Chapter 3

I hailed a cab to the company to pick up my files, but Brenda, the HR rep, looked completely annoyed:

"Julian has been deliberately delaying your resignation application. Come back next Monday to ask again."

I tried calling Julian, but it just went straight to voicemail.

It was always like this whenever he was with Seraphina.

I should have made him approve my resignation before I left.

Frustrated, I frowned and left the company.

Behind me, a burst of mocking laughter erupted:

"When Seraphina and Julian made it official, she was there singing and dancing, then she kneeled and begged Julian for money! So embarrassing!"

"You should have seen her face just now when Julian didn't pick up his call! If I were him, I'd block such a clingy nuisance too!"

I was already used to these taunts.

My phone chimed with a notification. It was Seraphina, sending a message to gloat.

The photo showed the slips of paper, meant for goodwill, stuffed into a filthy garbage can filled with slop.

"One word from me, and Julian threw away your 10,000 blessings. I heard you spent a year collecting them; how tragic. So much effort for nothing."

"What good was five years of dating? The moment I came back, you were swept aside. He's with me eating dinner right now, peeling shrimp for me. His hands are covered in sauce; you've never seen him do that, have you? If you're curious, come to the restaurant's private room. You can watch all you want."

My grip tightened on my phone.

Ever since she returned to the country, I'd seen plenty of messages like this—Julian, who was such a clean freak and so arrogant, would now wash her clothes, cook for her, wash her feet, and make her bed.

Usually, I dreaded Seraphina's messages, yet I'd morbidly watch Julian's special treatment of her.

I even tried to tell myself it was all Photoshopped, that she was just trying to stir up trouble, and that by not seeing the truth, I could continue to delude myself.

This time, I went.

Not out of jealousy, but only to make Julian sign my resignation so I could finally be rid of him.

Half an hour later, I arrived at the restaurant, only to hear Julian arguing with someone by the staircase.

I instinctively hid around the corner.

"Julian, are you insane? Seraphina dumped you three times, each time worse than the last. She even tricked you into going to a cliff and almost got you crippled! How could you go public with her? Ava was with you for five years, and you never gave her a title. Don't forget, she almost died saving you once!"

It was Leo, Julian's closest friend.

I touched the uneven scar on my forehead.

A year ago, Julian and I were in a car accident during a business trip. To protect him, I was impaled by shards of windshield glass.

I had more than a dozen steel plates implanted in my body, and a scar above my left eyebrow disfigured me, turning my previously gentle eyes into something fiercer.

Colleagues secretly whispered "Scarface" behind my back, avoiding me and even spreading rumors that I was beaten by creditors.

Julian, however, never bothered to set the record straight, always too worried about appearances.

The next second, Julian's reply hit me like a lightning bolt:

"It's because she had that car accident, and the scar near her eye... she doesn't look like Seraphina anymore."

Leo was furious:

"So you were still using her as a stand-in! No wonder when she proposed, you set an impossible task for her. Ten thousand blessings? Even if you asked thirty people a day, it would take a year! If you didn't want to marry her, you didn't have to play games with her! What kind of spell has that rotten Seraphina cast on you?"

"Enough!" Julian barked.

"Don't you dare slander Seraphina like that! She said she's turned over a new leaf. I'm just making up for past regrets. Give me two more days, and I'll break it off with her."

Leo was speechless:

"Aren't you afraid Ava will truly give up?"

Julian sounded completely confident:

"I got Ava her job, she lives in my apartment, she has nothing without me. I'll take responsibility for her. We've been out too long; Seraphina will get anxious. Let's go back."

Watching their retreating backs.

I stood there for a long time, then collapsed to the ground, hugging myself.

When my mom first fell ill, I brought her to the city for treatment. Desperate because we had no money, Julian was the one who approached me, inviting me to work at his company.

He was gentle and compassionate, like a god, and I fell for him completely.

Looking back now, I remember wearing a face mask at the time, only my eyes visible.

And his eyes, they were filled with the joy of finding something lost and finally recovered.

Whenever he spoke of his ex, Julian always spoke through gritted teeth, a mix of love and hate.

Then he would bury his face against my chest, sighing how grateful he was to have me.

After Seraphina returned, he would deliberately "bump into" her several times, confronting her, but it was just an excuse to argue and subtly express his longing.

No wonder Julian suddenly grew distant after the car accident.

I, foolishly, thought it was because Seraphina was back and he was torn.

Turns out, the original had returned, and I, the stand-in, was no longer needed, so he came up with the impossible task of 10,000 blessings as an elaborate excuse to turn me down.

After a while, I took a deep breath and pushed open the private room door.

Inside, everyone was already tipsy, clapping and cheering:

"A dramatic reunion! An epic romance! I'm totally shipping them! Julian, you have to kiss Seraphina!"

Julian kissed Seraphina's lips openly.

His long lashes fluttered, betraying a flicker of emotion.

After an unknown amount of time, he realized the cheering had stopped and opened his eyes in confusion.

He saw me standing behind Seraphina, my face utterly blank.

He jolted upright, his face pale:

"Ava, I can explain everything! It's not what you think!"

His clumsy attempt to cover it up made it all the more ridiculously absurd to me.

"Julian, let's break up."