By the time our divorce negotiations began, Julian had been suspended for almost three months.
The company's investigation was continuing, and his attorneys were challenging several of the preliminary findings.
He remained a shareholder through his family's arrangements, but he no longer controlled Vance Meridian's daily operations.
The temporary board measures had become an uncomfortable reality for him.
My marriage had lasted less than a day before the assault.
Yet ending it required months of careful legal work.
There were financial disclosures, procedural requirements, the prenuptial agreement, and the question of how its domestic-abuse provisions applied.
Rebecca warned me that the process wouldn't be simple merely because the incident had occurred so soon after the wedding.
I understood.
I wanted an orderly resolution.
I also wanted the circumstances of the assault addressed accurately.
Julian's first position was that the prenup should operate exactly as he originally intended.
His attorneys argued that his separate property remained protected and that the abuse-related addendum didn't apply in the way Rebecca asserted.
Rebecca disagreed.
She presented the executed agreement, the signed addendum, the medical documentation, and the evidence supporting my account of the incident.
The witness statements from Marta and Thomas were important.
So were Julian's own messages.
In one, he'd acknowledged that he'd made a mistake and wanted me to return.
In another, he'd insisted that whatever happened at breakfast should remain private.
Those messages didn't establish every question on their own.
But they formed part of a larger record.
The negotiations continued.
Then Julian requested a private conversation.
Rebecca asked whether I wanted to participate through a structured meeting with counsel present.
I considered refusing.
But there was something I wanted to say before the marriage ended.
We arranged a meeting at Rebecca's office.
Julian arrived alone, although his attorney remained available.
He looked tired.
The confident man who'd stood at the breakfast table seemed much less certain of himself.
For a moment, I remembered our wedding.
The flowers.
The music.
The way he'd held my hand while promising to respect and care for me.
I wondered whether he'd believed those promises when he made them.
Then he spoke.
"I never thought we'd end up here."
I looked at him.
"Neither did I."
He said the past few months had been the worst of his life.
His position at the company remained uncertain. His family was arguing, the investigation was continuing, and people he'd considered friends were distancing themselves.
I listened.
Then he said he missed me.
I looked down at my hands.
For a moment, I remembered the affection we'd shared before everything went wrong.
But I also remembered how quickly he'd struck me when I challenged his mother's treatment.
I wasn't going to confuse missing the relationship I'd hoped for with trusting the man who had hurt me.
"Julian, why did you hit me?"
He looked away.
"I lost my temper."
"Why?"
He was quiet.
Then he said I'd embarrassed him in front of his family.
I felt a familiar tightness in my chest.
Even now, part of his explanation centered on what I had done.
I looked at him.
"I told your mother I deserved respect."
He nodded.
"I know."
"That wasn't a reason to hit me."
"No."
I waited.
Then he said he was sorry.
He acknowledged that striking me was his decision and that I hadn't deserved it.
I appreciated the admission.
But I didn't feel the relief I'd once imagined an apology would bring.
"Thank you for acknowledging that," I said.
He leaned forward.
"Can we try again?"
I looked at him.
"No."
His expression changed.
"ElenaTITLE:"
"No, Julian."
He sat back.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I told him something I'd been trying to understand for months.
"The man I thought I married wouldn't have stood there waiting for me to apologize after he hurt me."
He looked down.
I continued.
"And he wouldn't have spent the next several weeks trying to protect his position before asking whether I was safe."
Julian closed his eyes.
I felt tears rising.
But I didn't change my answer.
The meeting ended shortly afterward.
Rebecca walked me to the door.
"Are you all right?"
I thought about it.
"I'm sad."
She nodded.
"But I'm certain."
That was enough.
The remaining divorce negotiations continued through our attorneys.
Eventually, the parties reached a documented resolution addressing the applicable financial provisions, including the disputed effect of the abuse-related addendum.
The agreement didn't pretend that every term of the prenup vanished automatically.
Instead, it resolved the contested provisions through the formal settlement process, subject to the required court approval.
My separate business interests remained mine.
Julian's lawful separate interests were addressed according to the agreement and applicable requirements.
The financial settlement also resolved specified obligations and legal expenses.
I didn't receive ownership of Vance Meridian simply because Julian had assaulted me.
I hadn't sought it.
My goal was to end the marriage, protect my existing assets, and ensure the final documents didn't require me to surrender my right to cooperate with lawful proceedings.
The corporate investigation remained separate.
So did the police matter, which continued according to the decisions of the appropriate authorities.
When the divorce was finalized, I went home and placed my wedding ring in a small box.
For months, I'd kept it in an envelope because I couldn't bear to look at it.
Now it was simply a piece of jewelry.
I didn't throw it away.
I didn't stage a dramatic goodbye.
I closed the box and put it in a drawer.
Then I called Naomi.
"It's finished."
She was quiet for a moment.
"How do you feel?"
I looked around my apartment.
There were no marble floors, expensive paintings, or towering windows.
But everything inside belonged to me.
And nobody could tell me I had to accept humiliation to remain there.
"Free," I said.
For the first time, I meant it.
Click here to continue reading: PART 9: THE FINAL AUDIT ENDED JULIAN’S CAREER AT VANCE MERIDIAN, BUT THE COMPANY’S RECOVERY DEPENDED ON PROTECTING THE EMPLOYEES HE HAD IGNORED
THE SLAP AT THE BREAKFAST TABLE REVEALED MY HUSBAND’S TRUE NATURE, AND ONE PHONE CALL PUT HIS FAMILY’S EMPIRE IN DANGER
Part 8 of 10
