I Was Never Your Wife is an emotional short drama featuring billionaire romance, betrayal, hidden marriage, and second chances. Watch the full episode in ENGSUB as a devoted woman sacrifices everything for love, only to be rejected by the man she trusted most. When the truth finally comes to light, regret, redemption, and unexpected twists change their lives forever. A perfect drama for fans of CEO romance, marriage secrets, and emotional revenge stories.
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#IWasNeverYourWife #ShortDrama #DramaSeries #DramaUrbano #BillionaireRomance #HiddenMarriage #MarriageDrama #DivorceDrama #CEO #SecondChanceRomance #EmotionalDrama #LoveStory #ShortFilm #ShortMovie #FullEpisode #ENGSUB
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Short filmTranscript
00:00After the wedding, Marcus was recruited by Harwick University on a seven-figure salary.
00:06I gave up everything to follow him to London.
00:08Three years have passed.
00:10I still didn't have a single valid visa for my name.
00:13The woman who had flown over with us, his assistant,
00:16had already secured permanent residency through Marcus's connections.
00:20You don't need any of that. I take care of you.
00:23Besides, residency applications take time. There's a formal process.
00:27My position is sensitive right now.
00:30I can't be seen pulling stregs.
00:32As for Jade, she gave up everything to follow me here.
00:35Getting her settled is what a good boss does.
00:37I softened. I put the suitcase down.
00:40Then came the day I went to handle some paperwork
00:42and handed over my marriage certificate for verification.
00:45The clerk looked at her screen and looked back up at me.
00:49Ma'am, the system doesn't show you as Mr. Marcus's spouse.
00:52You'll need to go home and sort that out.
00:54All this time, I had never been his wife. Not legally.
00:57No spousal visa. No work arrangement.
01:00I didn't say a word. I packed everything I could carry and booked the first train out of the city.
01:06After returning to my apartment that day, I tried the door three times.
01:10Three times the lock beeped. Verification failed.
01:13I double-checked the address. It was right.
01:15But the lock was different.
01:17I called Marcus. He picked up fast.
01:19What is it?
01:20Why is the lock changed? It was fine when I left that morning.
01:23Oh.
01:23This afternoon, Jade said her lock was broken. She's used to hours. And ordering one online would
01:27take too long. So I took ours off and had it put on her door. I got a new one
01:31for us. But it hasn't
01:32arrived yet. Find a hotel for tonight. I'm working late. I won't be back.
01:36Jade's lock broke. So he gave her hours. Then they sent me, the hostess, to the hotel. I thought
01:42I'd heard wrong. By the time the words reached my mouth, all that was left was,
01:46Okay.
01:47What else was there to say? Our home, with a stranger's fingerprint on the lock. I hung up.
01:53I found a budget hotel at the end of the street. 90 pounds a night. When I tapped my card,
01:58the balance was almost gone. When we first arrived in London,
02:01Marcus had given me a linked card with no limit. After a while, Jade started handling most of his
02:07purchases. His clothes, his watch, the travel mug on his desk. She was responsible for buying
02:13everything. Gradually, the card migrated to her. He said she had better taste. She said she was just
02:19doing her job as his assistant. I didn't push back. On our third wedding anniversary, dinner for two,
02:26candles on the table. The mood was just settling in when the doorbell rang. Jade stood in the doorway,
02:32slightly out of breath, holding a small box. She pressed it into his hands.
02:36Professor, it's your special night. I made sure to pick these up for you.
02:40She glanced at me and smiled easily. You always say this brand is the most comfortable.
02:44Thoughtful of me, isn't it? Don't I deserve some credit?
02:46Marcus took the box. He made an awkward sound in his throat. She waved and left. The door closed.
02:52He carried the box of condoms back to the table and set it down without looking at me.
02:57I looked at the box. I didn't speak. I never knew which kind he preferred. We've been trying for a
03:02child. We hadn't been using anything. That candlelit dinner felt like a punishment. At the end of it,
03:07I said something had come up at the university. He picked up his jacket and left. The door clicked
03:12shut. And I understood that an assistant's duties could be that thorough. That night I dreamed of
03:18the year we first arrived. Two heavy suitcases. The arrivals terminal. Marcus waiting at the gate.
03:24Back then, he was still the man who had gone red-eyed with guilt because I had left everything behind
03:29to come to him. The man who carried my bags. Who let me lean on him when I was tired.
03:34Then Jade arrived. Marcus said she had sacrificed a lot to follow him here. He had to help her. So
03:40he
03:40helped her get residency. Found her a job. And now, helped her take the lock off my door.
03:46Three years of trying to justify my presence. Three years of refusing to just be a housewife.
03:51And in all that time, I had missed so many small things. Like every weekend, something's come up at
03:56the university. Gone all day. When I asked what, he always said, you wouldn't understand. Like the time he
04:03forgot a document and I brought it to his office. Two toothbrushes on the bathroom sink. One blue,
04:08one pink. I never looked too closely. The next morning I went to buy a train ticket home. Waiting
04:13in line, I thought about the queue at customs three years ago. It had been just as long. But I
04:18was about
04:19to see the man I loved. So I didn't feel it at all. Then a girl waved from behind him.
04:24Professor! What a coincidence! I was on the same flight as Claire.
04:27Marcus smiled and took her suitcase. He turned to me. I forgot to mention, Jade's coming on to keep
04:33working as my assistant. She's a long way from home. It wasn't easy for her. Jade smiled sweetly
04:38at me. Look after me, okay? My smile stiffened slightly. I nodded. In the car, I watched them
04:43talk. When she spoke, Marcus turned to listen. When she pointed out something in the sky, he looked
04:49where she pointed. A friend came back to New York and called me. Claire, that thing you asked me to
04:53look into. She hesitated. I could only access registration records. They're strict about
04:59privacy over there. I couldn't pull the full file. It's fine. Whatever you find. Two seconds of quiet.
05:06The wife registered Marcus in London. Her last name is the same as Jade's. I held the phone.
05:11I didn't speak. Are you okay? I'm fine. Thank you. I hung up. The same last name as Jade. His
05:18wife is not
05:19even me. Those first months in London, I tried to find work. My specialty was art history. Nice
05:26enough that nothing came up. Hundreds of applications. No response. Or a polite no. Being
05:32rejected, again and again, was something I didn't know how to hold. I spent those nights awake,
05:38turning it over. Was I not good enough? Finally, I went to Marcus. I said, haltingly.
05:44Could you ask around? There's that spousal arrangement in the talent package, isn't there?
05:49I wondered if there was something available. I couldn't finish. I had never asked for a favor
05:54in my life. I knew technically it was something I was entitled to, as his spouse. Part of the
05:59university's relocation terms. But saying it out loud made my face burn, like I was doing something
06:05shameful. Sure. He said, without looking up from his papers. If you want to work, I'll ask around.
06:10I felt a small loosening in my chest. That was three months before anything more was said.
06:16He said he'd been busy. He'd get to it. By then, Jade had already been at Harwick for months. Good
06:21hours. Good pay. Marcus said she'd applied through the normal process. I believed him. Looking back,
06:28her qualifications were below mine. Her professional experience was thinner. She struggled even with
06:33everyday English. I had applied through the same channels. Not a word back. The answer had been in
06:39front of me the whole time. I just hadn't been willing to see it. The line moved forward. My turn.
06:45I pushed my travel document through the slot. The clerk typed for a moment. Her brow creased.
06:51Ma'am, I can't issue a ticket with this document. Why not? She turned the screen slightly toward me.
06:57The system shows your permitted stay has expired. Expired? Your last extension application wasn't
07:02approved. There's no valid leave to remain on record for you. Three years. I had been in London for
07:07three years without a single valid permit. What do I do now? You'll need to go to the immigration
07:12office first. Once you have a die departure clearance, you can purchase a ticket. I didn't
07:17even have a legal right to be here. Then what had these three years been? I left the station and
07:22called
07:22the immigration consultant. Margaret, I need to ask about my situation. My extension applications have
07:27never gone through. I'm looking at a significant fine now. What happened? Mrs. Clare, that shouldn't be
07:33the case at all. Marcus is a Harwick professor. Spousal dependent application should have been
07:37straightforward. Were all his sponsorship documents filed? He said they were. That's
07:42strange. Let me pull something up. Silence for a moment. When she came back, her voice was quieter.
07:47Can I ask you something direct? When Marcus sponsored you, did he go through the spousal visa pathway?
07:52Family reunification? I held the phone. I didn't answer. The system is showing that the spousal slot
07:57linked to Marcus's file was approved by a woman whose last name matches his assistance. He did file
08:02something for you, but not as a spouse, a different route. That route was discontinued at about a year
08:07ago, which is why your renewal stopped going through. Understood. Thank you, Margaret.
08:12I hung up. I stood still and let the pieces settle. Three years ago, the day I arrived,
08:17Marcus had said he would handle all the paperwork. He took my documents, told me later it was sorted.
08:23I hadn't asked again. What I had thought was love, crossing an ocean, starting over, had become an
08:29illegal overstay. I spent the rest of the afternoon running from office to office. In the end, there
08:35was only one way out. Marcus, my former sponsor, had to submit a signed statement, confirming that
08:42he had failed to notify me of the change in sponsorship status, and that my overstay was not
08:47deliberate. Then I could pay the fine, apply for a short stay departure permit, and leave legally.
08:53Simple. One signature. But how do you ask for that? Since you gave my spousal slot to someone else,
08:58can you sign here so I can go? And if we were counting, what about the last three years?
09:04Did we settle that too? I went back to what Marcus called home. He wasn't there. The door was shut.
09:10I didn't wait. I called a locksmith. Once everything was in order, I went to university. His office door
09:17was slightly ajar. Professor, this artist residency with the Harwick Foundation, you're really putting me
09:24forward for it. Jade's voice. A note of practice delight in it. I know I'm not really qualified.
09:29This should go to Claire. It's literally her field. I stopped outside the door. An artist residency. I had
09:35never heard Marcus mention it. Art history. My program in New York takes eight people a year. I was
09:41one of them. It was the kind of degree that led somewhere. Curators, specialists, department heads. I had
09:48given all of that up. And this opportunity, he had never even suggested I apply.
09:53Don't worry about it. I've already made the call. As for Claire, she has me. She doesn't need these
09:59things. And honestly, with your abilities, if you'd had the same opportunities she did, you'd have done
10:05just as well. So my years of work were just opportunities in his mind. My specialty, the thing
10:11I was proudest of, was something anyone could match with the right breaks. The door opened. Jade stepped
10:17out. Claire, are you here to see the professor? This floor is staff only though. Maybe wait
10:23downstairs in the lobby? Love does something for a person. Move. I reached out to push past her. She
10:29stumbled back dramatically, falling into the office. Marcus stood up from his desk. He looked at me, cold.
10:36Then he crouched down to help her up. Are you hurt? She bit her lip and shook her head. I'm
10:42fine. I lost
10:43my balance. It wasn't Claire's fault. Marcus straightened and looked at me. Jade was just doing
10:48her job. What was that for? I looked at him, then at Jade, blinking up at him with red-rimmed
10:54eyes.
10:55I didn't bother. I need you to sign a statement for the immigration office. What statement? I handed him
11:01the pages. He took them, scanned the first few lines, and stopped. You came here and pulled that
11:07stunt for this? Claire, when did you get like this? Sign it, or I go to the dean right now
11:12and ask how a
11:13professor's spousal residency slot ended up filed under his assistant's name. Claire, enough. Don't
11:20forget who's been keeping you. Without me, you can't stay in this country. You can't go anywhere. Go home.
11:26We'll talk tonight. I looked at him for two seconds. When he begged me to come to London,
11:30he said, I'll take care of you. Now he said, don't forget who keeps you. Sign it now, and we
11:36can both
11:36walk away with some dignity. His gaze hardened. Security. Two uniformed men appeared. He glanced
11:42at me. Please see my wife out. She's not feeling well. He leaned close and said quietly, we'll talk
11:49tonight, okay? Don't make this into something. There was nothing left to say tonight. By nine that
11:55evening, Marcus was driving home. He thought about the afternoon, pushed it aside. Those pages she
12:01brought, he hadn't even finished reading them. Immigration statement? Claire was home all day.
12:06What did she need documents like that for? The new lock was on the door, slightly ajar. He stopped.
12:12The lights were on inside. He pushed the door open and walked to the bedroom.
12:17The spousal slot thing, I've explained this. Jade needed it more than you did. She came all this way.
12:23She deserved to be taken care of. Stop making it into something. He put his hand on the door handle.
12:28He pushed it open and stopped. Ten minutes later, two police officers stood in front of Marcus.
12:34Notebooks open. Mr. Marcus, you're certain this is a burglary? Yes. His voice was tight. My wife's
12:39documents, clothes, personal belongings, all gone. And when I came home, the door wasn't locked.
12:46Someone must have gotten in. The other officer examined the lock. It's new. No signs of forced entry.
12:52Marcus hesitated. I replaced the lock yesterday. I hadn't had a chance to program her print yet.
12:57You hadn't programmed her print. So how was your wife getting in?
13:00Marcus opened his mouth. How was she getting in? Wait for him to come home. Or stand at the door?
13:08He thought, suddenly, of how many times she had done exactly that over three years.
13:14Waited until dinner went cold. Waited until dark. Waited until he texted to say he wasn't coming back.
13:20What I mean is, he continued. She probably couldn't get in so she called a lock Nifno herself. The lock
13:26on
13:26there now, the one I installed. You're saying your wife couldn't get into her own home? And instead
13:30of calling you or waiting, she called a lark mister and changed the lock herself?
13:33Marcus opened his mouth. Yes. Her contact number. Off. It's been off. I can't get through.
13:41The officers exchanged a look. When did you last see her?
13:44This afternoon. In his office, he had called security to walk her out.
13:48This afternoon, she was still home this afternoon. Anything else missing? Besides her belongings?
13:52No. A pause. Just hers.
13:56Mr. Marcus, this may not be a burglary. It looks like your wife changed the lock,
14:00packed her things and left. That's not possible.
14:06She wouldn't leave.
14:07The flat was intact. Nothing valuable missing. Only her things. Only hers. But he held the line.
14:15My wife loves me. She left a career in New York to come here with me. She wouldn't just walk
14:20out.
14:20Mr. Marcus, did you and your wife have an argument this afternoon?
14:24An argument. He thought of her standing at his desk, holding out those pages.
14:28The way she had looked at him when security walked her out. Too calm.
14:33No argument.
14:34One officer finished writing. The other returned from checking the building's internal cameras.
14:39Broken, as it turned out.
14:40We'll try to pull footage from outside. In the meantime, we'd suggest reaching out to your wife's family or friends.
14:47See if anyone knows where she might be.
14:49Marcus nodded. The officers left. He stood in the doorway and looked at the door.
14:53Still slightly open. Family or friends.
14:56She had neither in London. Three years. And she had not made a single friend here.
15:00He had told her she didn't need to work. Didn't need a social life. She had him.
15:05He found his mother-in-law's number. Let it ring. She answered warmly.
15:09Oh, is everything alright? Calling this late?
15:11Marcus's throat moved.
15:12Has Claire been in touch today?
15:14No. Why?
15:15She lost her phone, he said. Just checking around.
15:18He hung up. He scrolled through his contacts. Her college roommate. Her closest friend from New York.
15:24Her old colleagues. He had none of their numbers. Not one.
15:29He stood in the hallway and thought about all the time she had asked to go back.
15:34My best friend's getting married next month. I want to go. There's a reunion next week.
15:38I haven't seen these people in years. My mom hasn't been well. I want to check on her.
15:44Every time he said, Don't bother. It's too much trouble.
15:47And she had stayed. He had assumed she was listening to him. Now he understood.
15:51She stayed because she knew he didn't want to go with her. And she wouldn't go without him.
15:56He tried her number again. Off. Still off.
15:59He walked to the bedroom. Stood in front of her side of the wardrobe. Empty.
16:03Three years. She had followed him here and given up everything.
16:07A career that was going somewhere. A mentor who believed in him.
16:11Her circle. Her friends. The life she would have had.
16:14She had never once said she regretted it.
16:16His phone rang. The police station.
16:22Mr. Marcus. We pulled footage from the cameras outside the building.
16:26At approximately 5 o'clock this afternoon, your wife left with a suitcase.
16:29No signs of distress. She was alone.
16:32He held the phone and didn't speak.
16:34At this stage, it appears she left of her own accord.
16:38She was really gone.
16:39Marcus slid down against the wardrobe until he was sitting on the floor.
16:43He looked at the wedding photo on the opposite wall.
16:46White dress. Dark suit.
16:48Both of them looking at the camera. Smiling.
16:51Three years.
16:52Marcus. Will we stay together?
16:56Yes.
16:58Then I believe you.
16:59And she had.
17:00For three years, she had believed him.
17:03He dropped his head into his hands.
17:05His phone buzzed.
17:06A transaction alert.
17:08The linked card he had given Jade.
17:10Just charged.
17:11A boutique in the city.
17:12$13,800.
17:15Women's handbags.
17:16Marcus stared at the screen.
17:18A couple of days ago, Jade mentioned wanting a new bag.
17:21He had said sure, without thinking.
17:23$13,800.
17:26Claire's allowance was $2,000 a month.
17:28Out of that, groceries.
17:30Utilities.
17:31Everything.
17:31Enough to get by.
17:33Nothing more.
17:34She had never asked for anything else.
17:36The one time she came to him with a request, standing in his office, holding those pages,
17:41he hadn't finished reading them.
17:43He got up.
17:44Called Margaret.
17:45Professor?
17:46It's late.
17:47Something wrong?
17:48Has Claire been in touch with you?
17:49She came to me before.
17:51Asked about residencies.
17:52And recently...
17:53She asked how to sort out the paperwork.
17:55To leave the country legally.
17:56She had come to his office today to get that sorted.
17:59That was all she wanted.
18:00A signature so she could go.
18:02There's something else I think you should know.
18:05When she came to see me, she mentioned the marriage certificate.
18:08She knows it's not real.
18:09The phone nearly left his hand.
18:13She knows?
18:14Yes.
18:15That's why she stopped asking about the spousal visa route.
18:17The call ended.
18:19The sound in his ears like static.
18:21His shoulders began to shake.
18:23Jade sent a message.
18:24A string of cheerful texts about the bag needing a matching outfit.
18:28More transaction alerts followed within minutes.
18:31He thought about when he had first handed her that card.
18:34Her first purchase had been a full wardrobe.
18:36Things befitting, she'd said.
18:38The assistant of someone in his position.
18:40But Claire had nothing.
18:41He had asked her to give up her career, her friends, her entire life.
18:45And in three years, what had he given her?
18:48A fake marriage certificate.
18:50A visa status that was never going to come through.
18:52An illegal overstay she didn't even know she was in.
18:56And he, her supposed husband, had let all of it slip from his mind entirely.
19:01Too busy building a life in London for someone else.
19:04He didn't know what he was doing.
19:06He drove to the transit terminal and sat there until morning.
19:09No record of Claire leaving the country.
19:11He stood in the terminal hall and stared at that information for a long time.
19:16No departure on record.
19:18She was still here.
19:19As long as she was in the city, he could find her.
19:22And if he could find her, he could explain.
19:24It's Marcus.
19:25I need your help.
19:26I want to get Claire's status sorted.
19:29Whatever it takes.
19:30Tell me what to do and I'll do it.
19:32Margaret met him at a cafe.
19:33He sat down and went straight to it.
19:37What's the fastest way to get her proper documentation?
19:39I'll cooperate with anything.
19:41Mr. Marcus, you've known the fastest way, if she's your spouse.
19:45Mr. Marcus, you've known the fastest way, if she's your spouse.
19:50Margaret, about the marriage certificate, I want to explain.
19:52A few years ago, someone looked into it for me.
19:55Told me that for the exceptional talent visa, it was cleaner to come in as single.
19:58Get settled first, then sort out the spouse paperwork later.
20:01Claire's mother was ill at the time.
20:03She wanted to see us properly married before.
20:05I had two certificates made up just to ease her mind.
20:08I intended to register properly once we were stable.
20:11Mr. Marcus, that's not true.
20:13There's no such rule.
20:14Who told you that?
20:16My assistant, she looked into it, said it wasn't common knowledge.
20:20Margaret was quiet for a moment.
20:21I've been an immigration consultant in this city for 15 years.
20:24The exceptional talent VASA has never had any such requirement.
20:28Being married doesn't complicate the application.
20:31If anything, a spouse accompanying you is a positive factor.
20:35The year you joined Hartwick, several other professors came over with their entire families.
20:39Spousal visas were processed normally.
20:42The fastest cases were done in three months.
20:44Three years ago, Jade helped him prepare his application materials.
20:48She had been insistent.
20:49Professor, it's really better not list yourself as married.
20:52The background checks get complicated.
20:54Get to London, get settled, and then handle the spouse paperwork.
20:58It won't cause any delays.
20:59He had believed her.
21:00He had always handed the administrative side of things to her.
21:03She knew what she was doing.
21:05He trusted her completely.
21:06So he had shown up at Claire's mother's bedside,
21:09with two forged certificates to put the old woman's mind at ease.
21:13He had intended to register properly once they were settled.
21:16There was always something in the way.
21:18The day Jade had confirmed she was coming to London,
21:21Professor, I'm giving up everything to follow you.
21:23You're responsible for me now.
21:25That I hope to build a life in London, to put down roots.
21:29It would mean so much, she said, if I could stay.
21:33A woman who had come all this way.
21:36He agreed without thinking.
21:37She had taken the spousal slot that should have been Claire's,
21:41gotten residency, gotten a job,
21:43used the card he had meant for his wife.
21:45Mr. Marcus.
21:46Margaret's voice.
21:47He looked up.
21:48The assistant.
21:49That's Jade, isn't it?
21:50He said nothing.
21:51Margaret let out a long breath.
21:53He stood to leave.
21:54His phone rang.
21:55Harwick administration.
21:58Professor Marcus.
21:59We need you to come into the dean's office this afternoon at three.
22:03There are some matters that require your explanation in person.
22:06It concerns your personnel file and your spousal sponsorship documents.
22:09Someone has submitted a formal complaint to the university.
22:15Marcus sat in the conference room in the dean's suite.
22:18Two documents on the table in front of him.
22:20Professor Marcus, can you confirm these are both genuine?
22:23Under UK law, bigamy is a criminal offense.
22:27The university has received a notice of cooperation with the home office.
22:30We also need an explanation regarding the marital status declaration you submitted when you joined the faculty.
22:35That he had concealed a marriage?
22:37Did he register a second one in London to give Jade residency?
22:40That he had left Claire waiting three years without so much as a legal right to be in the country.
22:45He couldn't say any of it.
22:47The investigators came in quickly afterward.
22:50Professor Marcus.
22:51Were you unaware that falsifying documents is a criminal matter?
22:55Or that two congruent marriages constitute bigamy?
22:57He had just not bothered to think.
23:00The things he hadn't bothered to think about.
23:02Someone else had spent three years thinking about them instead.
23:05Jade had thought about it for three years.
23:08How to stay.
23:09How to secure her position.
23:10How to move into space beside him.
23:13Inch by inch.
23:14Until it was hers.
23:15And Claire.
23:16Claire had stood in a kitchen for three years waiting.
23:19Waiting for him to come home for dinner.
23:21Waiting for him to remember they had a home.
23:23Waiting for him to take even a small part of his attention away from the things he couldn't be bothered
23:29to think about.
23:30And give it to her.
23:31He never did.
23:32Marcus was suspended from all teaching and research.
23:35His salary stopped during the investigation.
23:38When he walked out of the dean's suite.
23:40Jade was in the corridor.
23:41Her face was white.
23:43Her eyes were red.
23:44She came toward him.
23:47They've suspended me too.
23:48They called to say the placement has been withdrawn.
23:51Marcus looked at her.
23:52That coat was new.
23:53She bought it last week.
23:55The bag on her arm.
23:56$13,800.
23:59Charged last night.
24:00Claire never touched luxury labels.
24:03The card.
24:04Give it back.
24:05Professor?
24:06That card was for Claire.
24:08Not for you.
24:09She shifted the bag behind her.
24:10Her eyes went redder.
24:13I've been with you for three years.
24:15You followed me for three years.
24:16She waited for me for three years.
24:18You told me not to register for the marriage.
24:20You planned this from the beginning, didn't you?
24:23Her expression confirmed it.
24:24I just wanted to stay.
24:27Marcus looked at her and felt nothing but exhaustion.
24:29She just wanted to stay.
24:31So Claire had to go.
24:33He had stood here for three years and had not seen it.
24:35The legal proceedings were ugly.
24:37Jade refused to dissolve the registered marriage.
24:40She hired a lawyer and went after compensation, reinstatement, and a public statement from Marcus acknowledging their relationship as a
24:48genuine marriage.
24:49Marcus gave her none of it.
24:51She had come to London with nothing.
24:52She left with three years of employment on her record, residency status, and the debt from the card repayments the
24:58court ordered.
24:59Marcus didn't come out of it much better.
25:01He went back to New York several times to find Claire.
25:04Everyone in her neighborhood said she hadn't come back.
25:07Back and forth.
25:08Weeks becoming months.
25:09No job.
25:10No home.
25:11No one.
25:12He rented a small flat, far from where they lived.
25:15Some nights, he went and stood in the corridor outside their old building, where she used to wait for him.
25:20No one stood in that spot anymore.
25:22One year later, the London Art Fair.
25:25Marcus had been pulled along by a former student.
25:27Come and look.
25:29It'll do you good.
25:30He wandered through the rooms without much purpose.
25:32Then he stopped.
25:33To his left, in front of a large canvas, stood a woman.
25:37She was wearing a deep gray dress.
25:38Her hair was longer than he remembered.
25:40Pulled back loosely.
25:42She was turned slightly away, speaking to someone beside her.
25:45A quiet smile at the corner of her mouth.
25:48Marcus stopped breathing for a moment.
25:50He moved toward her without thinking.
25:52She was thinner, but she looked well.
25:54Her eyes were bright.
25:55When she spoke, she made small gestures with her hands, the way she always had.
25:59She smiled again.
26:00That smile.
26:01He hadn't seen it in three years.
26:03Not in London.
26:04He had seen it once.
26:06When they were first married.
26:07He walked faster.
26:08He just needed to get to her.
26:10Tell her what exactly.
26:11Was he wrong?
26:12That he had spent a year looking?
26:14That the certificate was fake, but he had never meant to deceive her.
26:17He had just been too busy.
26:19Too stupid.
26:20Claire.
26:20She turned.
26:21The moment she saw him, the smile left her face.
26:24She turned.
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