Chapter 9 - The Final DesperationIt rained the night Julian officially moved out of his temporary motel.
I was sitting in my living room, reading a brief for work, when a quiet knock came at the front door. I checked the security camera. It was Julian. He was standing on the porch, soaked to the bone, holding a single, pathetic cardboard box.
I opened the door, leaving the screen door shut and locked between us.
"What do you want, Julian?"
He looked up at me, his face hollow. "Chloe left me. When the money ran out, she broke the lease on the boutique and moved back in with her parents. Mark filed for divorce and kept the house."
"Actions have consequences," I replied, entirely unmoved.
"I have nothing, Elena," Julian wept, pressing his hand against the wet screen. "Richard formally fired me from the firm yesterday. The rumors got too loud. I can't get a job anywhere in the city. I'm broke. I lost the only woman who actually loved me."
"You didn't love me, Julian," I said quietly. "You loved the convenience of me. You loved the house I paid for, the lifestyle I supported, and the image I provided you. You threw it away for a thrill in a swimming pool."
"I made a mistake!" he sobbed.
"No," I corrected him. "You made a series of calculated choices. Over eight months. You chose to lie. You chose to steal. You chose to bring her into my sanctuary. The only mistake you made was underestimating me."
"Elena, please," he begged. "Just help me. Just a loan. Let me sleep on the couch for a week."
I looked at the man I had once planned to spend the rest of my life with. I felt nothing but a profound, absolute emptiness.
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"Goodbye, Julian," I said.
I shut the heavy wooden door, threw the deadbolt, and walked away, leaving him standing alone in the rain.
