Chapter 13: The Future He Signed Away

I read the agreement three times.

Then I printed it.

Some things felt more real on paper.

Callum's signature sat at the bottom of the page.

So did Delaney's.

Three weeks earlier, they had officially agreed to build a future together.

Not a romantic future, at least not on paper.

A professional one.

But I had learned enough by then to know that Callum loved hiding behind technical definitions.

If he didn't kiss her, it wasn't cheating.

If she was acting as his fiancée, it wasn't betrayal.

If he signed a business agreement promising her a share of his future success, it didn't matter that he never told me.

He always had a different word ready.

I finally understood that changing the name of a betrayal didn't change what it was.

My phone buzzed.

It was a message from Miles.

"Can we meet? Alone."

I stared at his name for a moment.

Miles had been in the SUV that morning.

He had watched me get left behind.

He had known about the shoot.

Part of me wanted to ignore him.

But another part wanted to know why he was reaching out now.

We met at a small coffee shop halfway between my house and his.

Miles looked terrible.

He kept turning his cup between both hands.

"Willa told me you've seen the files."

"I've seen enough."

"No."

He looked up.

"You haven't."

Something in his voice made me sit straighter.

"What else is there?"

He reached into his bag and pulled out a small external drive.

"I copied these before the crew left Maine."

"Why?"

"Because Willa told me she thought Callum was going too far."

"And I told her she was imagining things."

His expression tightened.

"I was wrong."

I didn't take the drive yet.

"What's on it?"

"Raw footage. Meetings. Behind-the-scenes conversations."

"Why would you have those?"

"I'm the one who handles backup storage for the studio."

He slid the drive toward me.

"There's a meeting from two months ago you need to watch."

I took it home.

For almost an hour, I stared at it without plugging it in.

I was tired of discovering new ways Callum had lied.

Tired of reopening wounds just to find something worse underneath.

But eventually, I connected the drive.

The first video was dated two months earlier.

Callum sat in the studio conference room with Delaney and two potential investors.

A large screen behind them displayed the campaign proposal.

One of the investors asked a question.

"Does your real fiancée know about this concept?"

My breath caught.

Callum leaned back in his chair.

"She doesn't need to know every detail yet."

The investor frowned.

"If the campaign depends on you presenting another woman as your partner, that could become a problem."

Callum smiled.

"Maren doesn't care about the business side."

"She's practical. Once there's money involved, she'll understand."

Delaney looked uncomfortable.

"What if she doesn't?"

Callum shrugged.

"Then I'll deal with it."

One of the investors laughed.

"That's risky."

Callum's answer came immediately.

"She won't leave."

The room went silent.

Even Delaney looked at him.

"You sound very sure."

He smiled again.

"Seven years. I know her."

"She gets upset, she goes quiet, then she forgives me."

"That's what Maren does."

I paused the video.

For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.

Not because I was shocked.

That was the worst part.

I wasn't shocked anymore.

Everything suddenly made sense.

The way he dismissed me.

The way he kept telling me to stop being emotional.

The way he promised to fix things later.

He wasn't trying to convince me.

He was waiting me out.

He believed time would do his work for him.

I pressed play again.

The investor asked another question.

"And Delaney? Are you two comfortable playing this as more than a professional partnership?"

Callum turned toward her.

Their eyes met.

Then he answered.

"We'll do whatever the campaign needs."

Delaney didn't respond immediately.

Finally, she said,

"As long as everyone knows where the line is."

Callum laughed softly.

"Lines are flexible."

I shut the laptop.

That was enough for one night.

A few minutes later, my phone started ringing.

Callum.

Then again.

And again.

Finally, he sent a message.

"Please answer. Something happened."

I replied.

"What?"

His response came immediately.

"The investor meeting went badly."

"They found out the campaign has been suspended."

"They want answers."

I stared at the screen.

Then another message appeared.

"I need you to confirm that you were always aware of the project."

I laughed.

Actually laughed.

After everything, that was what he needed from me.

Not forgiveness.

Not reconciliation.

A statement.

He wanted me to step back into my old role.

The woman who cleaned up the mess after he made it.

I typed slowly.

"I can't confirm something that isn't true."

His reply came seconds later.

"Maren, please. This could destroy everything."

I looked at the printed agreement beside me.

His signature.

Delaney's signature.

The future they had built without me.

I picked up the papers and slid them into my attorney's folder.

Then I wrote back.

"No, Callum."

"You built this without me."

"You can explain it without me too."

I blocked his number for the rest of the night.

And for the first time since the SUV drove away without me,

I slept without waiting for him to come home.