Chapter 2

Audrey Quinn POV

The next day, I went to that library.

I wore a well-tailored trench coat and exquisite makeup. I stood among the rows of bookshelves, watching the woman named Chloe. Chloe was tidying books, moving slowly, wearing thick-rimmed glasses, her hair casually tied back, giving her an air of timidity and awkwardness.

I walked over. The clicking of my heels on the floor made Chloe look up.

"Ms. Quinn?" Chloe clearly recognized me. Her face instantly turned pale, and the book in her hand dropped to the floor with a thud.

I didn't look at the book, just quietly observed her. Ordinary, too ordinary, so ordinary that it aroused no sense of threat.

"Leave him," I said, my voice even. "Whatever amount of money you want, I'll give it to you."

Chloe's eyes immediately reddened, tears streaming down her face. She shook her head frantically like a startled rabbit. "Ms. Quinn, I don't want money… I know I'm not worthy of Julian, and I don't want to ruin your marriage. I just… I just love him too much. As long as I can watch him from afar, I'll be content. Please, don't make me leave…"

She cried pitifully, as if I were some evil villain.

I felt nauseous. I was about to speak when my wrist was suddenly grabbed with brute force. I staggered, almost losing my balance.

"Audrey Quinn! What are you doing!"

Julian had arrived, I didn't know when. He pulled Chloe protectively behind him, as if she were a rare treasure, then turned to glare at me, his eyes as cold as ice.

"I was just having a chat with her." My wrist throbbed, my bones feeling like they might shatter, but I stubbornly refused to cry out in pain.

"A chat? Trying to force her with money, or pressure her with your status as Mrs. Vance?" Julian sneered. "Chloe isn't one of those snobbish women in your circle; she doesn't care about money! Do you think everyone is like you, calculating everything perfectly?"

I laughed, exasperated. If I were calculating, I wouldn't have sold my family's inherited gallery to him to fund his startup when he had nothing.

"Julian, don't blame Ms. Quinn, it's all my fault…" Chloe tugged on Julian's sleeve, sobbing uncontrollably.

Julian lovingly patted the back of Chloe's hand, then looked at me again, his eyes filled with nothing but disgust.

"Audrey Quinn, I'm warning you, don't come looking for her again. She's timid, and she can't handle your arrogant behavior. If you dare lay a hand on her, don't blame me for not remembering our past."

With that, he put his arm around Chloe's shoulders and walked out of the library without a backward glance.

I stood rooted to the spot, watching their intertwined figures disappear, my chest feeling like it was being repeatedly sliced by a dull blade, raw and bleeding.

That evening, Julian came home. He walked straight up to me and threw a document onto the table.

"The transfer deed for that glass studio in the city south. Sign it."

I looked down. It was the glass studio I had spent two years planning, preparing for my solo exhibition. Julian once said he'd make sure all of New York would see my talent there.

"Why?" I looked up, my voice dry.

"Chloe likes growing succulents. Her rented apartment is too small and doesn't get any sunlight. That sunroom is just sitting empty; she can use it," Julian said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"That's my studio!" I jumped to my feet, my voice finally cracking. "You know I have an exhibition next month!"

"The exhibition won't die if it's postponed for a few months," Julian frowned, visibly impatient. "Your wooden and stone pieces can be exhibited anywhere. Chloe isn't well and needs more sun. Don't be so selfish."

Selfish.

I looked at this man, both familiar and strange. He once argued fiercely with someone over a piece of wood for me. Now, for a few pots of another woman's succulents, he casually destroyed my painstaking work.

I picked up the pen and signed my name on the document, the tip tearing the paper slightly.

"Take it." I threw the document at him, then turned away, unwilling to look at him any longer.