Chapter 3

Julian was thirty-five, yet he acted like a rebellious teenager.

The more I told him to stay away from Melanie, the more he flaunted her.

He even started posting flirtatious photos on Ins every day just to get under my skin.

I saw his latest post while walking down the hospital hallway for my check-up.

Caption: "Love is only given to those who deserve it."

In the photo, he held Melanie in his arms, both bundled up in heavy ski gear.

Melanie gave a sweet, triumphant smile, flashing a peace sign at the camera, while Julian looked at her with pure adoration.

Staring at that picture, my emotions shattered. My entire body began to tremble.

Fat tears splashed onto my phone screen. My grip gave out, and my test results slipped from my fingers and fluttered to the floor.

Julian took her skiing?

Back when we were happiest...

I grew up in the South and had always dreamed of skiing.

On my birthday, he took me to a ski resort. But during our run, my ski snapped, and I was thrown violently down the slope.

I braced for broken bones, but Julian jumped after me, using his own body as a human cushion. He broke my fall and was knocked unconscious.

That was the exact moment I decided he was the one.

Ever since that accident, Julian had developed severe trauma regarding skiing. In the ten years we were together, we never set foot on a ski slope again.

And now... he had conquered his lifelong trauma for Melanie.

A suffocating bitterness tightened around my chest. Did he love Melanie that much? So much that he didn't care about his own safety, so much that he could overcome a decade of deep psychological fear?

My throat constricted, and tears spilled over again.

I traced my finger over my own beaming smile in old memories. Ten years had blurred the edges of the past, but it couldn't erase how fiercely in love we had once been.

I screenshot his Ins post and sent it to him.

"Why?"

I thought he might offer an excuse. Instead, my phone buzzed with an incoming FaceTime call.

When I answered, Melanie's bright, smug smile filled the screen.

"Hi, Clara! I know Julian had trauma about skiing, but he told me he was willing to overcome it for me. Don't worry, I'll take good care of him. I won't let him get hurt like you did."

Julian was standing right behind her, looking at her with helpless indulgence.

"Julian, I'm at the hospital," I said quietly, trying to remind him of my reality.

He took the phone, frowning with irritation.

"The hospital again? Clara, why are you so fragile these days? Running to the hospital over every little thing! Why can't you be more like Melanie? Exercise keeps you healthy and energetic. I'm sick of seeing you mope around like a dying invalid."

"By the way, wash your hands when you get home. Don't pass whatever you have to Lily. I'm hanging up."

I opened my mouth, but my lips trembled so violently that no sound came out. The last thread holding my heart together snapped completely.

Listening to the dial tone, tears slipped down my face.

He had no idea what condition my body was actually in.

I slid down against the hospital wall, my heart turning to ice. I knew then that my marriage to Julian was truly over.

Looking down at the test results on the floor, exhaustion and powerlessness consumed me.

For ten years, I helped him build his business from scratch, attending endless client dinners and drinking for him. No matter how much pressure I was under, I bore it all alone, refusing to worry him.

And what did sacrificing my youth and health get me? Julian calling me "fragile."