Julian sat across from Emily in their private study, the weight of the past few days bearing down on him. The charity event had been a disaster, the media chaos over his past relationships shredding the careful image he had spent years building. The lies, the manipulation, everything seemed to be falling apart. But worse than that—Emily had seen the worst of him. The things he had done. The secrets he’d tried to keep hidden.
She sat in silence, her gaze distant, her fingers playing with the hem of her sleeve. He could feel the space between them growing, a gulf that neither of them could seem to bridge.
“I should have told you,” Julian began, his voice hoarse with regret. “I should have told you everything before this happened.”
Emily’s eyes flickered up to meet his, but she said nothin
