I blink back the tears and nod.
Julian moves quickly, like he's afraid I may change my mind.
He sits close enough that I feel his presence, but not so close that he is touching me.
And for the first time since this started, my body stops bracing, something shifts.
Chapter 51 - Lucy
The lawyer comes on a Wednesday; he’s polished and neutral, too calm. Julian introduces him as if this isn’t the most fragile moment of his life.
We sit at the dining table.
The penthouse is bright with late-morning light, and it feels wrong for something that could shatter me.
Julian slides a document across to me.
I can barely breathe.
I don’t touch it immediately.
Because touching it makes it real.
My eyes flick to Julian.
His face is unreadable. Controlled. But there’s something under it, strain, fear, hope that looks painful.
I look back at the paper.
“Is this...” I start.
The lawyer clears his throat and begins to explain in careful language.
A dissolution of the agreement.
A termination of clauses.
No penalties.
No infidelity clause.
No performance expectations.
No “required appearances.”
No cage.
My vision blurs. Because I have lived in survival mode for so long that my brain doesn’t know what to do with safety that isn’t conditional.
I stare at the document again. At the words that mean Julian is removing the thing that protected him.
Because even if I never wanted his money, even if I never wanted anything except my mother alive, the reality is simple:
Without an agreement… I would be entitled to half of everything.
This isn’t romantic.
It’s not dreamy.
