Signed Mrs. Sterling Chapter 17
Over the next few days, the news of Vanessa’s arrest was plastered across every tabloid.
The headlines were sensational: UPPER EAST SIDE PIANIST’S DEADLY DECEPTION: THE END OF A GILDED DREAM.
Harrison became the biggest joke in New York high society.
I heard his company’s stock took a hit from the scandal, and the board was considering forcing him to take a leave of absence.
He came to the hospital almost every day. When I refused to see him, he just sat on a bench in the hallway like a homeless man.
He even brought Henry once.
Henry’s arm was still bandaged. He had lost weight, and his eyes were filled with a deep, unsettling fear.
He had witnessed his father’s breakdown and watched his “cool aunt” get taken away by the police. For a child who had been so coddled, it was the end of the world.
The day before I was discharged, I finally agreed to let Harrison in.
Not for him, but for me. I needed to close this chapter for good.
Harrison entered the room holding a bouquet of my favorite flowers.
“Julianne…” he tried to smile, but it looked more painful than a grimace.
“Henry misses you. He’s having nightmares every night. And I… I miss you too.”
He put the flowers down and walked to my bedside. All of his trademark arrogance was gone, replaced by a pathetic humility that made my stomach turn.
“I’m sorry, Julianne. I was an asshole. I know I was wrong. Vanessa is finished. There’s nothing standing in our way anymore. I’ve already had the divorce filing withdrawn. We don’t have to do this. Please, just give me a chance to make it up to you. We can start over, for Henry.”
I leaned back against the pillows, quietly observing the man I had once loved to the point of self-destruction.
Now, all I felt was peace. It was like looking at a pile of cold ashes—no warmth, no pain.
“Harrison, look at me.”
He looked up, his eyes red and filled with a desperate hope.
“You think Vanessa was what stood between us?” I shook my head, my voice soft but firm. “No, Harrison. It was never her.”
“It was you.”
“It was your goddamn ego, your contempt for me, the way you took everything I did for granted. Vanessa was just a convenient excuse for you to avoid responsibility, just like I was a convenient tool for you to maintain your public image.”
“When that truck was coming at me, I wasn’t even thinking about how much I hated you. I was just glad I had already signed the papers.”
“No! You love me! You had Henry for me!” Harrison pleaded, reaching for my hand. “Are you going to let Henry grow up in a broken home?”
I pulled my hand away and stared at him coldly.
“Henry?”
I pointed toward the door. “He’s out there, isn’t he? You’ve been bringing him here every day. Is it because you miss him? No. It’s because you can’t handle him. You need me to come back and be your free, high-end nanny. You need me to help you repair your perfect family image.”
“You don’t love me, Harrison. You love ‘Mrs. Sterling’—the woman who would always be waiting at home for you, the woman you could control. But I’m sorry to tell you, that woman died in an Aspen snowstorm.”
“Please leave, Mr. Sterling. My lawyer will be in touch about the compensation for emotional and physical damages. And this time, the price has doubled.”
Harrison stood frozen, his mouth open, but no words came out.
In the end, he was “escorted” out by the hospital security that Sebastian had called.
From the hallway, I could hear Henry wailing, “Mommy! I want my mommy!”
But I didn’t look back.
I knew that if I turned back now, the independent, confident Julianne Miller I was becoming would be lost forever.