Chapter 2

In that instant, the words of refusal caught in his throat.

But seeing his troubled expression, Serena’s tears instantly fell.

“Julian, are you very conflicted? It’s okay, I don’t mind. If it’s too much trouble for you, I won’t go tonight.”

She had expected him to immediately soften his tone and coax her, but the man in front of her suddenly seemed relieved. He reached out and stroked her head.

“Tonight is indeed a bit special. You shouldn’t come with me.”

Serena’s eyes widened in disbelief, a flicker of hatred crossing them, quickly replaced by a pitiful, vulnerable look. The tears that were about to stop now streamed down her face again.

“Julian…”

Julian, however, was clearly distracted and didn’t notice. He gently pushed her away and looked up at the light fixture. “Is this the one that’s broken?”

Seeing that he wasn’t following her lead, Serena bit her lip and gave a whiny 'hmm,' then sat on the sofa in a huff, no longer looking at him.

Julian’s mind wasn’t on the present at all. The dream from earlier kept surfacing, and the dread in his heart grew, almost engulfing him.

Noticing Julian’s unusual behavior, Serena still sidled up to him, sobbing as she tugged at his sleeve.

“Julian, what’s wrong?”

Julian snapped back to reality, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead from his violently pounding heart.

He shook off Serena’s hand, frowning as he pulled out his phone, intending to call Vivian and ask what was going on.

But strangely, the call wouldn’t go through. The constant ringing made him increasingly anxious.

“Serena, I have to go. I’ll find someone to fix it for you later.”

Hurriedly dropping those words, he ignored Serena’s reaction, opened the door, and strode out.

Watching the door slam shut in front of her, Serena’s eyes were almost overflowing with venom.

She didn’t need to think; she knew Julian had rushed off to find that bitch Vivian.

She pulled out her phone and furiously typed a line of text.

[Vivian, why are you such a slut? Do you really want to be a mistress who hides in the shadows? Why don’t you just die!]

The moment she pressed send, a glaring red exclamation mark popped up!

Vivian had blocked her!

Instantly, a bad feeling rose in her heart.

She instinctively hurried to delete the provocative messages she had sent to Vivian from her phone.

Meanwhile, Julian, back home, pushed open his bedroom door, still unable to see the figure he yearned for.

“Vivian? Hasn’t she returned?”

For some reason, his anxious voice was trembling.

“We haven’t seen Miss Vivian since noon.”

“Oh, and sir, when we were tidying the room earlier, we noticed Miss Vivian’s belongings seem to be missing.”

The words struck him with a chill, and he began to tremble uncontrollably.

“What do you mean?”

The housekeeper looked up, perplexed.

“Sir, didn’t you take Miss Vivian’s things away? All her clothes are gone. I thought you wanted to buy her new ones…”

### Chapter 1