Too Late for Tears

On Juliet's fifth birthday, Piper posted a picture on Instagram. The caption read: The little one cried for his dad before bed. This amazing father dropped everything to rush over.

The man lounging in bed next to her? My husband. Julian. I stared at the text message he sent me exactly ten minutes prior. "Tied up at the office tonight.

Don't wait up, you and Juliet." My thumb hovered over the screen. I doubletapped the post. Left a heart. Then, I dialed Bradley, my divorce attorney.

Chapter 1 Harsh overhead light flooded the dark bedroom. I immediately covered Juliet's eyes, shielding her from the glare. Julian leaned against the doorframe. "Honey, I'm home.

Wake Juliet up. Let's celebrate her birthday." I used to obsess over these family milestones. Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, preschool recitals.

I insisted Julian make an effort to show up. I refused to let Juliet grow up like me, only seeing a father through a FaceTime screen.

But now— I smoothed the duvet over my sleeping daughter. "Don't bother." Julian sighed, clearly annoyed. "Astrid, I only went over there to put Dylan to sleep.

Stop twisting things." He let out a harsh breath. "This right here? This is exactly why I can't tell you the truth.

You always turn into this paranoid mess." I hadn't misunderstood a single thing.

And starting tonight, my days of playing the paranoid, desperate wife were officially over. "If we're done here, go to your own room. Stop disturbing Juliet.

She has kindergarten tomorrow." Julian scoffed. "Suit yourself.

Just don't come crying to me later, claiming I missed out on Juliet's childhood." I reached over and clicked off the lamp. Juliet stirred against my chest. I gently patted her back.

Missing out didn't matter anymore.

Juliet blew out her candles earlier tonight with one specific wish. "I never want to see Daddy again." Sunlight hit the kitchen island the next morning.

Julian didn't grab his briefcase and bolt after breakfast. Instead, he lingered. He sat on the barstool, staring at the morning news.

Right before leaving, he snatched his car keys from the counter and strode over. He ruffled Juliet's hair. "Daddy's dropping you off today." He aimed the words at our daughter.

But his eyes locked dead on me. Two years ago, Julian handled the kindergarten dropoffs every single day. Then Piper showed up. His morning departures shifted earlier.

He blamed early morning standups. He claimed he lacked the time for the school run. I swallowed every lie. Until three months ago. Juliet had just transferred schools.

I was standing outside the new gates. The man supposedly trapped in a boardroom? He had bent into the backseat of his SUV and hoisted a little boy into his arms.

He possessed the time. He simply reserved it for someone more important. The blowout fight that followed that night shattered whatever illusion of a family we had left.

The next morning, Juliet stopped asking for her dad. She never threw a tantrum about it again. I fully intended to divorce him, but Julian still remained her father.

I swallowed my refusal. Julian smirked, clearly taking my silence as a victory. He bent down and scooped Juliet into his arms. I pulled open the rear door of the SUV. I froze.

The entire backseat was cluttered with things. A SpiderMan water bottle. A wooden toy bow. A woman's cashmere shawl. And hanging directly behind the driver's headrest?

A framed family portrait. Julian tracked my stare. His jaw tightened. "Piper hung that up on a whim.

She claimed it makes Dylan feel secure during the ride." He let out an exasperated sigh. "Don't throw a tantrum over a minor detail." The old Astrid would have shattered that frame against the pavement.

I would have sobbed. Screamed. Begged Julian to tell me where Juliet and I ranked in his heart. But now?

I gave a curt nod. "Great lighting." Julian stared at me, confusion knotting his brow. "You aren't going to lose your mind?" Lose my mind? Maybe the situation demanded rage.

But instead, absolute nothingness hollowed out my chest. A dark, cynical laugh bubbled up my throat. Such a pathetic, textbook manipulative tactic.

How did a shrewd man like Julian fail to see through such a clumsy trick? The truth was simple. He simply did not care. Chapter 2 "Get in the car.

Juliet needs to leave." I shoved the words past the lump in my throat. Julian pressed his lips into a thin line. He yanked open the driver's side door.

I reached down to scoop Juliet into the SUV. His ringtone blared. A children's song singing about a good daddy.

A little boy's hysterical sobs came through the phone speaker. "Daddy! Daddy! Where did you go?" Dylan choked out. "Did you leave Mommy and me?" Julian disconnected the call.

He refused to spare us a single glance and vaulted into the driver's seat. "Dylan absolutely needs me right now. Dennis can drive you two today." The black Maybach sped away.

My chest tightened for my daughter. I crouched down to her eye level. "Daddy has an emergency today, sweetie. Next time he has free time, we all go together.

Okay?" Juliet stared at the empty driveway. A chilling, cynical maturity hardened her fiveyearold face. "Daddy never has free time.

He saves all of his time for Dylan and his mom." "Astrid, I plan to stay out late tonight. Dylan spiked a fever—" "Okay." I agreed instantly.

My quick answer choked off whatever excuse he had rehearsed. The silence dragged. He clearly anticipated a fight.

Irritation laced his tone. "Astrid, stop throwing a tantrum." He ended the call. Ten minutes later, my screen lit up with an incoming text barrage. "So sorry, Astrid!

Dylan is just so insanely clingy with his dad lately. Honestly, I told Julian he didn't have to come, but he just insisted on dropping everything for us.

I promise to scold him for ditching you and Juliet! Please don't be too mad at him!" A handovermouth giggling emoji punctuated the final message. Piper.

This functioned not as an apology, but as a declaration of war. I had zero energy to play tugofwar over a trash man. I swiped left. Deleted. Blocked.

My phone rang almost instantly.

Julian. "Astrid, what the hell is your problem?" He snapped. "Piper swallows her pride to apologize to you, and you give her attitude?" A woman sniffled and a child whined in the background.

I let the silence stretch. I offered him absolutely nothing. A long, heavy exhale rasped through the receiver. "How did you turn into such a toxic person, Astrid?

I feel so incredibly disappointed in you." Piper practically shoved the red flags in my face, provoked me first, and then played the victim.

The second she squeezed out a single tear, Julian shifted all the blame onto my shoulders. He always treated me like some sort of evil villain.

When Julian called to berate me earlier, I had been sitting at my kitchen island, actively consulting Bradley. My divorce attorney confirmed the numbers.

I stood to walk away with at least thirty percent of Julian's company shares.

Given our matching financial stability, the court would heavily favor the mother for Juliet's primary custody. The very last thread of hesitation snapped.

Designer bags, jewelry, clothes, Juliet's favorite toys. I tossed them into suitcases. Then, I reached the final moving box. My fingers brushed against thick, dustcoated paper.

A heavy wax seal. My breath hitched. A phantom ache flared behind my ribs. My hands shook slightly. I stared at the overflowing box of love letters.

Penned by Julian, age seventeen to twentytwo. My vision blurred. I ripped open the topmost envelope. "Hello, twentysevenyearold Astrid. This is seventeenyearold Julian.

This is my very first love letter to you. Just like we promised, we open this together in exactly ten years. I know we are happily married.

And maybe, just maybe, we even have a beautiful kid together." Chapter 3 My phone buzzed. Twentysevenyearold Julian's voice tore through the speaker. "Astrid!

Did you know Piper took Dylan and ran away?

If anything happens to them, I will ruin you." My eyes dropped to the bottom of the aged letter in my hand. "Yours always, Julian." A sharp pang pierced my heart.

Something fundamental snapped behind my breastbone. I ended the call. I hoisted the cardboard box and shoved it straight into the fireplace. I didn't blow up his phone.

I didn't sob and swear I would never make things difficult for Piper again. Juliet didn't ask for her dad, either.

While I packed my suitcases, she quietly took away her photo with Julian. The cold war stretched for a solid week.

Then, Juliet's kindergarten issued a digital consent form for an upcoming field trip. It required parental Face ID verification. I dialed Julian's number. The call failed.

He blocked me. Left with zero options, I grabbed my iPad and drove straight to his corporate headquarters.

Barely a minute into waiting at the reception area, a familiar silhouette breezed right into Julian's private office.

Allison, the new administrative assistant, practically shrank behind the water cooler. "Astrid… Mr.

Sterling mandated that Piper has unrestricted, VIP access to his office." Piper's golden ticket was actually my fault.

Back when I still played the doting wife, I brought Julian homemade lunches. We would eat and chat for a solid hour. One winter afternoon, Piper showed up unannounced.

The front desk turned her away. When Julian finally walked me to the elevator, we found Piper and Dylan shivering in the lobby, their lips tinted blue from the biting wind.

Julian exploded on me for the very first time. He screamed that my daily lunch deliveries were a massive waste of his executive time.

He fired the receptionist who blocked Piper on the spot. After that day, the entire corporate ladder knew Piper held the crown. I never stepped foot in this building again.

I flashed Allison a polite smile, stood up, and marched straight toward his mahogany double doors. Julian sat behind his massive desk, supposedly working.

His head snapped up, looking genuinely shocked. "Why are you here?" Piper perched on the armrest of his executive leather chair. Their thighs practically brushed against each other.

Julian tracked my gaze. He cleared his throat, shifting slightly. "Astrid, don't read into this.

Piper just happens to possess some insider knowledge on this new acquisition, so…" I gave a curt nod and slid the iPad across his desk. "Juliet has a kindergarten field trip.

She needs your digital signature." "You crashed my office just for this?" "What else would I be here for?" The temperature in the room instantly plummeted. Julian's jaw locked.

I knew his tells. Something about my absolute indifference pissed him off. Piper let out a breathy, mocking scoff. "What kind of signature is so complicated?

Julian, Astrid obviously just wants an excuse to make up with you. You've been staying at my place for days now.

You really should go home and check on Juliet." The tight lines around Julian's eyes instantly smoothed out.

He tossed the iPad onto the glass coffee table and flashed a condescending smirk. "Astrid, weaponizing our daughter now?

That's a new low." He leaned back in his chair. "Apologize to Piper right now, or I'm not signing a damn thing." The old me would have exploded.

I would have screamed at him for neglecting his own flesh and blood just to play knight in shining armor for Piper. But now? The rage evaporated. I only felt a dull ache for Juliet.

Without his Face ID, she would miss her field trip. It would crush her. I stared blankly at Julian, then at Piper, who remained firmly planted on his armrest.

I turned on my heel and walked out of the office. I didn't look back once. I would just tell the teacher that Juliet didn't have a father.

Chapter 4 I barely took five steps down the corridor before a crisp, resonant voice stopped me dead. "If you don't mind, Astrid, allow me." It was a man stepping out of the adjacent office. "I've spectated your family drama long enough." I finally took a real look at him.

He wore a pure black tailored suit that gave off a cold, untouchable energy. His eyes were cold, and he looked like he came from old money. I shoved the iPad into his hands.

The Face ID pinged green. A bold, sprawling signature locked onto the screen. Graham.

When I arrived at the elite prep school's pickup zone, that familiar Maybach was already idling at the curb.

The passenger window rolled down, revealing Piper's smug, perfectly contoured face. "Astrid, you're picking up Juliet too?" she cooed. "This is an elite private academy.

Are you seriously still wearing last season's coat? I mean, I could donate some of my old clothes if you're struggling.

You really shouldn't embarrass Juliet like this." I didn't waste my breath. I just took a step back from their vehicle.

Piper turned to the driver's seat, squeezing out a few fake tears. "Julian, did I say something wrong again? Astrid looks so mad." For once, Julian didn't rush to comfort her.

His eyes remained locked on my thin wool coat. His jaw tightened. "Astrid, the wind is biting. Get in the car." I took another massive step back.

I couldn't pinpoint the exact moment the rot started. We had become strangers.

The chasm between us grew so wide that even a basic crumb of human decency from him felt painfully forced. Nearing the school gates, a scuffle broke out in the dismissal line.

Two kids were rolling on the concrete, throwing vicious punches. My heart slammed against my ribs. Juliet! I sprinted over and yanked them apart.

Only then did I realize who the other kid was. Dylan. The little boy froze the second he saw me.

Then, he threw himself backward onto the pavement and unleashed a deafening wail. "Wahhh! The mean lady hit me! It hurts!" Julian and Piper sprinted over.

Piper snatched her son off the ground, shooting me a venomous glare. "Astrid, I know you hate my guts, but you do not take it out on a child!" she shrieked. "They were just playing!

Are you psychotic?" Julian scowled at me, completely ignoring the fact that Juliet was his actual flesh and blood.

Chelsea, the kindergarten teacher, wrung her hands. "Astrid, Piper… Both kids spotted Mr. Sterling at the gate. They both claimed he was their daddy.

It turned into a screaming match, and then the hitting started." Rush hour. The pickup zone was crawling with elite parents.

The whispers started instantly. "What kind of trashy baby mama drama is this? Major red flag. Bet it's the wife catching the side piece." "Look at the guy's suit. Loaded.

The little girl probably just lied to look cool, and the real kid called her out on it." "Five years old and already a gold digger?

Trash parenting." Dylan kept sobbing, his arms locked in a death grip around Julian's neck. "Daddy! Daddy!" he wailed. Juliet didn't shed a single tear.

She just gripped my fingers tight enough to cut off circulation, staring unblinkingly at Julian. The other preschoolers pointed fingers. "Mister, whose daddy are you? Tell us!

The liar has to say sorry!" Julian opened his mouth. "I'm Jul—" Right at that second, Piper tugged lightly at his tailored sleeve.

Her eyes swam with pathetic, manufactured desperation. I saw the exact microsecond Julian caved. Just like a thousand times before.

One word from Piper, and my daughter and I were instantly demoted to collateral damage. I gritted my teeth and warned him coldly. "Julian.

The next words out of your mouth will permanently ruin Juliet. Think very carefully before you speak." Chapter 5