Julian, meanwhile, lost several business partnerships after his financial difficulties became public. People who had trusted his assurances began asking questions of their own.
He had spent years convincing Elena that I was the obstacle between her and her daughters.
But the truth was far simpler.
I had never been the obstacle.
The obstacle was the story he had helped her tell herself.
And when that story fell apart, there was nothing left to protect their relationship.
Six months after Chloe’s wedding, I was in my kitchen when someone knocked on the front door.
I opened it and found Elena standing on the porch.
She looked different.
Not because she was wearing cheaper clothes or carrying a smaller handbag, although both were true.
She looked like someone who had finally stopped trying to impress everyone around her.
“Hello, David.”
“Hello, Elena.”
She held a small envelope in her hand.
“I won’t stay long.”
