- 2 days ago
I Stopped Waiting For Him And The Mountains
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00:00Pull out, the mortgage application is already approved, and the inspection is done.
00:04Does Ryan know?
00:06He can go buy a cabin in Aspen with Madison.
00:10Can I come next year?
00:12Next winter, I promise.
00:15Five winters, 17 promises.
00:18Last night, I was looking for our wedding budget speenshit.
00:21I opened the old iPad he'd left in the studio.
00:23More than 300 photos, all Madison.
00:26He took 11 photos of me.
00:28You really don't know how to take pictures.
00:30Good enough.
00:31He knew exactly how, just not for me.
00:35You designed almost every room.
00:37Don't you want to wait until Ryan comes back?
00:39Go in without me. Madison's heat is broken.
00:41The dress, the counters, the curtains, the lights.
00:44I chose all of it alone.
00:51You'll lose part of the deposit.
00:52I know.
00:55And the wedding?
00:56Cancel that too.
01:02Then I saw Madison's red nails beside his glove.
01:09Good luck, Nora.
01:11I didn't cry.
01:13I wasn't leaving a home,
01:14just a house he never truly entered.
01:24What are you doing?
01:25Cleaning.
01:27This is for you.
01:28Cute, right?
01:29Madison thought it was better than the cabin.
01:31She chose my gift?
01:33We happened to see it together.
01:35That isn't for you.
01:36I know.
01:39You bought Madison a necklace?
01:40Her birthday is coming.
01:41Don't make it weird.
01:43Ryan, when is my birthday?
01:44Do we really have to do this now?
01:46No, we don't.
01:47You're back?
01:48Good.
01:49Madison and I finished the wedding cake.
01:50Vanilla bean with lemon elder grower suits you better.
01:52We changed the flowers to white rampulous,
01:53and Madison reorganized the reception place.
01:55Mom, I'll call you later.
01:56Madison chose our cake.
01:56Our music, flowers.
01:57She suggested.
01:58She knows design.
01:58You've been busy.
01:59It's my wedding.
02:00It's mine too.
02:00Madison was helping.
02:01Does the planner know I'm the bride?
02:03Why do you make everything ugly?
02:04This is ugly.
02:05You bought her a custom necklace,
02:07let her plan our wedding,
02:08and brought me a $5 souvenir she picked.
02:09What is wrong with you?
02:10Nothing.
02:12You're tired.
02:12Go to bed.
02:21He wasn't too busy to spend Valentine's Day with me.
02:25He had simply given it to her.
02:31Ryan took me to meet his friends.
02:34Madison was already there.
02:35Then I saw the R.
02:38You guys finally made it.
02:40But she only looked at Ryan.
02:43How's wedding planning?
02:44Almost done.
02:45The cake's done,
02:45the flowers are white rentorious,
02:47and I fixed the playlist again last night.
02:48You know more than the bride.
02:49I'm helping.
02:50I felt like the extra guest at my own engagement celebration.
02:53Let's test the groom.
02:54Ryan, what's Nora's favorite flower?
02:56Roses?
02:57Probably.
02:58Liz and Uris.
02:59I told him twice.
03:00How does Nora take coffee?
03:01She doesn't really drink coffee.
03:03Stop torturing him.
03:04Ryan's terrible with details.
03:06Then tell us his order.
03:08Iced Americana, no sugar, extra ice.
03:11When it snows, hot cocoa with cinnamon.
03:14Madison knows him better than his fiance.
03:16With her, he had preferences, rituals, and stories.
03:19With me, his answers were always anything, whatever.
03:22I don't care.
03:28You're quiet tonight.
03:29What should I say?
03:30You may be misunderstanding Ryan and me.
03:31What am I misunderstanding?
03:32We've known each other a long time.
03:34People who come later can't compete with that.
03:35Is that why you should chose my cake?
03:36Ryan hates decisions.
03:37He needs someone to make them.
03:38That person should be me.
03:39But he didn't ask you, did he?
03:41You're the woman he buys property with.
03:44Stable.
03:45Appropriate.
03:46Easy to introduce to family.
03:47And you?
03:49I'm the person he wants to escape to.
03:51Don't confuse a mortgage with love.
03:58Ryan said almost nothing on the drive home.
04:02What did Madison say?
04:04At a red light, he finally asked.
04:06Nothing.
04:07He exhaled, relieved.
04:09Silence made his life easy.
04:11The next morning, I cooked everything he liked.
04:14What's the occasion?
04:15Stay home with me today.
04:17Why?
04:17Just today.
04:18No work, no phone, no Madison.
04:22Fine.
04:23I'll stay.
04:25Don't answer.
04:28You promised.
04:32I only heard a few words.
04:34Apartment.
04:35Leak.
04:36Water everywhere.
04:42I need to go.
04:45What about me?
04:48His coffee cooled beside his half-eaten breakfast.
04:58I finally laughed.
04:59It turned out I wasn't testing Ryan today.
05:02Madison was testing me.
05:03And Ryan had won it for her.
05:12Hi, Nora.
05:13Are we confirming the final guest number?
05:15No.
05:15Cancel the wedding.
05:17Postpone.
05:19Cancel.
05:21Hi, Nora.
05:22I need to withdraw from the purchase.
05:24Your withdrawal is processed.
05:26Everything I arranged for our future could be undone with a phone call.
05:30My clothes filled one suitcase.
05:34Five years here left so little evidence of me.
05:40I won't wait for next winter anymore.
05:50He always remembered to ask what I wanted.
05:54After it no longer mattered.
05:58Nora?
06:05I wasn't threatening to leave.
06:08I had already left.
06:13Why are the fees coming to me?
06:14Because you signed the contract.
06:16Nora has formally withdrawn.
06:18You can't cancel without me.
06:20Nora removed herself from the loan application.
06:22The original loan cannot proceed.
06:24Every detail he dismissed as whatever you like was something I built.
06:28What is Nora doing?
06:30The cake is ordered.
06:31The flowers are changed.
06:32How do we explain this?
06:33She isn't throwing a fit.
06:35Madison shouldn't have changed anything.
06:37What does that mean?
06:39It was Nora's wedding.
06:42He walked through the apartment and finally saw what was missing.
06:46Five years in that apartment.
06:48And this was almost all I left behind.
06:51The things I left behind were almost nothing.
06:56They weren't forgotten items.
06:58They were Madison's reminders everywhere.
07:00The apartment I once called our home was slowly becoming a place that belonged to her.
07:05To Madison, I was never the bride.
07:09He went back to the study and opened the old iPad.
07:12He searched my name.
07:14Only 11 photos appeared.
07:17Most were blurry or taken without thought.
07:20He had barely captured me, genuinely smiling.
07:23Then he searched Madison.
07:25More than 300 photos appeared.
07:27Every photo showed where his attention had gone.
07:31Then he realized he didn't know where I had gone.
07:34He didn't even know where to begin looking.
07:42I landed after dark in a city where no one knew me.
07:53Madison's messages were more interesting.
07:56Madison wanted me to believe it was only a misunderstanding.
08:00People who perform for attention eventually reveal too much when the audience refuses to clap.
08:06For the first time, she was the one waiting for an answer.
08:11She wasn't trying to explain.
08:12She was telling me exactly how she saw me.
08:15Now I saw invoices, dates, admissions, and intent.
08:19Every word she sent became something I could use.
08:32I pulled email screenshots into one folder labeled Madison Clark Messages and sent it to my lawyer.
08:40Madison believed she had won five winters of memories.
08:44She had also handed me the evidence.
08:56Do you want Ryan back or do you want a clean settlement?
09:01I want my money returned and my name protected.
09:04Good.
09:06Then we stop discussing feelings and start documenting facts.
09:12These three, cake, flowers, and music, were all changed after the original agreement.
09:18They go on the unauthorized side.
09:20Where is her contract?
09:21There isn't one.
09:22Deliverables?
09:23None.
09:24Meeting notes?
09:25None.
09:25This is bigger than infidelity.
09:27I know.
09:28Enclosed are records indicating that personal travel may have been classified as business expense.
09:33Once I send this, the company will investigate.
09:36Are you certain?
09:38Ryan made those claims, not me.
09:41I'm done protecting them.
09:50Ryan hadn't been able to reach me all day.
09:53Ryan, HR needs you to check your email.
09:59This time, he finally understood.
10:01I had taken the truth he feared most.
10:09Ryan did not sleep before the compliance meeting.
10:15What service did Madison Clark provide?
10:17She advised on branding.
10:18Show us the contract.
10:19There wasn't a formal one.
10:22The project brief?
10:26The deliverables?
10:29She gave verbal input.
10:30Why is a couple's suite on Valentine's Day listed as business lodging?
10:35It was the only room available.
10:37We contacted the resort.
10:39That is false.
10:41Why were two lift passes, a couple's massage, and Madison's Air Faith charged to client development?
10:46I can reimburse the money.
10:48This meeting is not about whether you can pay it back.
10:51You may go home while we investigate.
10:59Ms. Bennett, Orion Hale is in the lobby.
11:02Tell him he has five minutes.
11:05Nora.
11:08Four minutes, fifty seconds.
11:11You wanted this last winter.
11:12You bought one last winter.
11:13You gave it to Madison.
11:14I was wrong.
11:16Tell me what to do.
11:17Accept what happens next.
11:18I can take you to Aspen now.
11:19Today.
11:20Just us.
11:20Aspen is five years of proof that you chose her.
11:23From now on, speak to Evelyn Shaw.
11:25Nora.
11:26She is my attorney.
11:40You expended Madison's flights as client assistant travel.
11:46The couple suite at the Aspen Resort was marked as business lodging.
11:50The Valentine's Spa package was filed under client entertainment.
11:53And Madison's consultant invoice has no contract, no deliveries, and absolutely zero record of project involvement.
12:01These company card charges have nothing to do with any client projects either.
12:09I can pay it back.
12:10This isn't about money.
12:11This isn't an emotional mistake.
12:13It's expense fraud.
12:31Ryan, people from your company contacted me.
12:34They're asking what the consultant invoice was for, and they're asking about all those Aspen trips.
12:38What do I say?
12:39Tell them the truth.
12:41What?
12:46I can't save you right now.
13:02Madison's downfall started on her Instagram.
13:13People dug up her Aspen photos from the past few years.
13:16Every winter, she had implied that she was an invited VIP.
13:24It was my wedding design.
13:26Madison had cropped out my name and posted it as part of her own portfolio.
13:31My attorney had saved all of it.
13:33You received a consultant fee from the company.
13:35But there is no contract, no project name, and no record of any deliveries.
13:39I gave Ryan branding and event advice.
13:41Where is the work?
13:41You used Ryan Hale's title to request upgrades, discounts, and event access.
13:45You will be required to return the consultant fee.
13:49In the afternoon, she called me.
13:52I didn't answer.
13:55I still didn't reply.
14:00I need to see Nora.
14:03Madison is here to see you.
14:17Nora, what exactly did you give them?
14:21They only saw what you actually did.
14:26The brand dropped partnership, and there was removed me from their winter event list.
14:31Ryan's company is demanding I return the consultant fee.
14:34Then you should go find Ryan.
14:35He can't even save himself right now.
14:38People in the wedding planner circle are saying I steal client designs.
14:42No one is returning my emails anymore.
14:45Isn't it stealing?
14:48It was just design inspiration.
14:50It was my wedding.
14:53You ruined me!
14:54For five years, she had used my position as her backdrop,
14:57Ryan's favoritism as her trophy, and my wedding as her portfolio.
15:01I didn't ruin you.
15:03I just finally stopped letting you use my life as your stage.
15:11Ma'am, please leave.
15:17We're terminating the contract.
15:18She used to love writing.
15:20Life itself is the best stage.
15:21Now, the stage lights were on, and everyone could finally see exactly whose stage she had been standing on.
15:30That night, Linda was hosting a family dinner.
15:38Linda, I just want to explain.
15:40A few days earlier, Linda had seen Ryan's investigation notice, the brand statement, and a screenshot from Madison's private account.
15:47Madison had mocked Linda's kindness while using her family recipes, old photographs, and my wedding as content.
15:56Ryan, can you please explain it to them for me?
15:58I didn't steal any money.
16:00I was just helping you guys out a little.
16:04Do you have the deliverables?
16:07You're going to treat me like this now, too?
16:17Enough.
16:19Linda, you know me.
16:20I just wanted to help this family.
16:22No, you didn't want to help this family.
16:25You just really know how to stand in the spot where Nora was supposed to stand.
16:33I didn't...
16:34You are not family.
16:36You never were.
16:38I was foolish to let you cross the boundary again and again.
16:49Don't ever come to my house again.
16:51And don't ever use anything from my family for your content.
16:54Linda...
16:54This time, no one stepped forward to comfort her.
16:57Not Ryan.
16:58Not Linda.
17:00I always said Nora wasn't warm enough.
17:02That she wasn't good enough at pleasing people.
17:06Now I know.
17:07She wasn't the problem.
17:09The problem was that we gave her place to someone who never even belonged.
17:13Ryan finally admitted that he was wrong.
17:16But even his apology was still asking something from me.
17:21By then, I had already stopped waiting.
17:33The day Ryan was fired was a Monday morning.
17:36The company didn't give him a graceful exit.
17:40He was supposed to be promoted to senior director next month.
17:43His name had already made the shortlist for partner.
17:47His access badge was confiscated.
17:50His email was deactivated.
17:53All of his projects were handed over to someone else.
17:57Ryan, you didn't just ruin a weekend.
18:00You ruined everyone's trust in you.
18:07Everything he had assumed was secure disappeared in a single morning.
18:10The first was from the finance department,
18:12demanding the reimbursement of all Aspen-related expenses.
18:16The second was from the wedding venue,
18:18notifying him that he was liable for the cancellation fee.
18:20The third was from his loan officer,
18:22informing him that the townhouse loan could not move forward.
18:25We could put two rickid chairs on the balcony
18:27and drink coffee there on weekend mornings.
18:29Whatever you decide is fine.
18:43Ryan, we all know how you treated Nora for the last five years.
18:46Don't ask us to help talk her into coming back.
18:52Everyone believed I would always let things go.
18:56Ryan believed I would always stay.
19:00Only after I left did he see everything he had ignored.
19:07Madison never said goodbye.
19:08She sold what she could and left the city.
19:13Madison hadn't loved him.
19:14She only loved being chosen.
19:21Are you still trying to find Nora?
19:25She didn't leave because she didn't love you enough.
19:27She left because you taught her time and time again
19:30just how little she mattered to you.
19:33For a woman who had never truly loved him,
19:35he had thrown away his job, his house, his reputation,
19:38and the person who had earnestly tried to build a home for him.
19:42And now, he didn't even have the right to say he regretted it.
19:51Three months later, my design studio officially opened.
19:57It stood on a quiet street in my new city,
20:00with afternoon light pouring through the glass.
20:02It had once been the home I was preparing for my marriage.
20:06Your homes don't feel like showrooms.
20:08They feel like places people can finally land.
20:12I knew what home should feel like,
20:14because I had needed one so badly.
20:18Nora, Mr. Hale is here to see you.
20:33You have five minutes.
20:37I finally see it.
20:40I finally see the home you wanted to build for us.
20:45No.
20:46You only saw it after I stopped building it for you.
20:54I kept these.
20:57That's your business.
21:07Nora, I know I don't deserve to ask to make it up to you anymore.
21:10But let me take you to Aspen.
21:12Just once.
21:13Let me make up for everything I owe you.
21:15Once upon a time,
21:17I had waited five years to hear him say that.
21:19The woman who waited for you to take her to Aspen isn't here anymore.
21:26Do you really not love me even a little bit anymore?
21:31I loved you.
21:34I loved the person I thought you were going to be.
21:38But then you showed me exactly who you really are.
21:44Can I start over?
21:46You can start over.
21:48Just not with me.
21:53Keep it.
21:55It belongs to the version of me who is still willing to forgive you.
22:03Nora.
22:05He was finally standing where I once stood,
22:07watching someone leave,
22:09knowing he could never catch up.
22:15After Ryan left the studio,
22:17I never saw him again.
22:18The venue fees are settled.
22:20His repayment plan has begun.
22:22Linda apologized.
22:23I didn't reply.
22:25It wasn't hatred.
22:26I was done paying for other people's delayed awakenings.
22:30Business gradually steadied.
22:32By the end of the quarter,
22:33the studio was no longer just beginning.
22:40I want a place that makes me feel held when I come home from work.
22:44Then that's what we'll build.
22:47I had once waited for a home, too.
22:50On the first weekend of winter,
22:51I took a few days off.
22:52No clients.
22:53No meetings.
22:54No one else coming along.
22:55I wasn't waiting for anyone to say next time.
22:57I was going to the mountains myself.
23:03It wasn't something someone grabbed in passing.
23:06I chose it myself.
23:09Is this a gift?
23:10Do you need it wrapped?
23:11No.
23:12This is for me.
23:14For five winters,
23:14I thought I was waiting for a trip.
23:17A promise.
23:18A photograph taken with care.
23:20What I had needed
23:21was the courage to choose myself.
23:23No missed calls.
23:25No relationships left to explain.
23:28No one making me question
23:29whether I was worth loving.
23:32Something in me had finally settled.
23:38For five winters, I waited.
23:40This year, I drove here myself.
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