**(Serena's POV)**
The mediation room was beige from carpet to ceiling, a color chosen to offend no one and distract from nothing.
Julian sat across the table in a suit that had grown loose on him. His eyes were bloodshot, and his lawyer kept one hand on the settlement agreement.
“Serena, please.” Julian's voice was hoarse. “I was a fool. An arrogant, blind fool. I know that now.”
He leaned toward me. “We can fix this. We can start over. Whatever you want, I’ll do it.”
“Starting over puts me back on call as your unpaid strategist and Lily's full-time caregiver. It also makes me responsible for every crisis you refuse to handle.”
I kept my copy of the agreement open. “I won't do any of it.”
“We were a family.”
“You called it a family. I did the work.” I rested my hands on the table.
