Chapter 12: I Stopped Protecting His Reputation

By the following morning, my attorney had reviewed every document I sent him.

His first question was simple.

"Do you still have access to the original files?"

"Yes."

"Keep copies somewhere Callum cannot reach them. Do not alter anything. And from this point forward, communicate with him in writing whenever possible."

I agreed.

Then I opened the shared cloud account and downloaded everything connected to the campaign.

There were contracts.

Invoices.

Production schedules.

Talent releases.

Private messages between Callum and the studio.

I expected to find more proof.

I wasn't prepared for what I actually found.

A folder dated six months earlier was labeled simply: Future Campaigns.

Inside was a document titled "Reid-Cross Partnership Proposal."

My heart sank.

I opened it.

The proposal described Callum and Delaney as a creative partnership with potential for long-term commercial work.

There were projected earnings.

Brand opportunities.

Travel campaigns.

A possible documentary series.

And one line near the bottom made my stomach twist.

"Personal relationship authenticity may significantly increase audience engagement."

They weren't just pretending to be a couple for one video.

Their supposed chemistry was part of the business strategy.

My relationship with Callum had become the obstacle.

I forwarded the document to my attorney.

Then I called my mother.

"Mom, I need you to come over."

She arrived less than an hour later.

The moment she saw my face, she knew something had changed.

"What happened?"

I placed the laptop in front of her.

She read silently.

By the second page, her expression had hardened.

"He planned this?"

"Months ago."

Mom sat down slowly.

"And all this time, he was still planning your engagement party."

"Yes."

She covered her mouth.

"I defended him."

"You didn't know."

"I should have known."

"No, Mom. He wanted you not to know."

She looked at me for a long moment.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm not going to expose him online."

"I'm not going to call his parents."

"And I'm not going to fight Delaney."

Mom frowned.

"Then what will you do?"

I closed the laptop.

"I'm going to stop protecting him."

That afternoon, Callum came to my house.

I didn't let him inside.

He stood on the porch with tired eyes and an expression I'd once mistaken for regret.

"Can we talk?"

"We're talking now."

"Not like this."

"Then say what you came to say."

He looked down.

"The campaign got out of control."

"You mean the campaign you planned four months ago?"

His eyes snapped back to mine.

"You saw that file."

"I did."

"It wasn't what you think."

"Then explain it."

He couldn't.

After several seconds, he said quietly,

"Delaney and I work well together."

"I know."

"The studio saw potential."

"I know."

"I never intended to replace you."

I looked at him.

"You didn't have to replace me, Callum."

"You just had to stop treating me like I was disposable."

He swallowed.

"I love you."

"Maybe you do."

"But love doesn't erase what you did."

His voice became urgent.

"Give me one more chance."

"For what?"

"For us."

"There is no us to return to."

His face fell.

I continued.

"The woman you were planning a future with wasn't me."

"You were planning a business future with Delaney and asking me to smile beside you while you did it."

"That's not a misunderstanding."

"That's a decision."

Callum's jaw tightened.

"If you tell people about this, you'll destroy my career."

There it was.

Not heartbreak.

Not love.

Fear.

I almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

"I'm not going to destroy your career."

"I'm simply not going to save it anymore."

I stepped back and closed the door.

For the first time in seven years, I didn't wonder whether I had been too harsh.

I knew I hadn't.

That evening, my attorney sent me a message.

"There is one more document you should review."

Attached was a revised business agreement.

Callum had signed it three weeks earlier.

The agreement gave Delaney a percentage of future campaign revenue.

It also listed her as Callum's primary creative partner.

My name wasn't anywhere on it.

Three weeks earlier, Callum had still been calling me his future wife.

Three weeks earlier, I had been ordering invitations for our engagement party.

He had already written me out of his future.

He just hadn't expected me to read the final draft.