Chapter 5: The Offer

Julian Cross was not what Seraphina expected.

She had imagined someone loud.

Cold.

The kind of man who enjoyed intimidating people.

Instead, he looked calm.

His charcoal suit was perfectly tailored, but there was nothing flashy about him. He carried himself with quiet confidence, the kind that didn't need attention to be noticed.

He looked at Seraphina for only a second before turning to Margaret.

"I hope I'm not interrupting."

Margaret smiled.

"You're right on time."

"I try to be."

She gestured toward the chair opposite Seraphina.

"Please."

Julian nodded before sitting.

For a few moments, no one spoke.

He folded his hands on the table, before turning to seraphina.

"I'm sorry we have to meet like this."

Seraphina frowned.

"I didn't expect to meet you at all." She responded.

"I know."

Margaret stood.

"I'll leave the two of you."

She picked up a few files.

"If you need me, I'll be next door."

By the time the door closed behind her, silence settled over the office.

Julian looked at Seraphina.

"I imagine you have questions."

"I do."

"Ask."

She didn't hesitate.

"How long have you known Evan?"

"Twenty-seven years."

"You were really that close?"

"We grew up together."

"As children?"

"Our fathers built the company together. We were raised almost like family."

She nodded slowly.

"So what happened?"

Julian leaned back.

"We built Wright Capital together."

"I handled investments while he handled expansion."

"For years everything worked. Then, one day I discovered company money moving through businesses I'd never approved."

"Did you confront him?"

"The same day." He replied.

"What did he say?"

"He denied everything.” His voice remained calm.

"A week later I was accused of stealing from my own company."

Seraphina stared at him.

"You?"

"Me.The evidence looked convincing."

" There was my signature, my approval."

"My accounts. But none of them were real."

She shook her head.

"And people believed him?"

"They believed the documents."

She remembered every conversation she'd had with Evan about Julian.

"He changed."

"Money got to him."

"I had no choice."

She had believed every word.

Without ever questioning it.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Julian looked at her.

"You don't owe me an apology."

"I believed him."

"You were his wife. You were supposed to."

His answer held no bitterness.

Only acceptance.

She looked down at the desk.

Then something changed in his expression.

He opened his briefcase.

Instead of documents, he removed an old photograph.

He placed it in front of her.

Seraphina picked it up.

Three people stood together.

A younger Julian.

A younger Evan.

And Lydia.

All three were smiling.

They looked close.

She looked up in surprise.

Her face showed him what he needed to know.

"You were friends." She said plainly.

Julian looked at the photograph for a long moment.

"She wasn't just my friend."

Seraphina frowned.

"She was my fiancée.”

Her eyes widened.

"You were engaged?"

"For six years."

She looked back at the picture.

"What happened?"

"The same week Evan framed me."

He paused.

"Lydia testified against me."

Seraphina slowly lowered the photograph.

"She lied?"

"She said she'd seen me move company money. But she hadn't."

His voice remained steady.

"I later discovered she'd been helping Evan move it."

The room fell silent.

Seraphina suddenly understood why Margaret had called Julian another victim.

He hadn't just lost his business.

He had lost the woman he intended to spend his life with.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"So was I."

Julian looked out the window.

"But being sorry doesn't rebuild a life."

"No."

She nodded.

"It doesn't."

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then Seraphina broke the silence.

"So why did you ask to meet me?"

Julian looked at her for a long moment.

"I've spent four years trying to destroy Evan Wright."

She wasn't surprised.

"I assumed as much."

"I've come close, but close isn't enough."

He stood and walked toward the window.

The city stretched beneath them.

"When you're fighting a man like Evan..."

"...you don't beat him by doing what he expects."

He turned back to face her.

"You beat him by taking away the things he believes belong to him."

She frowned.

"What does that have to do with me?"

He walked back to the desk.

"Everything."

The room became quiet again.

"There are things I need to explain, there are reasons this could work."

"But before I explain any of them...I need to know whether you'd even consider it."

She looked at him, confused.

"Consider what?"

Julian looked at her quietly.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then he took a slow breath.

"Marry me.”

Silence.

Seraphina stared at him.

Surely she had heard him wrong.

She waited for him to smile.

He didn't.

A small laugh escaped her.

"That's not funny.”

"I wasn't trying to be."

She blinked.

"We met today."

"I know."

"I'm still legally married."

"For now." He said.

She shook her head.

"No."

He remained calm.

"No?"

"No."

She stood.

"I came here because I wanted answers."

"I wasn't expecting..."

She gestured helplessly toward him.

"...this."

Julian didn't argue.

Instead, he opened his briefcase again.

He removed a thick folder and placed it on the desk between them.

"Take it."

She frowned.

"What's in it?"

"The reason I asked."

She looked from the folder to him.

"I'm not taking marriage advice from a man I met an hour ago."

"It isn't marriage advice."

"It's the truth."

She hesitated.

Then, against her better judgment, she picked up the folder.

It was heavier than she expected.

She slipped it into her bag.

"I'm not promising I'll read it."

"I know."

She turned toward the door.

Her hand settled on the handle.

Julian spoke one last time.

"After you've read it..."

"...if your answer is still no..."

"...I'll never ask again."

Seraphina didn't answer.

She opened the door and walked out.

She stepped into the elevator and the doors slowly closed.

Her marriage had ended less than twenty-four hours ago.

And somehow…

another man had just asked her to become his wife.

The folder in her bag suddenly felt heavier.

Whatever was inside it…

had better be one hell of an explanation.