Julian discovered where the children and I were staying, he arrived at my new apartment visibly upset. He stepped through the doorway, staring at the new furniture, my professional dual-monitor workstation, and the bright, carefully decorated bedrooms I had prepared for the twins.

“Where did you get enough money for all this?” he demanded, his eyes moving rapidly around the room.

“I earned it.”

He scoffed. “You? Doing little jobs online?”

I handed him a printed bank statement from the counter.

As his eyes moved across the numbers, the confidence slowly disappeared from his expression.

“You don’t know nearly as much about me as you think, Julian,” I said quietly. “You never took the time to ask.”

When I calmly mentioned Victoria’s name, his composure disappeared completely. He couldn’t deny what had happened.

“I know why you’re asking for the kids,” I added. “And I’m going to protect them.”

Before