I smiled the day my husband divorced me and married the woman he cheated with. While I was eight months pregnant.

With the reality of fatherhood denied to him and his financial situation growing more desperate by the hour, Julian made a calculated, pathetic move.

He managed to corner me a week later as I was leaving the pediatrician's office, pushing Leo in his stroller. Julian looked hollowed out. The sharp, arrogant CEO was gone, replaced by a man wearing a wrinkled shirt and desperate eyes.

"Clara, please," he begged, falling into step beside me on the sidewalk. "Just five minutes."

I kept walking, my grip tight on the stroller handle. "We have nothing to say to each other, Julian. Speak to Marcus."

"I made a mistake!" he cried, ignoring the stares of people passing by. "Victoria is a nightmare. She’s bleeding me dry. She doesn't love me, Clara. She loved the money. But you… you loved me."

I stopped in my tracks. I turned to look at him, truly looking at the man I had once sworn to spend my life with.

"You're right," I said softly. "I did love you. But the man I loved never actually existed. You were just a mirror, Julian, reflecting whatever you thought I wanted to see so you could get your hands on my trust fund."

"That's not true!" he insisted, tears welling in his eyes. "Let me come home. Let me see my son. I’ll sign whatever you want. I’ll start at the bottom of the company. Please, Clara. Don't leave me with her."