The front door slammed behind Julian’s parents.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Julian stood in the middle of my foyer staring at me as though I had transformed into someone he had never met.
Maybe, in a way, I had.
Or perhaps he was finally seeing me clearly.
For seven years, he had mistaken my patience for weakness.
He had mistaken my generosity for stupidity.
And because I rarely raised my voice, he had convinced himself that I would never fight back.
But there was one thing Julian had never understood about me.
I didn’t fight loudly.
I fought permanently.
Richard closed his briefcase.
“That takes care of the immediate property issue.”
Julian looked at him.
“You knew about this?”
Richard nodded.
“For months.”
Julian’s eyes returned to me.
“Months?”
I said nothing.
“When did you start planning this?”
“Before you asked me to pay your debt.”
His expression hardened.
“You knew I was leaving you.”
“I knew you were planning to.”
His jaw tightened.
“How?”
I walked back into the kitchen and picked up the phone sitting beside my coffee machine.
“I received a message six months ago.”
I unlocked my phone.
Then I turned the screen toward him.
There was a photograph.
Julian and Elena.
At a restaurant downtown.
His hand was resting on her waist.
Her head was against his shoulder.
Underneath the photograph was a timestamp.
Six months earlier.
Julian stared.
“That doesn’t prove anything.”
I swiped.
Another photograph.
The two of them entering a hotel.
Another.
Elena sitting in Julian’s car.
Another.
Julian kissing her outside an apartment building.
His face tightened.
“Who took these?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes!”
“No.”
I placed the phone down.
“What matters is that I knew.”
Elena had been standing near the staircase in silence.
She suddenly spoke.
“You knew about us?”
I looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I wanted to know how far you’d go.”
She swallowed.
“And?”
I smiled sadly.
“Very far.”
The Woman Behind the Door
Richard cleared his throat.
“There is one more matter.”
Julian turned toward him.
“What?”
Richard removed another envelope.
“This was delivered to Ms. Carter this morning.”
Julian stared at it.
“What is it?”
“A notice from Hamilton Business Bank.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed.
“Why would the bank contact her?”
Richard looked at him.
“Because she now owns the debt.”
Julian’s face hardened again.
“How much time do I have?”
I answered before Richard could.
“Thirty days.”
He blinked.
“Thirty days for what?”
“To repay the $150,000.”
He laughed bitterly.
“You’re joking.”
“No.”
“You can’t just demand that.”
“I can.”
“You’re my wife!”
“Not for much longer.”
He looked at the divorce papers still sitting on the kitchen island.
For the first time, I saw hesitation.
He had wanted the divorce because he thought it would free him.
Instead, it had made everything worse.
“You can’t collect while we’re still married.”
Richard smiled.
“Actually, Mr. Mercer, the agreement governing the debt specifically allows enforcement regardless of marital status.”
Julian looked at me.
