Chapter 7 - The Groom's Vengeance
I walked out of the coffee shop in a daze.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was Julian.
"Meet me at the apartment," he said. "The one Natalie and I were supposed to move into."
When I arrived, the door was wide open.
Julian was throwing designer clothes, expensive shoes, and makeup bags into black garbage bags in the hallway.
"Julian?" I asked cautiously.
He looked up, his eyes bloodshot. "Hey, Eleanor. Just taking out the trash."
"I found out where the money went," I said softly.
He paused, holding a handful of silk dresses. "So did I. She finally confessed."
I stepped inside. The apartment was stripped bare.
"She begged me to stay," Julian laughed bitterly. "Told me her dad was in trouble with dangerous people. Said they had no choice but to squeeze you."
"She told you that?"
"Yeah. And then I asked her why she seated you by the garbage bins if you were the one saving her father's life."
I swallowed hard. "What did she say?"
Julian looked at me, a mixture of pity and anger in his eyes.
"She said it was because you were a sucker. And suckers don't deserve respect."
A cold, hard knot formed in my chest.
Any lingering guilt I had about ruining her wedding vanished instantly.
"I'm filing a police report tomorrow," I told him.
"Good," Julian nodded. "And I'm calling my lawyer to get my deposit back on this apartment. She can go live with her parents."
We stood there for a moment in the ruins of their future.
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"I'm sorry, Julian," I said.
"Don't be," he replied. "You saved me from a nightmare."
