บททั้งหมดของ Dear Ex, See you never: บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 20

Damon's POVThe mansion is quiet when I arrive. The staff have learned my rhythms over the years, they know to make themselves scarce when I come home late, to leave meals in the warmer and questions unasked. I appreciate the silence tonight. I don't have any ounce of energy to perform.I pour myself a scotch in the study and stand at the window, looking out at the manicured grounds. The gardens here are nothing like my mother's. Everything pruned and controlled, not a single flower out of place. I had them designed that way on purpose. With order, precision, and predictability.The opposite of everything I feel inside. The scotch burns going down. I pour another, and after the third glass I set down the tumbler and walk.The east wing is separated from the rest of the house by a long hallway that most of the staff pretend doesn't exist. Elena knows, of course. She's known since the beginning, and her silence has been bought not with money but with the kind of loyalty that comes from

Millicent's POVThe call comes on a Thursday afternoon. I'm in the middle of a shoot, a family portrait, parents and three kids and a dog that won't stop trying to lick the camera. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I almost ignore it, but something makes me check.Sandra Li."I need to take this," I tell the family. "Just one minute."I step into the back room, heart hammering. "Hello?""We got it." Sandra's voice is tired but triumphant. "Thirty-day injunction. The judge agreed there were enough procedural problems to warrant review."I sit down hard on the cot, legs suddenly unable to hold me."Thirty days?""The demolition crews can't touch your block until the review is complete. After that, we'll see. But for now you've got breathing room.""Thank you. Sandra, thank you so much..""Don't celebrate yet. Hale's lawyers are going to appeal. They're going to throw everything they have at overturning this. Thirty days is just the beginning.""I know. But it's something.""It's somethin

Millicent's POVThe call comes exactly one week after Damon Hale walked out of my studio.I'm editing photos on my ancient laptop when my phone buzzes. It's an unknown number. Normally I'd let it ring, but something makes me answer. I don't know what."Miss Andrews? This is Gregory Johnston, Mr. Hale's assistant. He'd like to request a meeting."I almost laugh. "A meeting? after everything, he wants a meeting.""Yes, ma'am. Tomorrow afternoon, if you're available. He suggests a neutral location, there's a diner on Fifth and Madison that he understands is near your studio."A diner. Damon Hale wants to meet me at a diner. If he wants to shoot me, it can't be in a public place, so that's out of the picture."Why?""I'm not at liberty to discuss the details, ma'am. Only that Mr. Hale has a proposition he'd like to present in person."A proposition. The word sits heavy in my stomach. I should say no, should I tell this Gregory Johnston to inform his boss that I'm not interested in any pro

Millicent's POVMom is sober today, almost shocking. It's the first thing I notice when I walk into her house, she's actually upright, actually dressed, actually looking at me with clear eyes instead of the glazed vacancy I've grown used to."You're early," she says."And you're sober. How nice.""Don't sound so surprised." She moves into the kitchen, and I notice she's made coffee. Real coffee, not the instant stuff she usually defaults to. "We need to talk."I settle Josh into the playpen I keep here for visits and follow her warily. Sober June is unpredictable, sometimes she's sharp, insightful, almost like the mother I remember from before Dad left. Other times she's mean, using her clarity to pick at wounds she'd usually be too drunk to notice."There's been a car," she says, pouring two cups. "Black, and expensive. Parked outside the house twice this week."I stiffen. "That's..""I asked around. People are talking, Milli, about you and some rich man, some billionaire who wants t

Millicent's POVHour one: I read the contract three times. Then I throw it across the room, pacing across the room for as long as I can. I watch Josh, playing and I hope he doesn’t begin to cough. But hope can only do so much, reality isn’t nice anymore to me.Hour four: I pick it up and read it again. The legal language blurs together, but the meaning is clear. I spend just one year of my life as his wife, In exchange for everything I've ever wanted for Josh.Hour seven: I make a long list of pros and cons. Things I want for Josh, maybe nothing for me, as long as Josh gets the best medical care possible.Pros: Josh gets medical care. Real care, not the patchwork of free clinics and payment plans I've been scraping together. The studio stays, I stay, I get so much money, enough money to never worry again.Cons: I lose my freedom. Freedoms to be who I truly am, who I want to grow into, and I become someone else’s property, even if it's "just" for a year. I live in a stranger's house, f