After 28 Lockouts, I Finally Locked Him Out Chapter 21

After 28 Lockouts, I Finally Locked Him Out Chapter 21

“I never imagined they would go that far. But even so, that’s no excuse. I was the one who was wrong.”

He looked at me, his eyes red-rimmed.

“I never once thought about actually divorcing you. When Eleanor asked if I loved you, I froze. I’d never seriously considered it. I just felt that you were my wife, the person I could rely on most. But the day you left, when I stood alone in that house, I realized it wasn’t a home anymore.”

He took a step forward.

“That was when I knew. I love you. Clara, I really do love you.”

I looked at him and felt nothing but exhaustion.

“Julian,” I said, “what is it that you love about me?”

“Do you love that I managed the trust well? That I could always arrange your dinners and charity events perfectly? That after you revoked my access and humiliated me, I could just swallow it and continue to cooperate?”

The color drained from his face.

I kept going.

“You felt guilty toward your ex-wife, so you used me and Maya to fill the void. You wanted to compensate Leo, so you made Maya suffer. When Leo lied, you covered for him. When Maya was wronged, you took away her opportunities.”

“What you call love isn’t love. You just needed someone fully functional, emotionally stable, and capable enough to help you maintain the life you wanted.”

I looked at him.

“Julian, you were a very poor husband. And you were a deeply inadequate father to your daughter.”

With that, I turned and walked into the glass conservatory behind me, closing the door.

He and his late confession were left outside.