- 19 hours ago
Leaving Port, Scum Is Unworthy New ASM
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00:00for my husband three years later i found out i wasn't his i give up everything to move to port
00:05victoria for my husband three years later i found out i wasn't his legal wife in port victoria
00:10right after our wedding my husband sean sterling was recruited by port victoria university i left
00:16my entire career behind to go with him i thought i was sacrificing for love yet three years went by
00:22i still didn't even have valid status let alone a local id card sean told me i was on a
00:28temporary
00:28dependent permit but his assistant zoe she already had her permanent residency he got it for her
00:35through his connections i was furious i threatened to leave for the first time ever my calm husband
00:41actually cried i'm already supporting you those documents can wait and zoe came here to work for
00:48me helping her settle in is only fair i believed him until last week i went to the immigration bureau
00:55to check my status i handed the clerk at the desk our marriage certificate she stared at her screen
01:02ma'am our system shows you are not listed as mr sterling spouse in that instant everything became
01:08clear all those delays all those excuses sean had never listed me as his wife i said nothing i went
01:16straight home and started packing my bags but when i reached my own front door my fingerprint was
01:22rejected three times access denied the lock had been changed i called sean immediately why did you
01:30change the lock oh zoe's lock was broken she's familiar with this model so i had ours taken off and
01:37sent over to her just stay in a hotel tonight i'll be working late anyway my mind went blank my
01:43husband
01:43had taken the lock off our door and given it to another woman so i went to a hotel but
01:48when i swiped my
01:49card it was declined when we first moved in sean had given me an unlimited black card but little by
01:55little zoe took over his personal shopping eventually that card ended up in her wallet
02:01and somehow i believed him until our third anniversary just as the evening was turning
02:07intimate it was zoe she casually handed sean a box of ultra thin condoms
02:14professor it's a special night you always say this brand feels the best thoughtful of me right i
02:20didn't even know what brand he preferred for the past three years we've been trying for a baby we never
02:25used protection the dinner was pure torture he made some lame excuse about a work emergency and rushed
02:31out when the door closed behind him i finally understood by then it was obvious her role as his
02:37assistant extended all the way to his bed the next morning i was about to book a one-way ticket
02:42out of
02:42port victoria when my friend called claire i pulled some strings but all they would give me was the
02:50official marriage record it's fine just tell me what you found in port victoria sean was legally
02:58married to zoe zimmerman claire are you okay i'm fine the woman by his side had never been me it
03:06had
03:06always been zoe and in that moment every detail i had forced myself to ignore came rushing back
03:12all those weekends when he claimed he had work at the university and was gone all day whenever i asked
03:17what could possibly be so important he always gave me the same answer even if i told you you wouldn't
03:22understand then i remembered the time he forgot an important file i took it to the apartment he kept
03:27near campus on the bathroom counter were two toothbrushes and stupidly i didn't think anything of it
03:34my mind drifted back to the day i first arrived in port victoria three years ago sean pulled me into
03:39his arms and spun me around like i was his whole world then zoe waved at us from nearby sean
03:44smiled
03:45took her suitcase oh i forgot to tell you zoe came too
03:53she's here all by herself things haven't been easy for her the whole ride his attention was already on
03:59another woman and i had actually been happy for him i really thought he had found the perfect
04:03assistant during those first few months in port victoria i couldn't find a job for the first time
04:09in my life i learned what rejection felt like eventually i swallowed my pride and asked sean for
04:15help doesn't the university have some kind of placement program for spouses could you look into it for me he
04:23didn't even look up he just kept sorting through his papers and said i'll ask around i waited three
04:29months when i asked again i got the same answer meanwhile zoe had already landed a job at his
04:35university the job the benefits the place at his side and she wasn't nearly as qualified as i was
04:42that was when it finally hit me nothing had gone wrong that job was never meant for me sean had
04:49already reserved it all for the real mrs sterling i had already decided to leave i went to book the
04:57earliest flight out of port victoria for good finally it was my turn i slid my passport across
05:03the counter i just wanted to leave but after a few taps on the keyboard the agent frowned i'm sorry
05:09but
05:09there seems to be a problem with your immigration status why she turned the screen toward me our system
05:16shows that you've overstayed your most recent extension application was denied at the moment
05:22you no longer have valid immigration status in port victoria i had been living in port victoria for three
05:28years legally i had no status there at all not as a wife not as anyone i was just a
05:35stranger i stepped
05:36aside and immediately called the immigration consultant
05:41miss parker my extension was never approved now i can't even leave without running into legal
05:46trouble what exactly is going on mrs sterling let me ask you something when your husband filed on
05:54your behalf did he sponsor you as his spouse because the system shows that the approved spousal sponsor
06:00under your husband's file went to a woman named zoe widzemarkin he did file for you too but not as
06:05his
06:05spouse he filed you under a different category that category stopped accepting applications last year
06:12that's why your case has been stuck this whole time standing there on the sidewalk i suddenly wanted to
06:18laugh so that was the truth sean had already handed zoe the spousal sponsorship that should have been mine
06:24and me i had spent three years in the city only to find out i didn't even have legal status
06:29i was only
06:30one step away from leaving for good one step but there was still one final document he had to sign
06:36before
06:36my case could be cleared without it i still couldn't leave cleanly i went to his university to get his
06:44signature before i even reached his office i heard zoe's voice inside sean are you really giving me the
06:50arts foundation residency but i'm not qualified this should go to claire she actually trained for this
06:57i stopped cold outside the door the arts foundation residency the opportunity one had needed most
07:03and sean had never mentioned it to me then i heard him answer it's fine i already made the calls
07:10as for claire she has me she doesn't need it and even if you'd had the same chance you wouldn't
07:16have done any worse than claire i stood outside his office and almost laughed so everything i had
07:21sacrificed was just luck in his eyes and the career i had once been proud of was something he thought
07:26anyone could replace then the door opened zoe saw me and smiled claire visitors aren't allowed on this
07:32floor why don't you wait downstairs move i barely touched her before she stumbled backward
07:44are you hurt
07:48i'm fine i just lost my balance it's not claire's fault zoe was just doing her job why would you
07:55shove her i didn't explain i held out the notice this is from immigration i need your signature
08:03claire when did you become this unreasonable sign
08:08now or i go straight to the dean and ask why the spouse sponsored placement in your faculty
08:13relocation package ended up with your assistant that's enough don't forget who's been supporting
08:18you without me you wouldn't even be able to stay here legally when he begged me to come he had
08:23said
08:23i'll take care of you now it had become i've been supporting you sign it now and you might still
08:30have a little dignity left
08:34escort my wife out she's not feeling well a second later two guards grabbed me i hadn't even spoken
08:40before someone covered my mouth talk tonight stop acting like a child talk tonight there was nothing left
08:46to say at nine that night sean came home he pushed open the half-closed front door the lights were
08:52on
08:52so he assumed i was inside enough already i told you from the beginning zoe needed that spot more than
08:58you did then he pushed the bedroom door open and froze the room was empty everything of mine was gone
09:0710 minutes later two police officers were standing in front of sean asking questions
09:12mr sterling are you sure this was a burglary yes my wife's things are all gone
09:18when i got back the door was unlocked someone must have come in one of the officers examined the lock
09:26the lock is brand new there are no signs of forced entry i changed the lock yesterday i just hadn't
09:32gotten around to adding her fingerprint yet you hadn't added her fingerprint then how was your wife
09:36supposed to get in sean opened his mouth but no words came out then he remembered over the past three
09:43years he had made claire wait again and again maybe she couldn't get in so she found someone to change
09:49the lock herself so your wife couldn't get into her own home and instead of calling you or waiting
09:55for you to come back she hired someone to replace the lock yes what is your wife's phone number it's
10:06been off the whole time when was the last time you saw her he thought about what he had done
10:11to claire
10:11that afternoon then he lied this afternoon she was still home this afternoon besides your wife's
10:21belongings was anything else valuable missing no just her mr sterling this probably wasn't a burglary
10:27it looks like your wife changed the lock packed her things and left on her own that's impossible she
10:32wouldn't leave the doors and windows were intact nothing valuable was missing everything in the house was
10:37still there except claire's things and even then he still insisted my wife loves me she gave up
10:44everything for me there's no way she would leave on her own before leaving the officer asked one last
10:51question mr sterling did you and your wife have an argument this afternoon no we didn't argue the police
11:00left before they went they told him to contact claire's family and friends standing alone in the empty
11:05house he suddenly realized something in the past three years claire had not made a single friend here
11:11because he had always told her you have me that's enough
11:19he pulled out his phone and called claire's mother mom has claire contacted you today no why
11:25what happened nothing she lost her phone after he hung up he went through his contacts again and realized
11:31he didn't have the number of any of claire's friends that was when he remembered over the past three
11:36years claire had brought up going back more than once and every single time he had said don't bother
11:42it's too much trouble so in the end she really never went back he used to think she was simply
11:47going along with him only now did he understand she had known all along that he never wanted to go
11:53back
11:53with her he called her number again and again every time all he heard was the same cold message her
12:02phone
12:02was off he walked back into the bedroom and stood in front of the empty side of the closet for
12:09him she
12:09had given up everything and not once had she ever said she regretted it so he had taken it for
12:14granted
12:15that she had done it willingly
12:18just then his phone rang it was the police mr sterling we reviewed the building's exterior
12:25surveillance footage at around five this afternoon your wife was seen leaving with a
12:29suitcase there were no signs that she was being forced leaning against the closet he looked at their
12:35wedding photo on the wall his face stricken he thought back to the promises they had made
12:39three years ago then he buried his face in his hands in it i was in white and he was
12:44in a suit
12:44we were both smiling at the camera three years ago i had asked him we'll always stay together right
12:54of course and i had believed him for three whole years i had believed him then his phone rang again
13:01it was a purchase alert the card he had given zoe had just been used in central
13:05103 000 for a designer handbag
13:12while sean was still reeling from the fact that i was gone he received a purchase alert from his
13:16assistant it was over a hundred thousand suddenly he remembered two days ago zoe had
13:23said she wanted a new bag he had agreed without even thinking the money he gave me every month was
13:28only
13:29two thousand dollars that had to cover everything i had never asked him for anything more
13:34the only time i had ever asked him for anything was when i needed his signature on that immigration
13:39form sean shot to his feet and called miss parker has claire contacted you she came to me before she
13:49asked about her status recently she also asked me about her extension request she wanted to know what
13:55documents she needed to fix everything so she could leave without any legal complications
14:01mr sterling there is something else i think you should know when claire spoke to me she mentioned
14:06the marriage certificate i think she already knows what you did she knows yes that is why she never
14:12asked you again about filing for her as your spouse sean stood there frozen just then another message
14:19came in from zoe sean the bag needs a cute outfit to match too right after that another charge
14:24notification popped up this one was over 20 000 he stared at the number his mind completely blank
14:29when had zoe started spending his money as if she had every right to it then he remembered it had
14:35started the moment the extra card that should have gone to me ended up in her hands for three years
14:40i had given up everything and all that time he had been busy giving all his care to his assistant
14:47sean soon found out that i had never left port victoria he immediately arranged a meeting with
14:52miss parker and asked urgently what is the fastest way to fix claire's status now
14:58mr sterling you have always known what the fastest way is a few years ago someone told me that during
15:04onboarding it was better to come in as single first then once everything was stable i could file the
15:11family paperwork later at the time i had no choice i only did it to keep the older people in
15:18the family
15:18calm weary that is nonsense who told you that my assistant she specifically asked around for me
15:27mr sterling i have worked in immigration for 15 years i have never heard of any rule like that
15:33when you joined the university you came in through an employment-based status route
15:37that permit has never required an applicant to be single he suddenly remembered what zoe had told
15:44him sean it is better not to list yourself as married during the hiring process the background
15:52check gets messy he had believed her he had always buried himself in research and handed all those
15:57details over to the assistant he trusted most immigration rules onboarding forms relocation paperwork
16:03he had barely read any of them himself later with red eyes zoe had told him she wanted legal status
16:10here he had thought about how she was a young woman far from home who had followed him all the
16:15way here
16:15all it would take was one marriage certificate so he agreed without thinking twice mr sterling that
16:22assistant was miss zimmerman wasn't it he said nothing just as he stood up in a daze his phone rang
16:31sean please come to the office of academic affairs as soon as possible there are some matters we need
16:36you to explain in person
16:41at three o'clock that afternoon sean was sitting in a conference room at the office of academic affairs
16:46i was not there i only learned the details later there had been two documents on the table in front
16:52of
16:52him the first was a copy of the certificate for the marriage he had registered in port victoria with
16:59me in another jurisdiction the director of academic affairs pushed the documents toward him professor
17:07sterling do you confirm that these materials are authentic sean said nothing under port victoria law
17:13bigamy is a criminal offense the university has already received a request for cooperation for
17:19immigration in addition you will need to explain the marital status declaration you submitted when you
17:25joined the university how was he supposed to explain it soon after the investigators arrived professor
17:32sterling are you saying you did not know that forging documents is illegal
17:40later when i heard those words repeated i almost laughed did he know maybe he didn't that was the
17:47cruelest part sean had never carefully planned to ruin me he just never thought about me enough
17:53so we spent three years figuring out how to stay by his side i spent those same three years waiting
17:58for him to come home she fought for a place beside him i waited for him to remember i was
18:03there he never
18:04did sean was suspended from all teaching and research duties during the investigation his salary
18:10was stopped as well when he walked out of academic affairs so he was already standing in the corridor
18:16waiting for him sean my work has been suspended too the residency program with the art foundation called
18:24they said my spot has been canceled when i first heard that part i felt nothing no triumph no relief
18:32he looked at her for the first time he really looked the coat the bag the lipstick
18:38all of it had been paid for with my card and me i had never spent like that even buying
18:45something
18:45small for myself i used to hesitate then sean said give the card back sean that card was for claire
18:56not for you she pulled her handbag behind her back her eyes red and even more sean i've been with
19:04you for three years you were with me for three years she waited for me for three years
19:10so he bit her lip and said nothing back then you kept claire and me from registering our marriage
19:16properly this was what you wanted wasn't it sean i just wanted to stay after that the legal battle
19:28turned ugly so we refused to dissolve the spousal relationship she hired a lawyer and demanded
19:33compensation sean gave her nothing during those three years in port victoria she had already gotten plenty
19:39a respectable job residency status and the card he had handed over without a second thought what had
19:45i gotten nothing in court the two of them tore at each other until there was almost nothing left
19:52zoe was ordered to repay what she owed her reputation was ruined and she left sean did not fare much
19:59better
19:59he came back to my hometown several times to look for me but the people all told him the same
20:04thing
20:04i had never gone back he kept traveling back and forth day after day passed then month after month
20:12by the time i heard the rest his life had already been stripped down to almost nothing no job no
20:19home no one
20:23a year later i was at the port victoria art fair claire i turned around i saw sean the moment
20:31i saw him
20:31the smile faded from my face there was no surprise no anger no grievance nothing at all it was just
20:39like the last time i had looked at him from the doorway of his office there were only a few
20:43steps left
20:44between us then a hand came across in front of him and stopped him sir what exactly do you want
20:50with my
20:50your wife your wife she's my wife it's fine i'll handle it mr sterling do you need something claire
21:06i've been looking for you for a year as for the marriage certificate i can explain mr sterling it has
21:13been a year my husband and i are doing very well you made me wait for three years he has
21:21never made
21:22me wait even three days at the time i had no money no connections and no way to leave port
21:27victoria
21:28i worked part-time jobs trying to save enough to pay the penalty first and buy a ticket out
21:34adrian could stand in a gallery for half an hour just to ask me how i read a painting
21:37what you could never give me he gave back to me one by one legal status respect and the chance
21:43to
21:43become myself again sean stood there and said nothing i looked at him for a few seconds i have
21:50things to do i'll be going now i turned away adrian followed beside me his hand resting lightly at the
21:58small of my back behind me sean instinctively took a step forward adrian turned his head and looked at
22:03him he did not say a word the meaning in his eyes was obvious enough don't come any closer sean
22:08stopped
22:09i did not look back again by the time i disappeared into the crowd he was still standing there the
22:15exhibition hall was full of people moving back and forth and in front of him was the painting i had
22:19been standing before its title was leaving port
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