I arrived home later than usual.
The driveway was empty.
I parked and collected my handbag from the passenger seat.
The house looked exactly as it had that morning.
The lights were off.
The curtains were closed.
I unlocked the front door.
Then I heard a voice.
"Audrey."
I stopped.
Julian was standing in the living room.
He had a suitcase beside the sofa.
His jacket was folded over one arm.
For a moment, I simply looked at him.
"How did you get in?"
He held up his key.
"I still live here."
I put my handbag down.
"Where have you been?"
He looked away.
"Working."
I didn't ask where.
He gestured toward the sofa.
"Can we talk?"
I was tired.
But I knew the conversation couldn't be avoided forever.
I sat in the chair opposite him.
He remained standing.
"I've been thinking."
I waited.
"About us."
I looked at the suitcase.
"Why is that here?"
He glanced down.
"I packed a few things."
"Are you leaving?"
"I don't know."
He sat on the sofa.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he began.
"I know things have gone badly."
I looked at him.
"Yes."
"I know you're hurt."
I waited.
"And I know I haven't handled everything properly."
I looked at his hands.
He was twisting his wedding ring.
I had seen him do that before.
Usually when he was preparing to ask me for something.
He continued.
"But I don't want our marriage to end because of one bad period."
I looked at him.
"One bad period?"
He sighed.
"That's not what I meant."
"Then explain what you mean."
He rubbed his face.
"I've been under enormous pressure at work."
"I know."
"The company has been struggling. Malcolm has been difficult. There have been problems with the expansion."
I listened.
He was describing his work again.
He wasn't talking about the woman in the red gown.
He wasn't talking about the earrings.
He wasn't talking about the way he had treated me.
I asked him one question.
"Do you still want to be married to me?"
He looked surprised.
"Of course."
"Why?"
He frowned.
"What kind of question is that?"
"A simple one."
He leaned forward.
"Because we've been together for years."
I nodded.
"And?"
"Because we built a life."
I looked around the room.
The photographs.
The furniture.
The shelves.
All the ordinary things we had collected over the years.
I remembered choosing the curtains together.
I remembered our first anniversary.
I remembered him bringing me coffee when my mother was ill.
Those memories were real.
That was what made everything difficult.
But memories couldn't excuse what had happened.
"Julian, are you still involved with Camilla?"
He looked down.
"That's complicated."
I felt my heart sink.
"Are you?"
He didn't answer.
I waited.
Finally, he said:
"We've been having problems."
I stared at him.
"That wasn't my question."
He sighed.
"I don't know what you want me to say."
"The truth."
He looked toward the window.
Then he said that things with Camilla had become difficult.
He said he needed time to sort everything out.
I listened.
He still hadn't answered directly.
I stood and walked toward the kitchen.
He followed me.
"Where are you going?"
"To get water."
He watched me fill a glass.
Then he spoke again.
"I want us to start over."
I took a drink.
"How?"
"We could take a trip."
I looked at him.
"Julian."
"Somewhere quiet. Just the two of us."
I placed the glass on the counter.
"You think a trip will fix this?"
"I think we need time together."
I looked at him.
"We had time together. You chose to spend yours with someone else."
He lowered his eyes.
Then he said something that made me understand how differently we saw the situation.
"I never thought you'd take things this far."
I looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
"The company. The investigation. Everything."
I felt a strange calm settle over me.
He still believed the problem was what I had done after discovering his behavior.
He still saw himself as the person being punished.
I spoke slowly.
"I didn't create the financial problems at Aurelia."
He looked away.
"I didn't start your relationship with Camilla."
He remained silent.
"And I didn't make you strike me in that ballroom."
His face tightened.
"I already apologized for that."
"You said you made a mistake."
"What's the difference?"
I looked at him.
"The difference is that you still haven't acknowledged what you did to me."
He stood very still.
I continued.
"I spent years believing that if I were patient enough, you would eventually remember the person you used to be."
He looked at me.
"I haven't forgotten."
"Then why did you treat me like that?"
He had no answer.
I looked toward the suitcase.
"You can stay here tonight if you need to collect your things."
He frowned.
"You're asking me to leave?"
"I'm asking for space."
"This is my home too."
"I know."
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then he picked up his jacket.
"I'll stay somewhere else tonight."
I nodded.
He carried the suitcase toward the front door.
Before leaving, he turned.
"Audrey, I really thought you would stand by me."
I looked at him.
"I stood by you for years."
He didn't respond.
The door closed.
I remained in the kitchen.
The glass of water was still on the counter.
I picked it up and carried it to the sink.
Then I turned off the light.
That evening, I went upstairs and opened the drawer where I kept my mother's jewelry.
The velvet box was back in its place.
I took out the earrings and held them in my palm.
They were beautiful.
Small.
Quiet.
Unchanged.
I put them back carefully.
Then I closed the drawer.
I didn't know whether Julian would come back.
I didn't know whether our marriage could survive what had happened.
But I finally understood one thing.
I could not keep saving a relationship by sacrificing the person I had become.
The following morning, I would return to work.
The board still had decisions to make.
The company still needed protection.
And I had no intention of abandoning either responsibility.
Click here to continue reading: PART 17: The Final Financial Review Reached the Board, and Julian’s Last Explanation Could No Longer Protect Him
My Husband Wanted Me Gone Before the Biggest Announcement of His Career, But He Had No Idea Why I Had Come
Part 16 of 20
