I received a call from Julian that evening.
I was at home.
The house was quiet.
I had changed out of my work clothes and was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea.
I almost let the call go unanswered.
Then I decided to pick up.
"Hello."
"Audrey."
His voice sounded tired.
"Yes?"
"Can we talk?"
"We're talking."
He exhaled.
"Not like this."
I looked at the empty chair opposite me.
"What do you want to discuss?"
"My position."
I closed my eyes briefly.
Of course.
He wanted to discuss his position.
Not the marriage.
Not the earrings.
Not the way he had treated me.
His job.
"They haven't made a final decision," I said.
"They're going to take away my authority."
"The board is considering temporary safeguards."
"That's just another way of saying they don't trust me."
"The review isn't finished."
He went quiet.
Then he said something I hadn't expected.
"I've worked for Aurelia for years."
"I know."
"I helped build its strategy department."
"I know that too."
"Do you think that means nothing?"
I looked at the tea.
"No. It means you have responsibilities."
He sighed.
"You're not understanding."
I didn't answer.
He continued.
"I could lose everything I've worked for."
I thought about the eight hundred employees.
I thought about Denise.
I thought about the people who had spent fourteen years helping the company survive.
They could lose their jobs too.
But Julian was worried about himself.
"I don't want the company to fail," I said.
"Then help me."
"How?"
"Talk to Malcolm."
I sat quietly.
He continued.
"Tell him you trust me."
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because he was asking me to give him something he had never offered me.
Trust.
"Julian, I can't tell the board to ignore the findings."
"You're my wife."
The words landed heavily.
I looked around the kitchen.
This was the same table where we had eaten breakfast.
The same room where he had told me about his promotion.
The same house where I had waited for him to come home.
Now he was using our marriage as a reason I should interfere with an investigation.
I felt something inside me become very still.
"Being your wife doesn't mean I can ignore what happened."
He lowered his voice.
"I made mistakes."
"Yes."
"But I never intended to destroy the company."
"Then explain the records."
"I will."
"Good."
He paused.
Then he asked whether I would speak to Malcolm.
I said no.
There was silence.
Finally, he asked:
"Do you really want to do this to me?"
I looked at the faint mark on my shoulder.
It had almost disappeared.
But I remembered the moment clearly.
His hand.
The champagne table.
The people looking away.
Camilla standing beside him.
"Julian, you did this to yourself."
He didn't answer.
I continued.
"I didn't ask you to strike me. I didn't ask you to give my earrings away. I didn't ask you to lie about your relationship with Camilla."
He interrupted.
"Please don't bring her into this."
I stared at the wall.
"Why not?"
"Because she isn't the issue."
I almost whispered.
"She has been part of the issue for months."
He went silent.
I could hear his breathing.
Then he said:
"I can explain everything."
I waited.
But he didn't explain anything.
Instead, he asked whether I would come home the following evening so we could have dinner.
I looked at the clock.
It was almost nine.
I was tired.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Audrey, we're married."
"I know."
"Then act like it."
I felt my fingers tighten around the cup.
I set it down carefully.
"That's exactly what I've been doing for years."
He didn't respond.
I ended the call.
For a while, I remained at the table.
The house was silent.
I remembered the first years of our marriage.
Julian used to bring me coffee when I worked late.
He used to ask about my mother's office.
He used to listen.
I couldn't remember exactly when that stopped.
Maybe it happened gradually.
Maybe I had been too busy trying to preserve what we had to notice that he had already stopped participating.
I stood and carried my cup to the sink.
Then I went upstairs.
On the dresser sat an old photograph of my mother.
Beside it was an empty velvet jewelry box.
I opened it.
The compartment where the diamond earrings belonged was still empty.
I ran my finger over the soft lining.
I remembered the day my mother had given them to me.
She had placed the box in my hands and told me to keep them safe.
I had done that for years.
Until I trusted the wrong person with access to my home.
I closed the box.
Then I placed it back in the drawer.
I wasn't going to spend another night wondering whether Julian would call.
I wasn't going to ask him to come home.
And I wasn't going to protect his position at the expense of the truth.
The next morning, I would return to Aurelia.
The investigation would continue.
And whatever happened to Julian's career would be determined by the evidence, not by the woman he had spent years believing would always forgive him.
Click here to continue reading: PART 13: The General Counsel Called Me Into His Office, and What He Said About Julian Changed the Way I Saw Our Marriage
My Husband Wanted Me Gone Before the Biggest Announcement of His Career, But He Had No Idea Why I Had Come
Part 12 of 20
