Chapter 4

Chloe flinched, burying her face deeper into Julian’s chest.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," she sobbed.

"PTSD doesn't look like that," I said coldly.

Julian stood up, blocking her like a human shield.

"Enough! If you have a problem, bring it to me!"

"Stop acting like you know everything. I won't let you slander her!"

Of course I knew.

I had been living with PTSD for over a decade.

Ever since the day I watched my mother die.

Whenever I pictured the pool of blood spreading around her body, I would vomit, scream, and hurt myself.

I had never told anyone that my mother jumped off a building because my father had cheated on her.

I had sworn I would never enter the prison of marriage.

But Julian had sworn on his entire family's legacy that he would never betray me.

I thought I would escape my mother's fate.

But in the end, I walked right into it.

The hysterical screaming, the self-destruction.

But I was done. I didn't want to play this game anymore.

I reached into my bag to grab the signed divorce papers.

Julian's face went pale.

"What are you doing?!" he screamed. "Hold her down!"

Before my hand could even clear my bag, the bodyguards slammed me back onto the marble floor.

Julian kicked my bag away, the force of it numbing my fingers.

"As long as I am breathing, you will never lay a finger on her!"

I stared up at him from the floor. His eyes were a chaotic mix of fear and rage.

I remembered a night not too long ago when he had slipped out of bed while I was asleep.

I thought he was going to see Chloe, so I followed him.

But I heard him on the phone, asking, "Will Seraphina go crazy ten years from now? As long as I keep her close, can I protect Chloe?"

I didn't understand what he meant back then.

But now, I did.

That was the phone call from the future.

He was terrified of me.

No matter what I did, he would always assume I wanted to murder his mistress.

My cheek was pressed against the freezing marble floor. It felt just like my heart.

I let out a bitter laugh. "The envelope in my bag has the divorce papers. I already signed them."

Julian looked suspicious, but he reached down and opened my bag.

The moment he saw the papers, he ripped them into pieces.

"I told you! We are not getting a divorce!"

I looked at him calmly. "Because of that phone call?"

Chloe pulled at his sleeve. "What phone call?"

"Nothing," Julian muttered.

"But you promised to give me a home," Chloe whined, her eyes welling with tears.

Julian clenched his fists, his face turning red.

"Don't ask questions. Just know I am doing this for your own good."

He wiped her tears gently. "I can give you everything, Chloe. Everything except the marriage itself."

Those words were meant for me, too.

He would give me the title of his wife, but nothing else. No love, no respect, no truth.

Suddenly, I felt so tired.

"Just sign it, Julian. I'm not going to burn her."

"That phone call? I paid someone to use a voice changer to trick you."