Chapter 2

The next day.

With David's help, I secured a small rental apartment.

I didn't care about the square footage, the price, or the neighborhood.

My only requirement was immediate move-in.

By the time the lease was signed and I returned to that cold, empty mansion, dusk had fallen.

Being eight months pregnant made every single step feel like a marathon.

Yet, pushing through the dull ache in my back, I went into the kitchen and cooked dinner.

It was only after I set the plates on the dining table that I realized every dish was something Julian loved.

Over the past seven years, his preferences had become etched into my memory.

A biological reflex.

So deeply ingrained that I had completely forgotten what I liked.

I sat in the chair, telling myself this was just for closure. I wanted us to part ways with some shred of dignity.

I reheated the food eight times.

It wasn't until three in the morning that the front door finally clicked open.

A wave of sweet jasmine perfume hit me immediately.

Chloe's signature scent.

The dark purple hickeys on his neck were vivid, layered over faint, older bruises.

He was slightly tipsy.

When his eyes landed on the beautifully arranged, steaming hot dishes on the table, his brow furrowed in utter annoyance.

"What?" he sneered. "You think doing this is going to make me feel sorry for you?"

He brushed past me and walked straight toward the stairs.

He didn't even look at me.

As he walked by, a sudden realization struck me.

The wedding band I had custom-designed for him was gone.

There wasn't even an indentation left on his ring finger.

"Julian."

My voice was rough, flat, completely devoid of emotion.

"The divorce papers are in the study. If everything looks fine, just sign them."

He stopped in his tracks, turning around to glare down at me with heavy disdain.

"Rachel, you want a divorce over a goddamn piece of paper?"

"I'm not even dead yet."

He let out a scoff, completely ignoring the fact that I was heavily pregnant.

He pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette.

"Don't forget how you ended up carrying my last name in the first place."

"Chloe's heart is weak. That will was nothing more than a symbolic gesture to give her peace of mind and wish her well."

He remembered every fragile detail about Chloe's health.

Yet he seemed completely blind to my swollen belly, so large that I couldn't even see my own feet.

Love and indifference were divided by an ocean.

He seemed to have forgotten.

Ten years ago, when his ruthless stepbrother kidnapped him during the family succession war...

I defied my own family, tracked him down through sheer desperation, and found where they were keeping him.

In that life-or-death moment, I threw myself in front of a blade to save his life.

Holding me in the hospital room, he had sobbed and sworn an oath:

"I will take back Sterling Enterprises, and I will give you the life you deserve."

"If I ever betray you, may lightning strike me dead."

He did take back his family's empire.

Except the life of luxury went to someone else.

All I received was a shotgun wedding stripped of all romance.

A rented bridal gown. And a cold, calculated prenup.

I let out a soft laugh, though my eyes burned with tears.

"So, do you even remember that you owe me your life?"

Julian's face went frighteningly dark.

After a long silence, he let out a patronizing chuckle.

"It's been a decade, and you're still holding onto that? You really think I owe you?"

"How much do you want? Is a million dollars enough to settle the debt?"

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

So, in his eyes, the life I gave him was worth exactly one million dollars.

The final ember of hope inside me died right then and there.

Suppressing the tremors in my chest, I spoke quietly.

"Keep your money, Julian. I just want a clean break."

With that, I turned around and headed toward the guest room.

Behind me came his furious, venomous roar:

"Fine! You want to play tough?"

"Don't you dare come crawling back on your knees begging me to take you back!"

Begging?

In these seven agonizing years, I had already cried every tear I had for him.