Chapter 5

But the empty house offered no response, only silence.

Valerie stood in the center of the living room, unaware that her heart was trembling.

Everyone exchanged confused glances, wondering what was wrong with Valerie, why she was suddenly acting this way.

But a chill radiated from Valerie, and no one dared to approach.

So they subtly nudged Brandon. "Brandon, what's wrong with Valerie?"

"Don't you want to go check on her?"

"Yeah, it looks like Valerie is looking for something."

Someone even whispered, "Didn't Valerie stop caring about Julian ages ago? Why is she looking for him now?"

"Right? Julian already quit, what's the point of looking for him?"

The whispers reached Valerie's ears, but she was too preoccupied to listen.

Her mind was consumed with where Julian could be, and why he had taken off the ring.

For the first time, panic began to set in. She felt as if something was slipping from her grasp, and her heartbeat echoed in her ears, almost deafening her.

Valerie snatched up the documents and the ring from the table and rushed towards Julian's room.

Ever since Brandon's return, she and Julian had been sleeping in separate rooms.

Valerie had said Brandon would misunderstand, that he would be upset.

But she had never considered whether Julian would be sad, or upset, even though he was her fiancé.

She should have realized then that it was just Brandon's way of marking his territory.

But she had foolishly believed that everything would get better once she and Julian were married, that she would change.

But what was the reality?

Valerie had only pushed Julian's boundaries, only hurt him, time and time again.

And all it took was a single word from Brandon.

Seeing Valerie's panicked state, Brandon secretly gloated, wondering if this meant his chance had finally arrived.

"Valerie."

"Forget about him for now. Who knows where he's gone off to."

Brandon walked up to Valerie, attempting to gently stop her, but she flung his arm away.

The force of her push was not insignificant. Brandon stumbled, hitting the wall. A dull pain shot through his shoulder blade, making him wince and suck in a sharp breath. "Ow... that hurts."

The woman who should have immediately fussed over him, showering him with concern, now seemed deaf to his pain, not even sparing him a glance.

Brandon put on his familiar pained and wronged expression, his brow slightly furrowed, his voice dropping. "Valerie, you hurt me..."

In the past, if he ever showed the slightest discomfort, no matter what it was, Valerie would agree to anything.

Even on their engagement night, when he asked Valerie to abandon Julian and come to him, she would do it.

All past events proved that Valerie's indulgence for him surpassed everything.

But now Valerie was pushing him away like this. It was something he simply couldn't accept.

"Valerie!" Brandon called out again, his voice tinged with displeasure and a hint of almost imperceptible panic. Unwilling to bear the pain, he tried to catch up but, seeing he couldn't, stopped, clutching the sore spot, his face pale.

Someone stepped forward to express concern. "Brandon, are you okay?"

"Where did you hit yourself? Is it serious?"

Brandon shook his head, completely baffled by Valerie's sudden coldness.

He hesitated, then turned to look at his friend – Valerie's secretary, who naturally knew Valerie's affairs well.

He blurted out, "It's Valerie's pre-nuptial agreement."

"Valerie's grandmother made her sign it, and I was the one who delivered it to Mr. Julian for his signature. I don't know why he never sent it for notarization to become legally binding."

"Could it be that he doesn't want that trust fund?"

The secretary looked completely astonished, as if she couldn't comprehend it.

Brandon, however, was secretly overjoyed. "Does that mean Julian isn't going to marry Valerie now?"

This was Julian giving up willingly. He had been preparing for a much longer wait to get what he wanted.

Now that the opportunity was right in front of him, there was no reason not to seize it.

He even thought that if Julian were there, he would "thank" him profusely for stepping aside.

Seeing the barely concealed delight on his face, the secretary looked puzzled. "You're happy they're not getting married?"

"Didn't you always want them to get married?"