0:00
The polished chaos of the airport
0:01
terminal was a familiar sight, but today
0:03
it was a stage for my humiliation.
0:07
I stood there, a suitcase still in hand,
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watching Cassandra's private jet tear
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from the tarmac and claw its way into
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My name is Julian Cole, and this was
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meant to be our anniversary weekend, a
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grand getaway she had promised for
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months. I had packed my best shirts,
0:25
even bought a new camera lens to capture
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the moments I'd envisioned us sharing.
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Instead, I watched her ascend. A goddess
0:32
of the air, laughing with her entourage
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of assistants and friends, all in
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designer sunglasses and heels clicking
0:38
like they owned the world. "It's a
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girl's trip now," she'd said, tossing me
0:42
that smirk of hers, the one that always
0:43
made me feel like the punchline to a
0:45
joke I didn't quite get. A fiery rage
0:48
simmerred in my gut, but I didn't
0:52
I'm not the begging kind. Her laughter
0:54
echoed in my head as I spun on my heel,
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walking with a purpose I hadn't felt in
0:59
I went straight to the first class
1:01
counter, asked for the next flight to
1:03
Paris, and within the hour, I was
1:05
nestled in a plush seat, a glass of
1:07
champagne in my hand. I wasn't chasing
1:09
her, I was leaving her behind. 10
1:13
minutes after our plane took off, I knew
1:15
she'd get the email. I'd scheduled it
1:17
that morning. A little automated
1:19
surprise from our mutual legal council,
1:22
a preliminary separation agreement. I
1:25
could picture her face, those perfectly
1:27
arched brows shooting up, lips parting,
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and that silent gasp she made when
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caught off guard. At 30,000 ft,
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surrounded by her giggling crew, she
1:36
would suddenly go ghost white. Good. Let
1:38
her squirm. Let her. The hum of the jet
1:41
was a low, comforting vibration. For the
1:43
first time in years, I wasn't flying to
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make Cassandra's schedule or play the
1:47
part of her accessory husband. This was
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my flight, my choice, and it felt like a
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victory. A flight attendant handed me a
1:53
glass of champagne, and as I watched the
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bubbles rise and pop, each one seemed to
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vanish, like the promises Cassandra had
2:00
made over the years. We had started as
2:02
equals, or so I thought, building her
2:04
luxury tech brand from late night
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brainstorming sessions in our cramped
2:08
apartment. It was our dream, but
2:10
somewhere along the way, it became hers.
2:14
I'd morphed into the guy holding her
2:16
purse at red carpet gallas, smiling for
2:18
the cameras while she dazzled the world.
2:21
Julian, you're so good at just being
2:23
there," she'd say, as if it were a
2:25
compliment. I reached into my carry-on
2:27
and pulled out the leatherbound journal
2:29
she had given me last Christmas. It was
2:31
one of those expensive, thoughtful gifts
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on the surface, but hollow inside. She
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hadn't even bothered to write a note. I
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opened it, the blank pages staring back
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My pen hovered for a second, then I
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pressed it to the paper and wrote the
2:46
first words that felt like my own.
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It wasn't poetry, but it was mine.
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And that was enough. I leaned back,
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letting the words sink in.
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Paris wasn't just a destination now. It
3:05
was a statement. I wasn't going to trail
3:07
behind her anymore. Not going to wait
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for her to toss me crumbs of attention.
3:13
This trip was about me, about figuring
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out who I was when I wasn't Cassandra
3:17
Blake's plus one. The plane rocked
3:20
gently and I began to plan. I would
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check into a hotel, nothing like the
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luxurious places she'd choose, and just
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walk. No itinerary, no press calls, no
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one telling me where to stand or what to
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say. I would wander the streets, eat
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whatever smelled good, maybe pull out my
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camera and take a few shots just for
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myself, not for her Instagram feed. The
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thought made me smile. A real smile, not
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the strained grimace I'd worn for years.
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The sun was setting, painting the sky in
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pink and gold. I didn't check my phone.
3:55
I didn't want to see her messages yet.
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Let her simmer. Let her wonder where I'd
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gone. For the first time, I wasn't the
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one waiting. I stepped off the plane at
4:06
Charl de Gaulle, my legs stiff, but a
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buzz in my head I hadn't felt in years.
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The airport was a blur of voices, a
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dozen languages blending together. I
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moved through it like a man waking from
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a long sleep. But before I could get
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far, a voice called out soft and
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Julian Cole, look who it is. I turned
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and there he was, Marco Leavant, leaning
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against a pillar with that easy grin of
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his. Marco was one of Cassandra's old
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investors, a sharp guy who had exited
4:38
her company a couple of years ago after
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creative differences and was now her
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chief rival in the tech world. Same as
4:44
you, I imagine," he guessed, extending
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Getting out from under her thumb, I
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smirked, not quite understanding how he
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knew, but Marco always had an ear to the
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"Yeah, I wasn't about to cry about it."
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He nodded as if he expected nothing
5:06
You're not the only one she's tried to
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erase, you know. She didn't invite me to
5:10
her little summit this weekend, but I
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figured I'd show up anyway.
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He reached into his pocket and pulled
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out a cream colored envelope. You should
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come, too. She's speaking or was
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speaking. It would be a shame if she
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didn't see a few familiar faces in the
5:26
crowd. I took the invitation for a tech
5:28
summit in Paris, one of those exclusive
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events where CEOs and bigwigs rubbed
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shoulders. Cassandra had been prepping
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She doesn't know you're coming, does
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she? Marco asked, his eyes glinting with
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mischief. No, I said, feeling a smile
5:44
touch my lips. She's about to, he
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clapped me on the shoulder, laughing.
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That's the spirit. Come on, let's get a
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drink. You look like you could use one.
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We found a bar just outside the terminal
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and ordered two whisies. The first sip
6:00
burned, but it grounded me in this new
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reality where I wasn't just reacting to
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her moves. I was making my own.
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She built a lot on your back, Marco
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said, swirling his drink. Those early
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marketing ideas that helped her brand
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take off. I remember whose head those
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came from. I looked at him, surprised.
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That was a long time ago.
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Doesn't mean it's not still true, he
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said. She's good at taking credit.
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You're good at letting her. Maybe it's
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The words hit me harder than I expected.
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For years, I had told myself it didn't
6:38
matter. But sitting there, the whiskey
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warming my chest, I realized how much I
6:44
Paris wasn't just an escape anymore. It
6:47
was a chance to take something back. I
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woke to the sound of Paris breathing
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outside my window, a soft hum of life
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that felt worlds away from Cassandra's
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universe. My name is Julian Cole, and I
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had checked into a small boutique hotel
7:01
in Monarch. No marble lobbies or
7:03
concieres kissing her ring, but perfect
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The room was small with creaky wooden
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floors and a view of the cobblestone
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streets. I pulled on a jacket, grabbed
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my camera, and walked out, letting the
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morning air hit me like a reset button.
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For years, every trip with Cassandra was
7:23
a mission, a schedule, a photo op. Today
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I was just a guy with a camera wandering
7:30
a city that didn't care who I was
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married to. After a strong coffee and a
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flaky quason, I drifted toward the art
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district. Photography had once been my
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thing, a passion Cassandra had turned
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into a joke. "It's a sweet hobby,
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Julian," she'd say, as if I were a child
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playing with toys. I'd stopped carrying
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my camera unless she needed a shot for
7:50
her feed. But here, I brought it to my
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eye and began to click. street corners,
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cracked walls, a woman selling flowers.
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The world looked different through the
8:00
lens, sharper, as if I could finally
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hold it instead of letting it slip
8:05
through my fingers. That night, I found
8:07
myself at a rooftop exhibit, a small
8:09
studio tucked above a bookstore. The air
8:12
was thick with chatter and cigarette
8:13
smoke. I sipped cheap wine and looked at
8:16
the art, which felt raw and real.
8:20
That's where I met Genevieve Thorne. She
8:23
stood by her installation, a tangle of
8:25
wires and screens flickering with
8:27
images. She had dark hair pulled back in
8:29
a loose bun, a smudge of paint on her
8:32
cheek, and eyes that seemed to see right
8:36
It's like it's breaking apart and
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starting over at the same time, I said,
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looking at her work. She smiled, a slow
8:45
Exactly. Eraser and rebirth. You
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We talked for a while, her voice quiet
8:55
She told me the piece was about shedding
8:56
old versions of yourself to find what
9:00
"Sometimes you have to disappear to
9:02
finally be seen," she said, and it hit
9:07
I had been disappearing for years,
9:09
dissolving into Cassandra's light. "But
9:12
maybe I didn't have to anymore." Back in
9:14
my room, I picked up my phone. It was
9:17
dark, silent. I hadn't turned it on
9:20
since the airport, unwilling to deal
9:22
with whatever Cassandra was unleashing
9:24
on me, but a quiet curiosity pulled at
9:27
me now. I hit the power button and the
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screen lit up with a wall of 155
9:33
messages. I scrolled through them, not
9:36
opening them yet. The first few were
9:38
smug classic Cassandra. You're being
9:40
dramatic. Then the tone shifted. Where
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are you, Julian? Answer me. By message
9:48
45, she was furious. What the hell did
9:51
you do? I knew this must have been when
9:53
the legal email hit. I smiled, picturing
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her scrolling through her inbox at
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30,000 ft, her perfect nails tapping
10:00
harder on the screen. The messages kept
10:03
coming, a torrent of her unraveling.
10:06
You can't do this to me. Then the
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Julian, I need to talk to you, please.
10:13
I'm sorry. The last one, number 155, was
10:17
different. We need to fix this. I stared
10:20
at it, but didn't reply. I turned the
10:23
phone off, let her wonder, let her sit
10:25
with it. I wasn't her little dog
10:28
anymore, running to fix things the
10:30
moment she snapped her fingers. 2 days
10:33
later, I walked into the tech summit
10:34
Marco had invited me to. Tonight, it
10:37
wasn't about hiding. It was about
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showing up. The venue was all glass and
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gold filled with executives and
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I scanned the room half expecting to see
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Cassandra, but she wasn't there. Her
10:51
name was still on the placards, though.
10:53
Cassandra Blake, keynote speaker.
10:57
I found Marco near the bar. She's not
11:00
here, is she? I asked. Not yet, he said,
11:03
a smirk on his lips. Word is she's been
11:06
in communicado since that letter hit.
11:09
Before I could ask more, Lily, her
11:12
executive assistant, grabbed my arm, a
11:14
bundle of nerves. Julian, thank
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goodness, she whispered. She's been
11:19
going crazy since that legal letter. She
11:21
hasn't told anyone why she's not here. I
11:24
raised an eyebrow, keeping my voice
11:26
even. That's her mess, Lily. Not mine.
11:31
Lily stared at me, then slowly backed
11:34
away. Just as the host was about to
11:36
introduce a stand-in speaker, he paused.
11:39
Ladies and gentlemen, he boomed. Before
11:42
we begin, let's welcome someone in the
11:45
audience. Julian Cole, the man behind
11:48
the original marketing concept Cassandra
11:50
Blake built her empire on without giving
11:56
heads turned, a gasp rippled through the
12:01
Then slowly someone clapped and the room
12:04
erupted into applause.
12:06
I stood nodding, feeling not nerves, but
12:11
For years, I had let her take the
12:12
credit. It had mattered, and now
12:15
everyone knew it. The next evening, I
12:18
walked along the sand, the lights of the
12:20
city reflected in the water. I had
12:22
agreed to meet Cassandra,
12:25
not knowing what I wanted, but knowing
12:27
it was time to face her.
12:30
The cafe was small, tucked away on a
12:33
side street. She arrived 10 minutes
12:35
late, her heels clicking like a warning
12:38
shot. She wore sunglasses, though the
12:40
sun had long set, her face unreadable.
12:44
"You humiliated me," she said, her voice
12:47
taught. "No," I said. "You humiliated
12:51
yourself. I just stopped covering for
12:54
you." She pulled off her sunglasses, her
12:57
eyes sharp and tired.
13:00
That letter, Julian, the summit. What
13:03
are you trying to do? Ruin me. I'm not
13:06
trying to do anything to you, I replied,
13:09
keeping my voice even. I'm done playing
13:12
your game. You left me at the airport
13:14
and laughed about it. Did you think I'd
13:17
just swallow that? She winced. A flicker
13:21
of vulnerability I caught.
13:24
It was a mistake, she said softer now. I
13:28
got carried away with the girls, the
13:30
trip. It wasn't meant to be like that,
13:33
but it was, I said, and it has been for
13:36
years. Me waiting, you deciding. I'm not
13:39
your sounding board anymore, Cassandra.
13:42
She stared at me, her fingers tapping
13:44
the table. Legal terms, then, she said,
13:48
changing the subject. We can settle
13:50
this. Make it clean. I reached into my
13:53
pocket, pulled out my lawyer's card, and
13:55
slid it across the table.
13:57
Everything goes through her now. We're
14:01
She looked at the card, then back at me,
14:04
her mouth opening to argue, but I was
14:08
"Julian, wait," she started. I didn't. I
14:13
left her sitting there, the wine
14:14
untouched, the card glinting at her. The
14:17
power shift was complete. I walked away,
14:20
my steps lighter than they'd been in
14:22
years. I was free, not just from her,
14:25
but from the version of myself I'd
14:26
allowed her to shape. The river flowed
14:29
steady and sure, and I walked at its
14:30
pace. My voice was mine again. Paris had