He pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around me, his hands trembling.
I must have been hallucinating—I could have sworn I saw a flicker of pain in his eyes.
It vanished in an instant, replaced by his usual contempt.
"Doris, I really didn't misjudge you. You're exactly as cheap as I thought!"
"Seducing street trash just to get sympathy? Have you no shame?"
He let go. I crumpled to the ground.
A sneer curled his lips.
"Then again, someone who'd throw away years of love for five hundred thousand dollars—what shame could she possibly have?"
I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood. I didn't say a word in my defense.
Back when we were together, Aileen had come to me many times.
Pressuring me to leave him, raising her offer each time.
Every single time, I refused without hesitation. I told her, word for word: I don't want your money. I only want Julian.
It wasn't until I got the call from the hospital that everything changed.
My mother's kidneys were failing. She needed surgery immediately.
Five hundred thousand dollars. It might as well have been five million.
Julian was overseas on business. His phone went straight to voicemail, again and again. I couldn't reach him, and my mother couldn't wait.
So I went to Aileen.
She didn't say a word. Just smiled that cold smile of hers and threw a document at my face, along with a check. A breakup agreement.
My hands wouldn't stop shaking as I signed my name. I grabbed the money and rushed to the hospital.
That's when the doctor told me it had been a misdiagnosis. My mother's kidneys were fine. She'd never needed a transplant at all.
I stood there, frozen, unable to process what I was hearing.
The doctor leaned in before I could leave. "Miss Harding, Mrs. Gilbert asked me to pass along a message. What happened today stays buried. Otherwise..." He paused. "No one can guarantee your mother will survive her next medical emergency."
A threat. Naked and ugly. And I didn't have the strength left to fight it.
I clutched that check and sobbed until I couldn't breathe, but there was nothing I could do. So I gritted my teeth and told Julian it was over.
When he jumped off that building right in front of me, I truly believed he understood my pain.
I didn't learn the truth until our wedding day. His so-called devotion had been revenge, planned from the start.