Chapter 16 - The Mistress Flees
At a cheap, hourly motel on the outskirts of the city, Julian sat on a stained mattress, staring blankly at a crack in the wall. They had walked three miles in the rain to get here, using the last fifty-dollar bill Chloe had hidden in her phone case.
Chloe was pacing the room, frantically packing her small overnight bag.
"Where are you going?" Julian croaked, his voice raw.
"I'm leaving, Julian," Chloe snapped, zipping the bag. "You lied to me. You said you were a king! You said you were going to divorce her and give me half the empire. You don't have an empire! You don't even have a credit card!"
"I can fight this," Julian lied, standing up. "I have friends! Investors!"
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"They won't even answer your calls," Chloe laughed bitterly, swinging her bag over her shoulder. "I'm young. I'm beautiful. I am not spending the best years of my life hiding in a roach motel with a bankrupt fraud."
She opened the door, letting in the harsh morning light, and walked out without looking back. Julian was completely, utterly alone.
