Chương 6
“And she introduced me to people who could help with the expansion.”
“And then?”
“Then things became complicated.”
I looked away.
Complicated.
That word had protected too many lies.
“Did you sleep with her?”
The question hung there.
I had never asked it before.
Maybe because I was afraid of the answer.
Maybe because asking would force me to accept that the marriage I defended no longer existed.
Julian did not answer immediately.
“Yes.”
The room went silent.
I did not cry.
I did not yell.
I simply felt something inside me finally stop fighting.
“How long?”
“Several months.”
I nodded.
“Thank you.”
“Clarissa.”
“No.”
My voice became softer.
“Don’t apologize now.”
“I am sorry.”
“I believe you are.”
That seemed to surprise him.
“But being sorry doesn’t erase what happened.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
The question came out before I could stop it.
“Because you stood there last night and made me feel ashamed for wearing a dress.”
His breathing changed.
“That wasn’t about the dress.”
“No.”
I looked down at the table.
“It was about who you decided I was.”
He said nothing.
“I spent three years trying to prove I was enough for you.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“And you spent those years proving I wasn’t important enough to tell the truth.”
“Clarissa.”
“I’m not saying this because I hate you.”
That was the hardest part.
“I’m saying it because I don’t hate you.”
A painful silence followed.
“If I hated you, this would be easier.”
His voice became quieter.
“I never wanted to hurt you.”
“But you did.”
“I know.”
The honesty almost made it worse.
Because there was no fight left.
No excuse.
No argument.
Only damage.
“Why did you call me?”
I asked.
“Because I need help.”
There it was.
The truth beneath everything.
Not love.
Not regret.
Need.
“What kind of help?”
“The report that came out last night.”
“Yes.”
“I think someone inside Apex is trying to destroy me.”
I looked at Arthur.
He immediately understood.
“Why me?”
Julian hesitated.
“Because you know people who can investigate this.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Even now.
Even after everything.
He still saw the power behind my name before he saw me.
“You mean my father.”
“Yes.”
I almost smiled.
Not happily.
“You really don’t know me at all.”
“Clarissa.”
“My father can help you.”
Julian was silent.
“But I need to know why I should.”
“Because if Apex collapses, thousands of employees could lose their jobs.”
That answer was better.
At least it was not only about himself.
But I knew Julian.
I knew the way he could mix responsibility with pride.
“I’ll think about it.”
“You’ll help?”
“I said I’ll think.”
He started to say something.
Then stopped.
“Are you leaving me?”
I looked at the floor.
The question should have hurt more.
Maybe it would have yesterday.
“I don’t know.”
A quiet breath came through the phone.
“I deserve that answer.”
“Yes.”
I ended the call.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Then Arthur said, “You don’t owe him anything.”
I looked at him.
“I know.”
“Do you?”
I smiled faintly.
“You’re starting to sound like me.”
“That worries me.”
For a moment, neither of us said anything.
Then Daniel cleared his throat.
“There is something else.”
I turned toward him.
“What?”
He slid another folder across the table.
“We found a problem with the document you received.”
I opened it.
“What problem?”
“The signature is real.”
I looked up.
“But?”
“The agreement was altered after Julian signed it.”
My eyebrows pulled together.
“Meaning?”
“Someone changed the terms.”
Arthur leaned forward.
“Can you prove that?”
“We can prove the version Julian signed and the version submitted to the board are different.”
A strange feeling moved through me.
Julian had lied.
He had cheated.
He had humiliated me.
But someone else might have been setting him up.
The truth was becoming more complicated instead of simpler.
And somehow that felt worse.
Because anger was easier than uncertainty.
“What does Chloe have to do with it?” I asked.
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“We don’t know.”
“But you suspect something.”
He glanced at Arthur.
“We know she had access.”
“To what?”
“The internal documents.”
I thought about her smile.
The way she stood beside Julian at the house.
The way she wanted me to see them together.
Maybe it was cruelty.
Maybe it was confidence.
Maybe it was something else.
My father gathered the documents.
“We need more information before making decisions.”
I nodded.
For years, I had avoided my family name because I thought power ruined relationships.
Now I was learning something else.
Sometimes avoiding power only allowed other people to use it against you.
That evening, I returned to my old bedroom.
I did not unpack everything.
I only placed a few things in the closet.
A sweater.
A pair of shoes.
A book.
Small proof that I existed somewhere.
My phone remained silent.
For the first time in days, I was grateful.
I sat by the window and watched the lights across the city.
The same city where Julian was probably dealing with a collapsing company.
The same city where I had spent three years shrinking myself.
A knock came at the door.
Arthur stood outside.
“Can I come in?”
I nodded.
He sat in the chair near the window.
“When you were little, you used to hide here when you were angry.”
I looked over.
“I did not.”
“You did.”
“I was eight.”
“You hid behind that curtain.”
I smiled.
“That curtain was terrible.”
“Yes.”
He smiled too.
“You could still see your feet.”
The memory was small.
Almost meaningless.
But it made the room feel less like a museum.
“I was wrong about you,” I said.
Arthur looked at me.
“What do you mean?”
“I thought you only cared about winning.”
His expression changed.
“I probably made it easy for you to think that.”
“You did.”
He nodded.
“I’m sorry.”
May you like
I looked down.
That word sounded different coming from him.
