Chapter 4: A Desperate Plea
Chapter 4: A Desperate Plea
Three months later.
Adrian requested one final meeting before his trial.
Against my lawyers' advice...
I agreed.
He entered the visitation room wearing a prison uniform.
He looked twenty years older.
His confidence had disappeared.
"So..."
he whispered.
"You really were richer than all of us."
I smiled sadly.
"That was never the point."
He lowered his eyes.
"I loved you once."
"No."
I answered calmly.
"You loved owning me."
Silence stretched between us.
"I've lost everything."
"You lost everything the first time you convinced yourself my pain didn't matter."
Tears filled his eyes.
"I never thought you'd leave."
"I didn't."
"You pushed me out."
He buried his face in his hands.
"I'm sorry."
I believed he regretted losing his empire.
I did not believe he regretted hurting me.
There is a difference.
I stood.
"This is goodbye."
He reached toward me instinctively.
The guards stopped him.
May you like
I walked away without looking back.
The sound of the closing steel door behind me felt like freedom.
