Chapter 4

In the hospital corridor, Julian stared at the glowing "In Surgery" sign with pure anxiety etched across his face.

He lowered his head and checked his watch. There was only an hour and a half left before his flight took off.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, he pulled out his phone to call Leo.

Only then did he notice ninety-nine missed calls.

Every single one was from Leo.

Julian frowned, confused. Before he could dial, Leo's call popped up again.

He answered it, and Leo's panicked voice spilled through the receiver:

"Boss, something terrible happened! Mrs. Vance, she..."

The surgical light clicked off, and the surgeon stepped out, instantly capturing Julian's attention.

Julian spoke into the phone dismissively, "Reschedule the flight. I'm busy right now. Whatever it is, it can wait."

Without waiting for a reply, he hung up.

Leaping from his seat, he rushed to the doctor. "Doctor, how is she? Is she okay?"

The doctor pulled down his mask and shook his head reassuringly.

"She's fine, just a minor hairline fracture. We've casted it."

"She needs plenty of bed rest. No weight on that leg."

Julian let out a breath of relief and smiled. "Thank you so much."

Seeing the nurse wheel Evelyn out, he stepped forward and scooped her into his arms.

"Careful."

He carried Evelyn all the way back to her private suite, gently setting her down on the bed.

He leaned down and instructed, "The doctor said you need complete rest. Cancel your upcoming shoots. I'll cover all the cancellation penalties."

"I really have to leave now. If I don't, I won't make it back in time for our anniversary. Clara will be devastated."

Just as he turned to leave, Evelyn wrapped both arms tightly around his waist from behind.

She sobbed into his back, "Julian, please don't go."

"I can't live without you."

Julian had navigated the ruthless business world for years; he wasn't an idiot.

He could clearly see that Evelyn was intentionally delaying him over and over again.

Julian reached back, grabbed her chin, and forced her to look up.

He raised an eyebrow with a cold, mocking smirk.

"Didn't I tell you not to harbor any illusions about me? Why can't you just behave?"

"The male lead in your next production has massive buzz right now. Spend some time with him. If you hit it off, I'll sign him and market you two as a power couple."

"If you don't like him, just milk it for PR stunts. It'll still do wonders for your career."

Evelyn understood his meaning loud and clear.

She slumped onto the bed, biting her trembling lip as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Julian, you can be heartless to me, and you can discard me whenever you want."

"But what about our baby? Are you going to abandon your own flesh and blood too?"

"What did you just say?"

I could clearly see Julian's entire frame lock up.

A child had always been the deepest, most excruciating scar between Julian and me.

During the second year of our marriage, his business rival kidnapped me.

I was five months pregnant at the time.

Those thugs beat my stomach with iron rods until the baby was torn from my body.

I never knew how Julian managed to rescue me.

All I remembered was waking up to the doctor telling Julian the brutal truth:

My uterus was severely damaged.

I would never be able to carry a child again.

From that day on, children became a forbidden topic between Julian and me, a wound neither of us dared to touch.

Until one day, I saw Julian holding his best friend's newborn, cradling the baby for hours, completely unwilling to let go.

Swallowing the agony in my chest, I forced a fragile smile and told him, "Julian, let's adopt."

Yet he saw through my heartbreak in an instant.

With reddened eyes, he pulled me tightly into his chest.

"If it's not yours, I don't want it."

I held my breath, floating in the air, watching Julian intently.

Waiting for his verdict.

I watched him lower his head.

After a long silence, he took a deep, steadying breath.

"Haven't you always wanted to pursue Hollywood and become an international star? Once the baby is born, I'll send you overseas. Don't ever come back."

As expected, Evelyn was an exception to his rules after all.

I looked down and let out a self-deprecating laugh. The very last trace of affection I had harbored for Julian dissolved into nothingness.

Julian ultimately left Evelyn with nothing but a cold, resolute silhouette.

He scrambled to catch the very last flight of the night, rushing back to our home city.

When the plane touched down, it was exactly eleven at night.

Julian let out a long sigh of relief, muttering to himself, "Thank God. I can still make it before midnight for our anniversary."

On his frantic drive back, he even stopped by a late-night florist to buy a bouquet of red roses for me.

Yet red roses had never been my favorite flower.

Besides, when visiting the dead, one ought to bring white daisies instead.

When Julian pulled up to the villa, it was exactly 11:50 PM.

He tiptoed upstairs and gently pushed open the master bedroom door.

"Clara, I'm home."

Assuming I was fast asleep, he approached the bed quietly.

Bathed in the faint moonlight, the bed was completely empty.

He froze. Flipping on every light in the villa, he ran into the hallway, shouting my name at the top of his lungs:

"Clara! Clara!"

"I'm back! Where are you?"

No response came. He searched every single room, upstairs and downstairs, but found no trace of me.

Standing alone in the vast living room, Julian began to panic. In all the years we had been together, I had never stayed out past ten at night.

Suddenly, Leo's interrupted phone call flashed through his mind.

A dreadful premonition gripped his chest.

He dialed Leo immediately. "Where is my wife? Why isn't she home this late?!"

"Boss... Mrs. Vance isn't coming back."

"What do you mean she isn't coming back?!"

"Mrs. Vance... passed away two years ago..."