Chapter 11 - THE WOMAN WHO FINALLY WALKED AWAY
Michael asked to meet me one final time.
We sat in a quiet restaurant.
He looked thinner.
Older.
He wasn't wearing his wedding ring.
I noticed.
But I didn't comment.
“Claire,” he began, “I know I've destroyed your trust.”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
He swallowed.
“I want to rebuild it.”
I studied him.
“Why?”
He blinked.
“Because I love you.”
I shook my head.
“Do you?”
His eyes filled.
“Yes.”
I leaned forward.
“Michael, you had an affair with my sister for eight months.”
He looked down.
“You helped move my father's property into a company without my permission.”
He closed his eyes.
“You allowed financial accounts to be opened under my name.”
Tears ran down his face.
“I know.”
I stared at him.
“And now you want me to believe that love was underneath all of it?”
He said nothing.
I took a breath.
“I don't hate you.”
He looked up.
Hope flashed across his face.
I continued.
“But I don't trust you.”
His expression collapsed.
“And I can't build a marriage without trust.”
He began crying.
“Please.”
I stood.
“I'm filing for divorce.”
He covered his face.
I looked at him one last time.
“You will always be Sophie and Ben's father.”
My voice trembled.
May you like
“But you are no longer my husband in the ways that matter.”
Then I walked away.
