Chapter 13 - THE MASK FALLS COMPLETELY
Two days after the arrest,
Evelyn found herself sitting,
in a cold,
sterile visitation room,
at the city penitentiary.
She had demanded this meeting,
needing to see Julian one last time,
to look into his eyes,
and hear the truth from his lips.
The heavy metal door opened,
and Julian was led in by a guard,
wearing an orange jumpsuit,
his wrists shackled together.
He looked tired,
his hair unkempt,
and the arrogant charm he once possessed,
had vanished entirely.
He sat down across from her,
separated by a thick glass partition,
picking up the phone receiver,
staring at her with a bitter smile.
Evelyn picked up her receiver,
her hand steady,
her heart hardened by the revelations,
of the past forty-eight hours.
"Why,
Julian?"
she asked simply,
demanding an answer for the betrayal,
that shattered her world.
Julian laughed,
a harsh,
unpleasant sound that echoed,
through the small visitation booth,
devoid of any warmth.
"Why?"
he mocked,
"because I was tired of playing the saint,
tired of being the poor boy,
who married into wealth."
"I built my own business,"
he continued,
his voice rising with anger,
"but it failed,
and your family refused to help me,
leaving me to drown in debt."
"So I decided to help myself,"
he sneered,
leaning closer to the glass,
"and your death was the easiest way out,
the perfect solution to all my problems."
Evelyn looked at him,
feeling no sorrow,
no love,
no regret,
only a deep sense of pity,
for the pathetic creature he was.
"You never loved me,"
she stated,
realizing the painful truth,
accepting it fully.
"Love is for the weak,
Evelyn,"
Julian replied coldly,
"money is the only thing that matters,
the only thing that lasts."
Evelyn smiled softly,
a cold,
distant smile,
and placed the phone receiver down,
ending the conversation forever.
She stood up and walked away,
leaving him alone in his cell,
May you like
knowing that his punishment,
was just beginning.
