Bartholomew and my father both cried out, then turned on me with cold, vicious words.
"Sonia, why did you have to push her? You're crueler than a wolf."
"Whether you forgive him or not doesn't matter anymore. We don't need your forgiveness."
"Get out. I don't want to look at you right now."
My father said nothing, only fixing me with an icy glare.
I'd told myself I would let them go and start over far away. But when the wound was reopened, all that came was pain, and more pain.
My own husband. My own father. Always, always favoring another woman.
Only in that moment did I finally understand: love or family, I no longer wanted any of it.
"Bartholomew, let's break up!"
His hand tightened around Julie's, and for a moment he froze completely.
A flicker of triumph crossed Julie's face, quickly hidden before anyone could catch it.
"Sonia, why are you saying this all of a sudden?"
"Is it just because I won't help you now that you're—"
"No!"
I cut him off.
"Because the child in her belly is yours."
"Rather than the three of us tangled up in this mess, I'd rather step aside and let the two of you have each other."
With that, I turned and walked out without looking back.
His furious shout followed me. I simply pretended not to hear it.
Stepping outside the house, I drew a deep breath.
Only then did I realize how good the air out here was, with no suffocation, no torment.
I checked into a hotel nearby for the night.
When I came out of the shower, I didn't expect to find over thirty missed calls on my phone.
All from Bartholomew. I cleared them out like garbage.
Just as I was about to rest, Julie called.
The second I answered, that arrogant tone of hers came through, no longer hidden.
"Sonia, you must be furious right now, aren't you?"
"Your man still has feelings for me, and your father treats me like some priceless treasure."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Honestly, you're pathetic. I've kept you down since we were kids. All I have to do is put on a wounded little act in front of them, and they choose me without a second thought."
"It's not that I'm vicious. It's that every one of them is more despicable than the last."
"Your father loved my mother, so he drove my father to die with hatred in his heart. That's when I swore to myself I'd destroy your happy little family. But I never imagined Bartholomew and your dad would deliver themselves right to my door. I suppose Bartholomew just can't forget how I slept with him three years ago. He must savor the memory."
The hand gripping my phone bulged with veins, a fire burning in my chest.
I'd known her purpose all along.
The problem was, those two courted their own ruin, refusing no matter what to believe me.
After wrestling with myself for a while, I let out a sigh.
"You've come running to tell me all this for nothing. I don't want that man Bartholomew anymore. And as for family, ties can be cut."
"Ha ha ha, Sonia, you'd never actually cut ties with him. Don't lie to me."
"Let me give you a little push!"
With that, she hung up. I didn't know what she was planning now, but I knew this much: I had seen through this so-called love and family, and they would never hurt me in the slightest again.
I slept through until morning. After washing up, I went to the restaurant for breakfast.
When it came time to pay, my phone wouldn't process the payment.
"Miss, there's no money in your account."
"Do you have a card linked, or anything?"
"Yes, I do!"
I had exactly a million dollars in that account. There was no way it could be gone in two days.
Suddenly, Julie's words came back to me.
I froze for an instant, then quickly called Bartholomew.
"Did you take my card and drain every cent out of it?"
“I did!”
“Julie wants to start a business, and she can't do that without capital.”
“I hope you'll understand me……”
“Then who's going to understand me? You cleaned out every cent I had. Right now I don't even have enough to pay a check.”
“Is there really any need to be this furious?”
“It's only a million dollars I took. If you can't cover a check, go borrow from a friend. But giving Julie the money to launch her business, that's something I couldn't turn my back on.”
Before I could get a word out, he'd already hung up on me.
What chilled me to the bone was this: only my father knew where I kept my card.
Hollowed out, every hope gone, I called Elijah Sanchez and asked him to wire the money over to cover the bill.
Walking out of the restaurant, I passed a baby store.
Through the glass window, I saw Bartholomew with his arm around Julie, the two of them picking out baby things, my father trailing behind and carrying items for them.
In that moment, I decided to let them go.
I took out my phone and called the police. “Hello. I'd like to report a crime.”
“Someone stole my bank card and withdrew a million dollars!”
“The man who stole the card is named Bartholomew Gilbert. The woman who took the million off it is named Julie Finch.”
“And if Bartholomew claims he didn't steal it, that he was just using his wife's money, then you tell him this. We never got a marriage license. There is no such thing as shared marital property between us!”
