Are you trying to put me in the grave?
14:40Julian snapped.
14:41He lunged for the phone.
14:42Turn it off.
14:43Stop filming.
14:44Just stop.
14:45I no longer have a son.
14:47His father shouted from the screen.
14:49Do you hear me?
14:50I have no son.
14:52In the middle of it all, Mr. and Mrs. Miller walked through the front door.
14:59I ended the call.
15:00The moment Mr. and Mrs. Miller understood who I was, Mr. Miller spoke first.
15:06If Julian chose to marry my daughter and have children with her, that tells you everything
15:11about where he stands.
15:12End it clean and move on.
15:14We're not giving him up.
15:15Mrs. Miller nodded.
15:17I've treated Julian like my own son from the day he walked into this house.
15:22He and Mia love each other.
15:24That's not going to change.
15:26I turned to Julian.
15:28And what do you say?
15:29He had been staring at the floor.
15:31When my eyes finally forced his head up, he hesitated.
15:34Then asked me, slowly, do you still want me back?
15:39Before I could answer, Mia flew across the room.
15:42She dropped to the floor in front of him and grabbed his collar.
15:44What kind of question is that?
15:46If she still wants you, does that mean you'll throw me away?
15:50Julian, if you dare leave this family, I'll take the kids and end it all.
15:55I mean it.
15:56She gave you one child.
15:57I gave you two.
15:59I have given you more.
16:02Julian pulled her up and tried to calm her.
16:05I just need to know what she...
16:06I laughed hollowly to myself.
16:09Then deliberately, I said, I want you to come home.
16:12Cut everything here off.
16:15For good.
16:16I knew exactly what he was doing.
16:18He was waiting for me to make the choice for him.
16:20Sure, that someone like me, with my standards, would never accept a man who had done this.
16:25He expected me to say, I want a divorce, and hand him his exit.
16:29When I didn't, surprise flickered across his face.
16:32Even a trace of disappointment.
16:34I stared at him.
16:35Now it's your turn to choose.
16:39His lips moved.
16:40Nothing came out.
16:41Mia shook him by the arm, crying.
16:43Say something.
16:44You said I'm the love of your life.
16:46You said you'd grow old with me.
16:47Say it to her face.
16:49Julian had no choice.
16:50He looked at me with pleading eyes.
16:53Could we...
16:53Just...
16:54Keep things the way they are?
16:56The way they are?
16:57I stared at him, cold.
16:59He wanted to keep both of us.
17:00My look made him too ashamed to repeat himself.
17:03You stay out here and keep playing husband?
17:06I go back to New York, take care of your parents, raise our son alone, run your whole life from
17:12the background, while you enjoy this one?
17:14He had nothing to say, but I could see it in his face.
17:18That was exactly what he'd hoped for.
17:20Mia grabbed his arm again, sobbing.
17:22If you don't choose this family, I'll take these kids and die in front of you.
17:26You promised me we'd grow old together.
17:28You can't abandon us.
17:30She pulled both children over to her, crying.
17:32Ask your daddy, she said to them.
17:35Ask him if he's going to keep you.
17:37The two children didn't understand what was happening, but seeing Mia cry, they cried
17:43too, crowding into Julian's arms, heartbroken.
17:46Daddy, please don't leave us.
17:49Daddy, mommy's crying.
17:51You always said you can't stand to see mommy cry.
17:55Please.
17:57Julian finally broke.
17:59He pulled all three of them into his arms.
18:01His eyes went red.
18:03Then he looked at me.
18:04He had made his decision.
18:07Chloe, I'm sorry.
18:08I know you can manage on your own.
18:09I know you'll be okay.
18:11He swallowed.
18:13She can't.
18:14She has nothing without me.
18:16He glanced at Mia and the children, then back at me.
18:20Take everything in the house.
18:22I won't fight you for custody.
18:24But this is the choice I have to make.
18:27I'm asking you to let us go.
18:30I'm asking you to let us go.
18:32I laughed, not from humor, from the absurdity of what I was hearing.
18:36She's the one to be pitied?
18:39What about your mother, who had a stroke and can't care for herself?
18:42Who wants nothing more than to see her own son?
18:45What about your father, who broke his leg and needed you home and never once said a word
18:51about the fact that you didn't come?
18:53What about your son, who gets mocked at school for not having a father around who has cried
18:58more times than I can count?
18:59As I spoke, tears fell from my eyes.
19:02Not for him.
19:03Never again for him.
19:06Only because a man like this was never worth everything our family had given him.
19:11Julian stood there in silence.
19:13Shame was written across his entire face.
19:16Mia filled the gap.
19:17Don't worry, she said, looking at me.
19:19I'll bring his parents here.
19:20I'll take care of them myself.
19:22You don't need to concern yourself with any of it.
19:25Then her eyes hardened.
19:26And you, you knew who I was from the very beginning, didn't you?
19:30You sat there and let me talk and talk and you were just collecting evidence.
19:34What kind of person does that?
19:36I smiled at her, contemptuous.
19:38Then I called Julian's parents back right there and told them in front of everyone what
19:42Julian had chosen.
19:45Julian had chosen.
19:47His mother's voice shook with fury.
19:49If you divorce Chloe, you are not my son.
19:53Do you understand me?
19:54She has done everything for this family.
19:57For us.
19:58While you were gone and you want to throw her away?
20:02I will never accept that woman and those children.
20:05I don't know them and I never will.
20:07Julian's father said the same.
20:08Mia broke down crying.
20:10Julian was at his breaking point.
20:12I ended the call.
20:13He wiped his eyes, couldn't look at me and finally said,
20:16Chloe, I have no right to ask anything of you, but name your terms.
20:22Whatever I can give you, I will.
20:24Mia knelt down in front of me.
20:25Please.
20:26You're educated.
20:27You're capable.
20:28You're beautiful.
20:29You'll find someone better than him.
20:31I can't.
20:32He is all I have.
20:33She pulled both children over.
20:35Kneel down.
20:36She told them softly.
20:37Ask her to let your daddy stay.
20:39Two small faces turned up toward me.
20:42Please, madam, don't take our daddy.
20:46Our family needs a daddy.
20:48Otherwise, it won't be whole.
20:49She was using the children to work on my conscience.
20:53Anger surged through me.
20:54Your children need a father and mine doesn't?
20:57Mia hesitated, then said, a little wounded.
21:00Your child is older.
21:02Mine are still small.
21:03Now, I laughed.
21:05The truth is, none of these children, yours or mine, will have a father from here on out.
21:12Both Julian and Mia looked up sharply, not understanding.
21:16Not until my brother walked through the door with local police officers behind him and Julian's
21:22boss and two company directors right after.
21:24Only then did Julian understand.
21:26I had never intended to give him a choice, and I was certainly not going to let them walk away
21:32clean.
21:34The sight of so many strangers sent both children into tears.
21:38An officer quietly asked Mrs. Miller to take them to another room.
21:42Julian stood still, calm, as if he had always known this day would come.
21:47Mia was anything but.
21:48What is this?
21:49You have no right to come in here and take my husband.
21:52When no one responded to her satisfaction, she turned all of it on me.
21:57Her pointing finger trembled.
21:58You call yourself a decent person?
22:00He already told you.
22:02You can have everything.
22:03What more do you want from him?
22:05He's your son's father.
22:07How can you be this heartless?
22:09Stop.
22:10Julian touched her arm.
22:11I looked at her and said plainly,
22:13Everything you've been wearing, living in, eating.
22:18That money didn't just come out of my pocket.
22:20It was dirty.
22:22It came from fraud and corruption.
22:24You told me yourself what he was giving you every month.
22:27That figure is exactly what I used as evidence.
22:31You handed it to me yourself.
22:35Julian freezed.
22:36His boss stepped forward.
22:38His disappointment total.
22:39I trusted you with this entire project.
22:42Bribery, kickbacks, substandard materials, embezzlement of public funds.
22:47I gave you everything, and this is what you did with it.
22:51Julian kept his eyes on the floor and said nothing.
22:55Mia spun toward the officers and grabbed one by the arm.
22:58We'll pay it all back.
22:59Every cent.
23:00Just please.
23:01He's a father.
23:02We have children.
23:03Please give him one more chance.
23:05Ma'am, the officer's voice was firm.
23:07This is a criminal investigation.
23:10Repayment is not the issue.
23:11I said calmly, and while that's being sorted out, Mia, you should probably find yourself
23:17a lawyer.
23:18What you and Julian have constitutes bigamy.
23:21That's a separate charge.
23:22She went white.
23:24Julian finally looked up.
23:25His control snapped.
23:29Everything I did, I'll take responsibility for all of it.
23:32But she had nothing to do with any of it.
23:35She didn't know.
23:36Why are you going after her?
23:38I smiled, cold and contemptuous.
23:41Inside, the hatred was overwhelming enough that I wanted to strike him across the face.
23:46And then, right at the peak of it, I felt it all drain away into something vast and empty.
23:51None of this is worth anything.
23:54She didn't know, I said.
23:55She knew I was your wife.
23:57She brought me home deliberately to force the confrontation.
24:00To pressure you into a divorce.
24:02And if she hadn't bragged about the $50,000 a month, I wouldn't have had the evidence I needed.
24:07Julian stared at Mia, stunned, demanding the truth.
24:13Mia shook her head frantically.
24:15I didn't know she was going to report you.
24:17I never thought she would.
24:19I played a recording.
24:21Julian's face drained of color at the first two sentences.
24:24Julian's going to have to go back and deal with his wife eventually.
24:27Even if he drags his feet, Mia will raise hell until he files.
24:31She's not the type to share.
24:32Mr. Miller's voice, unmistakable.
24:34Then Mrs. Miller's, look at that woman.
24:37She sat here and took it all without a word.
24:40Either she has no backbone, or she's playing a very long game.
24:43Oh, she's playing a game.
24:45But it won't matter.
24:46Julian has no feelings for her anymore.
24:49Mia just has to cry, and he'll sign the papers.
24:52You know why Mia brought her home, right?
24:54To light the fuse herself.
24:55Julian's expression moved from shock to disbelief,
24:58to a deep, exhausted disappointment.
25:01He looked at Mia.
25:02So you knew all along that I was married.
25:06You brought her here on purpose, to force my hand.
25:10Mia couldn't argue her way out of it.
25:12She broke down and admitted it through tears.
25:14I just wanted you to belong to me completely.
25:17What's wrong with that?
25:18I never thought she'd go this far.
25:20I never thought she'd actually...
25:22Mr. Miller, who had said nothing until now,
25:25opened his mouth and immediately began deflecting blame.
25:28If you weren't so spineless and indecisive,
25:31none of this would have happened.
25:32Now you've brought this on yourself.
25:34What happens to the children?
25:36What happens to Mia?
25:37What are we supposed to do?
25:39How do we ever show our faces around here again?
25:43Julian suddenly laughed.
25:45As he laughed, tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.
25:49His face was full of helpless, exhausted disbelief
25:52at how stupid Mia had been.
25:53For a moment, he genuinely didn't know who to blame.
25:57He kept his head down the entire walk to the police car.
26:00Outside, people had gathered,
26:02then more from neighboring streets.
26:04By the time the officers walked Julian out,
26:07over a thousand people were watching,
26:09all of them there to see the most famously devoted husband in town taken away in handcuffs.
26:14His wife back in New York is beautiful, educated.
26:17A professor, I heard.
26:18And he threw all of that away for this?
26:21Men are never satisfied.
26:23Doesn't matter how good things are at home.
26:25He did everything Mia said.
26:27Never questioned her once.
26:28And he was rotten the whole time.
26:30Mia knew he was married.
26:32Brought his wife here herself to force a divorce.
26:35Backfired, didn't it?
26:37Tried to steal another woman's husband and burned her own life down.
26:41At the police car door, Julian stopped.
26:44He turned and found me in the crowd.
26:46Take care of yourself, he said quietly.
26:48I'm sorry, Chloe.
26:49Find someone who deserves you.
26:51I looked at him.
26:52I said nothing.
26:53He got in.
26:56Mia ran after the car.
26:58Stumbling, falling, picking herself up and running again.
27:01Pounding on the window, screaming his name,
27:04until it turned the corner and disappeared.
27:06She came back and collapsed at my feet.
27:08Please.
27:09She was on her knees in front of everyone, past caring who saw.
27:13Please help him.
27:14You're educated.
27:16You understand how this works better than I do.
27:18I don't care about anything else anymore.
27:20I just need him not to go to prison.
27:22She held onto the hem of my coat.
27:24Believe me or don't, but I did love him.
27:27That part was real.
27:29I looked at her calmly.
27:31The hatred I had carried into this situation was gone.
27:36She kept going, her voice breaking.
27:38I genuinely didn't know he was married when we first got together.
27:42I found out when our son was almost a year old.
27:45I found a photo of you on his phone.
27:46By then, I was already in too deep.
27:49The children, this house, my parents.
27:52We were all depending on him.
27:54I didn't know what to do.
27:55I know nothing I say matters now.
27:57I'm only asking if there's anything you can do.
28:00She didn't get up.
28:01She just stayed there on the ground in front of everyone, her hand clutching my coat,
28:05not caring about the stairs.
28:07I reached down and removed her hand.
28:09I looked at her.
28:10You know what your tears mean to me?
28:12I said quietly, crocodile tears.
28:15She blinked up at me.
28:17Then she folded over and wept into the ground, and I walked away.
28:23I did not soften.
28:24I pressed forward with every charge, including bigamy.
28:28Julian's parents never blamed me.
28:30They supported every decision I made.
28:32My son did not take it well.
28:34He spent months in therapy, struggling to accept that his father had another family out there,
28:39other children, living a parallel life.
28:41It took a long time.
28:43Six months later, Mia was sentenced to one year for bigamy.
28:46Julian's sentencing came three months after that.
28:49The court found that he had embezzled nearly $97 million,
28:53taken over $10 million in bribes,
28:55paid out $60 million in kickbacks,
28:56misused $20 million in public funds,
28:59violated construction regulations,
29:00and committed bigamy.
29:01Multiple charges,
29:03concurrent sentencing,
29:0411 years.
29:05He asked to see me the day he was taken in.
29:08I didn't go.
29:09I sent my lawyer to handle the divorce.
29:11Julian's parents were good to me and my son until the end.
29:14Before they passed,
29:15they transferred both of their properties into my son's name
29:18and left everything they had to us.
29:21I kept my promise to them regardless.
29:22I cared for them and I was there when they left.
29:27In the seventh year of Julian's sentence,
29:29they both passed.
29:31His mother went first,
29:32another stroke,
29:33too severe to survive.
29:34His father followed the next day.
29:36They had been devoted to each other their entire lives.
29:39He simply could not face a mourning without her.
29:42I arranged a proper funeral for both of them.
29:44I had my lawyer notify Julian.
29:46He sent back one message through the attorney.
29:49Can I see you?
29:50I didn't respond.
29:51My son was accepted to an Ivy League school the following year.
29:54That, more than anything, let me breathe.
29:57I heard Mia remarried about three years after her release,
30:00a divorced man with two children of his own.
30:03She moved on.
30:04I moved on, too.
30:05My son played matchmaker.
30:06He introduced me to the single father of one of his college friends.
30:10By then, I wasn't looking for anything grand.
30:12What I found instead was someone steady,
30:14someone present,
30:16someone who picked up when I called.
30:17We agreed from the start.
30:19No children together.
30:20We weren't starting over from scratch.
30:22We were two people who chose to share the rest of the road.
30:25Three years into that marriage, Julian was released.
30:28He came to find me.
30:29Eleven years had not been kind to him.
30:31He looked far older than a man his age should.
30:34Worn down, diminished,
30:36nothing left of the confidence he used to carry.
30:39He stood at my door and asked quietly,
30:41Chloe, is there any way I could come home?
30:45I looked at him.
30:46I took your advice.
30:47I said, I found someone good.
30:49I married him.
30:52I thog him.
30:54He came to my neck.
30:54He was a one-nighter.
30:55But not anything else he should do.
30:56He was
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