He sat in the chair reserved for desperate clients and told me he had been wrong, but I corrected him immediately. “You weren’t wrong, Garrett; you made a choice, and you just didn’t think you’d have to face me without my help.”
He didn’t mention the wedding or our relationship once, asking only if there was still a way to save his company. That was the moment I realized I hadn’t loved a monster, but a man who was incapable of seeing people as anything other than tools for his success.
“I am no longer the right person to assist you,” I said as I handed him a business card for a different restructuring specialist. I did it because it was the professional thing to do, and I wanted to be completely severed from his future, whether he succeeded or failed.
He thanked me in a hollow voice I barely recognized, and we shook hands for the very last time. The wedding had been set for June, which meant there were deposits to claw back and vendors to cancel, but I handled the logistics with the same precision I used for my clients.