She Played Weak for Sympathy, So I Walked Away Without Looking Back Chapter 01

She Played Weak for Sympathy, So I Walked Away Without Looking Back Chapter 01

Julian Mercer had ended up at the precinct for the seventh time, once again after getting into a fight while defending my best friend, Camille Rhodes.

When I arrived, his face was bruised and cut. He was comforting Camille while barking orders at me.

“Natalie Rowan, go take care of the settlement. Camille can’t stop crying, so I’m staying here with her.”

Camille was sobbing uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry. If that creep hadn’t harassed me again, you wouldn’t have gotten into another fight because of me.”

Julian did not seem remotely concerned.

“Being harassed wasn’t your fault. If it happens again, I’d step in again.”

Then he looked at me as though my agreement were a given.

“Natalie would agree that I should protect you too.”

I said nothing. Calmly, I signed my name on the settlement form.

“How much is he asking for?”

Only then did I learn that the man Julian had beaten wanted forty thousand dollars to cover his medical bills and compensate him for pain and suffering.

My hand froze as I reached to pay.

“What happens if we don’t pay?”

The officer gave me a sympathetic look. “Then the victim won’t agree to a settlement, and the assault case moves forward. Given your husband’s history, he could very well go to jail, and a conviction could affect the rest of his life.”

I left the rest of the paperwork unsigned. Resting one hand over my lower abdomen, I turned and walked away.

An hour earlier, I had still been debating whether to divorce him. Now I knew I had to.

If he ended up with a conviction, our child would grow up paying for his recklessness.

***

I had barely made it a few steps outside the precinct when Julian came after me and grabbed my wrist.

“Natalie, why didn’t you pay the settlement?”

I looked at him calmly.

“Julian, you’re thirty, not thirteen.”

“You’ve already ended up here six times before because of fighting. You’re an adult. It’s time you dealt with the consequences yourself.”

His expression shifted.

Camille rushed over and took my hand, her eyes red and swollen.

“I’m sorry, Natalie. This is all my fault. Someone followed me again, and I didn’t know who else to call, so I called your husband.”

Still crying, she began slapping herself across the face.

“It’s all my fault. I never should have called him. I’d rather have let that man do whatever he wanted to me than come between you and your husband…”

“What are you doing?”

Julian stopped her and nearly pulled Camille into his arms, moving with such practiced ease that it looked as though they had done this many times before.

“I told you, this wasn’t your fault. I’m a man. I’m not going to stand by when I see something like that.”

“Natalie, stop making a scene. Go pay the settlement, then apologize to Camille.”

I said nothing. I only stared at the man I had loved for ten years.

We had met ten years earlier when he came to my rescue.

A drunk creep had been following me. Julian rushed over, took my hand, and pulled me close, pretending to be my friend before leading me somewhere safe.

From that moment on, I was completely taken with him. What drew me in even more was how calm and even-tempered he seemed.

Yet in all ten years we had been together, he had never once thrown a punch for me.

Even when one of the executives at my company sexually harassed me, Julian had merely frowned and told me, “Let it go, Natalie. If you make a big deal out of it, how are you supposed to keep working there?”

But for Camille, he kept making exception after exception.

The first time Julian fought for her was when her ex-boyfriend broke into her home in the middle of the night and tried to rape her.

When Camille called, Julian rushed over at one in the morning and beat the man badly enough to break his ribs.

After the police took him in, Julian remained certain that he had done the right thing.

“Natalie, I know I lost my temper, but she’s your best friend. I couldn’t stand by and let someone do that to her.”

He wrapped his arms around me, his voice gentle.

“Your poor husband could end up with a conviction on his record. You wouldn’t let that happen to me, would you?”

I clenched my fist, and the diamond on my ring finger dug painfully into my skin. It reminded me that we were married and that whatever happened to him would affect both of us. I couldn’t let him go to jail.

Camille had been sobbing as she clutched my hand and said, “Natalie, you and Julian saved me. I’ll never forget it for as long as I live!”

But then it happened again and again. Julian kept making exceptions for her.

Every time, he would swear afterward, “That was the last time, Natalie. I swear I’ll never lose control like that again.”

This time, I had finally had enough.

I pulled my hand free from Julian’s grip.

“Julian, forty thousand dollars is a lot of money.”

“I’m four months pregnant. I need to save for the baby, and there’s still so much I have to prepare. I can’t come up with that kind of money.”

Besides, I had just decided to get divorced, and I would need to hire a lawyer.

From now on, Julian would have to deal with all of this on his own.