Chapter 3
Hearing that, Julian dropped nervously beside the bed, clutching my hands tightly.
He was still smiling—a warm, seemingly earnest smile.
"Of course not, babe. What could I possibly hide from you?"
My heart plummeted straight into an icy abyss.
"Okay. I trust you." I smiled and reached out to brush a stray lock of hair from his forehead.
Since he was determined to keep lying, asking wouldn't get me anywhere.
After Julian left that afternoon, my agency called. They said an upscale private club had a huge event in three days and asked if I wanted to pick up a shift.
Thinking about my empty checking account, I gritted my teeth and agreed.
"Chloe, let me tell you, if you take good care of this VIP client, the tips will be insane."
Listening to the agency rep, I gave a hollow laugh, promised I wouldn't be late, and hung up.
Three nights later, I put on the server's uniform, only to discover the cruel truth.
The VIP client tonight was Julian. He had booked an entire private luxury club just to throw a welcome-back bash for Elena.
Tonight, he was the star of the show, high above the clouds, while I was just a grubby, invisible server in the background.
I instinctively prayed that our paths wouldn't cross.
Fate had other plans. Julian owned the venue. It didn't take long before he walked toward the private lounge on the floor where I was stationed.
Dressed in an impeccable designer suit, he had a stunning, glamorous woman hooked onto his arm.
A memory flashed in my head—right before he left the apartment tonight, he had said softly, "I have to work late on a night shift. Go to bed early."
So this was his night shift. Wrapping his arm around another woman, laughing the night away in a private lounge.
"Julian, I heard you've taken great care of our son these past few years."
Julian smiled faintly. "He's my son. Of course I'd take care of him."
Elena nestled against his shoulder. "Five years ago, I threw a tantrum and left. You don't still hold a grudge against me, do you?"
Hiding inside the utility closet, I listened to them through the thin door, my chest tightening so violently I couldn't breathe.
A terrible gut feeling warned me that Julian was about to say something that would make me hate him for the rest of my life.
"Hold a grudge for what? For demanding she abort the baby? Or for that back-alley clinic wrecking her uterus? She's just a nobody. If she can't have kids, she can't have kids. It's no big deal. Don't overthink it."
Julian’s tone was completely casual.
My body stiffened like stone, as if someone had dumped me straight into an icy crevasse.
Slowly, I turned my head, staring through the frosted glass pane at the man standing outside.
That clinic was handpicked by Julian. The moment he chose it, he knew what the outcome would be.
Because to him, being with me was just a game. The baby was merely an inconvenient mistake resulting from his little fling, so he made sure to erase it.
My baby's life, and my ability to ever become a mother, were nothing more than bargaining chips in their lovers' quarrel.
In Julian's eyes, I wasn't even a person. I was an object, something disposable—worth less than a stray dog.
A sharp, tearing agony exploded in my chest. I clutched my ribs, dropping heavily onto the cold floor tiles.
All the misery, all the humiliation I had endured for his sake over the past seven years... to him, it was just a pathetic, self-inflicted joke.
Right then, the sharp crash of breaking glass came from the lounge.
"Oops! Julian, I'm so clumsy."
"It's fine. I'll get someone to clean it up."
I couldn't let Julian catch me here.
I had already lost seven years of my life. I couldn't throw away whatever shred of dignity I had left and let him stomp on it.
Panicking, I tried to push myself up, but my knees were like jelly. I couldn't stand.
"Server? Where is the server?"
Julian's voice called out from the hallway again.
He patted Elena's hand. "Hold on, I'll go check."
His footsteps moved toward the utility closet, step by step. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs, threatening to burst.