Chapter 2

That night, I sat alone in the dark, scrolling through my phone.

Mia had just updated her Instagram.

She was curled up on a hospital couch, draped in Julian's tailored suit jacket.

Julian sat beside her, his head lowered as he peeled an orange for her.

The caption read: [When everyone else walked away, thank God you were still here.]

Dozens of comments piled up instantly below it.

[Mr. Sterling really never got over you, did he?]

[If her family hadn't interfered back then, their kids would be in elementary school by now.]

[Who cares if some girl stood by him through the broke years? When the one true love returns, the placeholder has to clear the way.]

[I heard he had something massive scheduled today, yet he dropped everything to rush to her side. It's pretty obvious who truly matters.]

My pulse hammered against my ribs.

I didn't leave an angry comment. I simply took a screenshot.

At one in the morning, Julian sent me a picture.

It was a photo of a bowl of cold takeout soup.

[Mia finally fell asleep. I’m only eating just now.]

[I know today was unfair to you. Tomorrow, I'll make it up to you and celebrate our marriage properly.]

I stared at the phrase "make it up to you," and a bitter flood of memories rushed in.

On my twenty-sixth birthday, he promised to take me to a midnight movie.

Mia flew back into the country, got plastered at a club, and he abandoned me outside the theater doors.

The next morning, he wired $10,000 to my account with the memo: *Birthday compensation.*

On the anniversary of my father's death, he promised to accompany me to the cemetery.

Mia's golden retriever ran off, and he spent the entire night scouring the city with her.

Later, he presented me with a diamond necklace, whispering, *Don't be mad.*

When I was hospitalized with acute gastritis, he claimed he was away on an urgent business trip.

Yet that exact night, someone snapped pictures of him watching fireworks on a yacht with Mia.

He swore it was just a corporate networking event, that Mia happened to be a guest, and that it would have looked unprofessional to leave early.

Afterward, he bought me a sports car. Another "compensation."

For seven years, he tried to patch over his chronic absence with money, expensive trinkets, and a hollow pat on the head: "You're so mature."

I used to think that was just how busy, practical men apologized.

Only tonight did I finally see the truth. It wasn't that he didn't know it broke my heart.

He was just dead certain that no matter how much it hurt, I would never walk away.

I inhaled deeply and typed: [Save it. I want a divorce.]

Thirty seconds later, Julian called.

"Chloe, can you stop throwing tantrums?"

In the background, a faint, fragile voice asked, "Julian? Where did he go?"

Someone murmured to her, "He stepped out to take a call. Probably work stuff."

"Wait... I heard him say Chloe's name... Did I upset her? Is she going to break up with him because of me?"

With that, Mia burst into choked, delicate sobs.

Julian instantly abandoned the phone call, his voice dripping with tenderness as he comforted her. "No, she won't."

"Chloe and I have been together for seven years. How could she possibly leave?"

"Once this three-hundred-million-dollar deal is signed, I will hold total control of Sterling Group."

"She stayed by my side through seven years of hell. She's not going to walk out right when I finally reach the top."

I heard every single word crystal clear. Not wanting to waste another breath, I hung up.

I hired a moving crew that night and cleared out every single item that belonged to me.

When I arrived at the family estate, my grandmother saw me walk in alone. She didn't ask where Julian was.

Her gaze drifted to my empty hands, then settled on my red-rimmed eyes.

"You signed the papers?"

"Yes."

"Did he announce it?"

I shook my head.

The teacup in Grandmother's hand paused mid-air.

"Because of Mia Montgomery?"

My throat tightened, tears threatening to spill.

Grandmother had never liked Julian.

Seven years ago, the first time she met him, she warned me: "That boy is ruthless, and he knows how to endure."

"Right now, he has nothing, so he treats you like his lifeline. But once he has everything, he won't necessarily remember who helped him climb."