Chapter 2

“Miss Eleanor, don't look!”

Mrs. Jenkins, our housekeeper, was watching the news. Hearing my heels clicking down the stairs, her face flushed with anger as she fumbled for the remote, trying to switch off the TV. But it was too late.

The paparazzi had captured Julian Reed and the famous model, Chloe, walking hand-in-hand into a hotel.

“It seems our famously abstinent scion couldn't resist the captivating Chloe after all. He’s finally landed the CEO known for spoiling his girlfriends…”

The commentator’s voice droned on, but in that moment, my ears felt like someone had detonated a bomb inside them. A deafening blast, then a sharp, piercing pain.

“Mrs. Jenkins, move.”

I pushed past her, my hand reaching out to her blocking body, forcing myself to witness the sight: my fiancé, kissing a supermodel, walking into a hotel.

Mrs. Jenkins began to open her mouth, perhaps to offer comfort, but I had already turned and left the living room.

I started my Maserati, speeding towards the Reed family estate like a furious leopard.

Julian had given me the sports car on my birthday. He’d said, "My Eleanor is so wonderful; she deserves everything I can give."

As I arrived at the Reed estate, all the staff immediately tensed.

They tried to block me, their eyes darting with a mix of pity and mocking curiosity, trying to prevent me from going upstairs.

Their attempts to stop me only confirmed something was wrong. I swept them with a gaze as cold as ice, completely freezing them in place, none daring to move.

Reaching Julian’s room, I heard sounds through the door that made my face burn. I clenched my fists tightly, but ultimately, I pushed the door open.

In that moment, my heart plummeted into an icy abyss, tearing me apart with excruciating pain.

When I first saw the news, I'd made excuses for him, thinking it was just a mischievous rumor.

But now? Julian had brought her right back to his own home. He was acting as if I didn't exist, grinding my dignity into the dirt.

“Julian Reed!”

Julian flinched when he heard the desolate sound of my voice, his kiss with Chloe faltering. But he couldn't bring himself to let go. He kissed her for another three minutes before finally turning his head to look at me.

“Well, since you’ve seen everything, it’s probably for the best. I’ll just tell you directly.”

“I’ve decided to formalize things with Chloe. She’s still… an innocent, and I can’t let her be wronged. But I can’t lose you either, so listen! You’ll be my primary partner, and she’ll be the woman behind me. You both can attend to my needs, how does that sound?” My heart felt as if it had been stabbed with a knife, but I couldn't let Chloe see my distress.

"You're actually making such a shameless demand?"

Julian's face instantly darkened at the word "shameless."

"What do you mean, 'shameless'? You and I are only engaged. I have every right to decide how to manage you both. Which man in our circles doesn't have mistresses or affairs? Your father was no different."