Chapter 6 - Julian Chose Her Version
Julian asked to meet me alone.
I said no.
He asked again.
I agreed to meet in Priya’s conference room.
My brothers hated that I was seeing him.
Priya hated that my brothers had opinions about it.
“You are the client,” she reminded me.
“Not Adrian.”
That sentence became important.
I had called my brothers because I needed support.
I did not want to replace one controlling marriage with five well-meaning men making decisions for me.
Julian arrived in the navy suit he wore when he wanted to look reasonable.
“You’ve turned this into a corporate investigation.”
“Your relationship with Serena did that.”
“There is no relationship.”
“Did you kiss her?”
He looked at Priya.
“Is this relevant?”
Priya answered:
“To your marriage? Obviously.”
Julian’s shoulders dropped.
“Once.”
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because married people confessing affairs apparently believe numbers are a form of mercy.
“Palm Springs?”
He looked surprised.
“So more than once.”
“Claire.”
“How long?”
“A few months.”
I stared at him.
“Did Lily see you yesterday?”
He did not answer.
“Did she?”
“She walked into something she didn’t understand.”
“A kiss is not advanced mathematics.”
Julian leaned forward.
“Serena has been under enormous pressure.”
“And therefore my daughter owes her ten thousand dollars?”
“Lily has been hostile toward Serena.”
“Since when?”
“Since Palm Springs.”
My skin went cold.
He had noticed.
Lily had seen them.
Julian knew she had seen something.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because there was nothing to tell then.”
“You just admitted there was.”
He rubbed his forehead.
“It hadn’t become an affair yet.”
“You kissed her behind a hotel building.”
“It was one mistake.”
“Followed by months of mistakes with scheduling.”
He became angry.
“This is exactly why I didn’t tell you. You turn everything into a moral trial.”
Priya looked up from her notes.
“You might want to reconsider blaming your wife for your concealment.”
Julian ignored her.
“Lily disliked Serena because she thought Serena was taking me away from you.”
“Or because she saw you cheating.”
“She’s a child. She interpreted things emotionally.”
I heard the sentence beneath the sentence.
A child’s account was unreliable whenever it threatened him.
“Did Serena cut the dress?”
“No.”
“Were you in the wardrobe room with her?”
“I stopped in.”
“Before or after Lily?”
He hesitated.
“Before.”
“Did you see scissors?”
“It’s an event dressing room. There were scissors everywhere.”
“Did you see Serena cutting anything?”
“No.”
He answered faster now.
“Did you tell Serena to make sure I knew Lily lied?”
His face changed.
Barely.
Priya noticed too.
“No.”
“Lily says you did.”
“Lily is upset.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I said she had a habit of exaggerating.”
“She doesn’t.”
“She does about Serena.”
“Name another example.”
He couldn’t.
He switched subjects.
That was the first time I understood how often he had done that during our marriage.
Not lie exactly.
Reframe.
Move the conversation to terrain where he sounded reasonable.
“Do you want to stay married?” he asked suddenly.
The question hurt.
“Did you when you slept with Serena?”
“I haven’t slept with her.”
Another technical mercy.
“Fine. Did you want to stay married when you kissed her repeatedly and called my daughter a liar?”
Julian looked at me.
“Yes.”
I believed him.
That was the problem.
He wanted the marriage.
He also wanted the affair.
He wanted Serena’s company.
He wanted Lily discredited.
He wanted my brothers uninvolved.
He wanted his corporate role untouched.
Julian’s idea of keeping a life was never choosing between conflicting obligations.
It was keeping every door open until someone else absorbed the cost.
I left the meeting without deciding on divorce.
That evening the first relatives began calling.
Julian had told people my brothers were trying to force him out of Vance Heritage because our marriage was struggling.
He did not mention Serena was a contracted vendor.
He did not mention the undisclosed affair.
He did not mention the fabricated $10,000 demand.
May you like
The family version was already being rewritten.
This time I recognized it while it was happening.
