5 days without one phone call. She crossed her arms. I was dealing with things. I didn't want to come home and have another argument. What things, Julia?
And why were you staying in a hotel with Colin Price? Her arms fell to her sides. For several seconds, she said nothing. Then her face changed. The discomfort turned into anger, as if she had decided that attacking me was better than answering my questions.
You had me followed? I asked you a question. That's unbelievable. You actually hired someone to spy on me. I hired a professional to establish facts.
You can be angry about that later. Right now, tell me why you lied about your trip. She stared at me, then shook her head. I don't owe you explanations. There it was.
After 24 years of marriage, 5 days of silence, and months of unexplained financial transfers, that was the answer she chose. I nodded once. Fine. She seemed thrown by my response. Fine.
You're right. You don't owe me explanations, and I don't owe you another chance to decide whether you want to be married to me. I reached for the folder and slid it across the table. Julia looked down at it. What is this?
Open it. She pulled out the first document. Her eyes moved across the page and her mouth tightened. Divorce papers. The process has already started.
Patricia Shaw is representing me. She dropped the document onto the table. Are you serious? You're divorcing me because I needed 5 days to myself? No, I'm divorcing you because you lied about where you were, concealed money from our marriage, and started arranging a life with another man while pretending everything was normal.
You don't know what you're talking about. Then the report should make things clearer." She opened the next section. The first photographs showed her with Colin outside the hotel. Another showed them entering the apartment complex.
She flipped through the pages faster, her breathing becoming shallow. "These pictures don't prove anything," she said. I pointed to the next page. Keep reading. She turned the page.
Then she stopped. Her eyes settled on the documented transfers, the private mailbox registration, and the apartment lease. The confident expression she'd brought through the front door was gone. "Where did you get this?" she whispered. I leaned back in my chair.
"You said you didn't owe me explanations, Julia. I'm not asking for any now." She looked at me, then back at the folder. For the first time that evening, she had nothing to say, and I hadn't even shown her the last document. Julia kept staring at page 11.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the paper, and she read the apartment lease again, as if the words might change. "You went through my private information," she said. "I reviewed our financial records. I hired a licensed investigator to document what he could establish legally, and I consulted an attorney. Everything in that folder has a source.
You had no right to do this behind my back. I looked at her. You've been moving our money into a private account for months. You've been meeting another man and arranging an apartment with him. You disappeared for 5 days without making one phone call.
And you want to lecture me about doing things behind your back? She opened her mouth, then closed it. I pulled the final document from the folder and placed it in front of her. It was a timeline Liam had prepared, matching the dates of the financial transfers with Julia's apartment visits and meetings with Colin. Look at the dates, I said.
The first transfer happened 8 months ago. The private mailbox came 6 months ago. Your apartment visits started weeks before this trip. This wasn't a sudden decision to get away from a difficult marriage. You planned it.
Julia pushed the papers aside. Our marriage has been over for years, Jeremy. You just didn't notice. Then why didn't you tell me? Because you never listen.
I asked you about the money. You told me the bank was moving it around. I asked about your phone. You called me controlling. I asked where you were going and you lied about a conference.
Don't tell me I never listened when you refused to give me an honest answer. She stood up and walked toward the counter. I needed a way out. I didn't know how you'd react. I stayed seated.
You could have asked for a divorce. You could have told me you wanted to leave. Instead, you spent months preparing while taking money from our joint savings. I was protecting myself from what? She turned around.
From you making my life difficult. You always have to be in control. Everything has to be documented, questioned, and checked. I stood up. Don't confuse being prepared with being controlling.
I asked you for the truth, Julia. You chose to lie. Her eyes narrowed. And now you're going to make sure I get nothing. No.
My attorney has made it clear that the settlement must account for the actual marital assets and the transfers you've made. You'll receive whatever you're legally entitled to. But you're not going to walk away with money you quietly removed and pretend it never happened. She shook her head. You've already decided I'm the villain.
I'm not deciding anything. I'm looking at what you did. For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then she lowered her voice. Colin and I weren't planning to hurt you.
I almost laughed, but I held it back. You rented an apartment with another man while you were still married to me. You moved our money to prepare for it. How exactly did you think that would end? He understands me.
Good. Then he can help you understand the divorce papers. Her face tightened. You don't have to be cruel. I'm not being cruel.
I'm being direct. You wanted a new life and you arranged one. I'm not going to stand in your way. She looked at the papers again. Can we at least talk before you do something you regret?
The filing has already been submitted. You can't just end 24 years like this. You ended our marriage when you decided I wasn't worth telling the truth to. I'm simply making the legal part official. She sat down slowly.
For the first time since she had returned, she looked less angry than frightened. What happens now? She asked. Patricia will contact your attorney. We'll deal with the house, the accounts, and everything else through the proper process.
And us? I closed the folder. There is no us anymore. Julia stared at me as though she had expected another answer. I picked up my coffee and carried it to the sink.
Behind me, she began turning the pages again, searching for something that might change the situation. But the decision had already been made, and the next person who needed to understand that wasn't Julia. It was Colin. Julia stayed at the kitchen table long after I went upstairs. I could hear the papers moving beneath her hands, followed by the occasional sound of her phone vibrating against the wood.