Chapter 37
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SEVEN
JULIE
The door clicks shut behind Ryan and the silence that follows is deafening.
My mind is racing. Everything Ryan said keeps replaying on a loop.
The engineered meet-cute. The deadline from Dean.
The therapy ambush orchestrated with his college hookup.
Every single moment of my relationship with Asher has been a lie. There is no truth to it at all.
"Sit down," Jamie says gently. She guides me to the couch and sits beside me, her hand never leaving mine.
I sit and mentally catalogue the coffee table to try to center myself.
There's a stack of magazines. Two remotes. A stack of coasters. Everything looks so normal. So ordinary. My entire life just imploded and the world is still spinning. But I need to get my head on straight because I’ve been handed a mulligan, and I need to use it strategically.
I’ve been on the back foot this entire time. That ends now.
I take a deep breath and sit up straight. “I need to go home soon.”
Jamie's grip tightens. "What? Julie, no. Stay here tonight. You don't have to face him yet."
"I do." I look at her. "I need to go home and act like nothing is wrong."
She blinks. "What the hell? Why?"
"I'm not going to confront him. Not yet.
" My voice is steadier than I expected. "I'm going to go home and pretend everything is fine.
And I'm going to watch him. I made myself a list last night of things I need to do and then I followed through on none of it today because I was feeling overwhelmed. That’s not happening again.
Avoiding it is only going to make things worse.
Step one is covering my ass before I kick his. "
"Julie—"
"He thinks he's so smart," I say. The anger is starting to burn through the shock. "He thinks he's got this all figured out. He picked the wrong woman to fuck with."
Jamie's eyes widen. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to give him exactly what he wants. Exactly what makes him happiest, apparently," I say. "I'm going to serve myself up as the broken, frustrated wife. Sad. Quiet. Stressed and on the brink. A woman besieged with abandonment issues and emotional trauma who’s barely holding it together.”
Jamie stands and crosses her arms. "What are you thinking?"
I stop pacing and look at her. “I’m thinking I need ammunition.
So step one is removing myself from the equation to find out see what he’ll do when I'm not around.
When he thinks he has the house to himself.
I need proof. Not just suspicions. Not just gut feelings.
I need to know exactly what I'm dealing with and use that to my advantage.”
Jamie nods slowly. "Okay. So what's the plan?"
"I need to buy time, but I cannot stay in that house with him.
Not long term. So you're coming over tomorrow morning,” I say.
“You're going to show up and tell Asher that you're taking me on a girls trip to the San Juan Islands for a few days.
You'll say I've been under too much stress and I need to relax.
You'll need to be extra standoffish with him, which makes sense after what happened at therapy. We need to sell this just right so he feels secure enough to let his guard down.”
"But we're not actually going to the islands, right?"
"No. We'll stay nearby. Close enough to get back to the house when I need to.” I tell her.
Jamie's expression shifts from concern to something sharper. Something strategic. "You want to catch him."
"I want to see who he really is when he thinks no one's watching. He's a two-faced fucking liar." I sit back down on the couch. “I need evidence so I can fight.”
"Why not just leave?"
"I have my reasons." My voice cracks slightly. "But I'm through being his doormat. I'm through thinking I'm losing my mind. Now, I'm going to build a case."
Jamie sits beside me again. "As well you should. You’re not losing your mind. You've been gaslit and manipulated."
"I know." I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand. "And I'm done being the victim in my own life. I'm done letting him control the narrative. I need information and detail and evidence so I can use it against him."
"Okay." Jamie takes a deep breath. "So I’ll show up tomorrow morning and say I'm taking you on a trip. I’ll be passive aggressive to him so he thinks nothing has changed. And then we disappear for a few days and see what happens."
"Exactly."
"What if he says no? What if he doesn't want you to go?"
I let out a dark laugh. “He won't say no. He'll think it's a great idea. He'll be relieved to have me out of the house."
Jamie looks at me for a long moment. "You're sure about that?"
"Positive." And I am. For the first time in months, I feel like I have some control. I'm not just reacting anymore. I'm planning. "I need to do this, Jamie. I need to know everything."
"Then we'll do it." She squeezes my hand. "But promise me something."
"What?"
"Promise me that no matter what we find, you'll let me help you. You won't try to handle this alone."
"I promise."
She pulls me into a hug and I let myself lean into her. My sister. My business partner. The one person who's been in my corner from the beginning. "Thank you," I whisper.
"Always."
We sit like that for a few minutes before I pull back. "There's one more thing," I say quietly. "We can’t stay here or anywhere he’d know to look for me. I need to be smarter than him at every turn.”
“Ryan," she says. "He has properties all over the damn place. Take a dart and throw it at a map of Seattle, you’re bound to hit a Callahan Group property.”
She’s right. “He's the only person besides you who I trust right now. Do you think he'd let us use one?"
"Are you kidding? He'd give us access to anything we want.” Jamie squeezes my hand. "I'll talk to him. We'll figure this out."
I feel some of the tension ease from my shoulders. We have allies. Real ones. And that changes everything.
"I need to go home," I sigh. "If I stay away too long, he'll get suspicious."
"Are you sure you're ready?"
"No. But I don't have a choice."
I drive home in a daze. The streets are familiar but everything feels different now.
Like I'm seeing the world through a new lens.
A darker one. When I pull into the garage, I sit in the car for a moment and take a deep breath.
I can't change my behavior. Not even a little.
He thinks I'm upset about therapy, spiraling, and distant.
And I want him to keep right on thinking exactly that.
So I don't walk in there as the woman who just learned the truth.
I walk in as the woman who's been broken by his orchestrated ambush at therapy.
Flat. Distant. Just like I've been the last few days.
I get out of the car and walk into the house.
Asher is in the living room watching TV. He looks up when I walk in.
"Hey," he says. "How was Jamie?”
"Fine." I set my purse on the counter. "We ate Mexican.”
"That's nice." He turns back to the TV.
I stand there for a moment, watching him. He looks so normal. So relaxed. Like he didn't orchestrate my psychological destruction. Like he isn't counting down the days until he can leave me. "I'm going to take a shower," I say.
"Okay."
I walk upstairs and close the bedroom door behind me. Then I sit on the edge of the bed and let myself feel it. The anger. The betrayal. The absolute devastation of realizing that the man I married never loved me at all. But I don't cry. Not yet.
Because I’m building an illusion of my own now.
Jamie shows up at the house the next morning, right on schedule. I'm in the kitchen making coffee when the doorbell rings. Asher is upstairs getting ready for work. Devon is still asleep.
I open the door and Jamie walks in with a bright smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Hey!” she says, her voice just a bit higher than normal. "I had the best idea after you left last night.”
Asher comes down the stairs, adjusting his tie. "Oh. Jamie. Hey."
"Asher." Her tone is frigid. "I’m done with my sister being stressed. She needs a break."
He pauses for a beat at the bottom of the stairs before he continues walking. "A break?"
"Yeah. She's dealing with too much and I’m legit worried now." Jamie gives him a pointed look. "So I thought about it last night and I've decided I’m taking her on a girls trip. Get out of the city. Relax."
I frown and cross my arms, doing my best to appear as though I don’t love the idea. “A girls trip?” I ask, frowning. “Are you crazy? I can’t–”
“Where?” Asher interrupts.
"San Juan Islands," Jamie says. "There's this cute little inn I found. We'll leave tomorrow and spend five nights maxing and relaxing. Just the two of us. Some sister time.”
“What? That’s out of the question,” I protest, like I’m fully against it. “We can’t do that. The store–”
She holds up her hand and makes a buzzer sound. “I've already reached out to the staff and found fill ins for us. The store is covered."
“Jamie, I’m not in the mood for..." I hesitate. Jamie and I planned this, though, so she knows what to do.
“You’re not in the mood for fun? For relaxation? This is bullshit, Julie,” Jamie interrupts angrily. "I'm not taking no for an answer. This is non-negotiable"
Out of the corner of my eye, I see that Asher is gauging my reaction. So I stay flat.
"Seriously, no. It’s too much. I’m fine, really. Just tired," I tell Jamie. "A few good night's of sleep will get me through. I just can’t leave home right now for a vacation, Jamie," I murmur.
I'm counting on Asher being soothed by that. When I see him nod to himself like he's made a decision, I know I played it just right. "Babe, no. Jamie is right. You need a break.”
The eagerness in his voice makes me sick. I bet he's already planning what he'll do when I'm gone.
“No. I need to be here,” I argue.
“Julie. Stop. You're going. I insist. I can hold down the fort for a few days. You need to have fun. Period. ”
We have a silent standoff where only one of us knows the other is trying to sell something. He's trying to look like a man who gives a single shit about me. I'm trying to look like a woman who wants to stay home.
"Whatever. Fine. Fine, fine, fine," I say, my voice making it clear I’m not thrilled.
"Don’t be annoyed. Your sister is doing what I should have thought of before now." He puts his arm around my shoulder and kisses the top of my head. "It'll be good for you."
Jamie and I exchange a glance.
"Then we're agreed," Jamie says. "I'll pick you up tomorrow morning. We're going to relax and decompress and not think about anything stressful." She glances at Asher and gives him a pointed look.
"I guess," I say.
Asher looks relieved. The first genuine, full smile I've seen in a while. He grabs his briefcase. "It is going to be great. In fact, it’s on me, Jamie. The whole thing. I’ll Zelle you some money."
Jamie crosses her arms. “I’d normally say no, because fuck your money, but not this time. You should pay for this.”
The way she’s letting him know he’s in the dog house is perfect. He’s not suspicious at all.
“You’re right, Jamie. I’ll do better. Promise. But right now, I’ve got to run. Have a good day, both of you." He practically skips as he leaves.
Ninety seconds after he walks into the garage, Jamie gets an alert on her phone. She lets out a disgusted huff and holds it out to me. He Zelle'd her twenty thousand dollars. For a five day trip.
Rich asshole.
We stare at each other in silence as the garage door opens and closes.
I hear his car pulling out of the driveway.
No words are exchanged. I told her last night I no longer trust anything in this house.
And I have no confidence that Devon isn't listening.
So the conversation my sister and I are having right now is purely with our eyes.
It was very obvious this just made his day. He can't wait to get rid of me. I don't think I've ever hated anyone as much as I hate him right now. I am so done with this asshole. I’m going to make him pay for this.
I am done being his victim.
Karma is coming for Asher Stevens. I’m going to give her directions.