Chapter 2

Under the judgmental eyes of friends and relatives, I returned to our newly decorated penthouse alone.

Every corner was still adorned with white roses and celebratory ribbons. What was meant to be festive decor now felt like a dozen daggers stabbing straight into my heart.

I wanted to lose my mind, to tear every single decoration to shreds, but when I moved my fingers, I couldn't summon an ounce of strength.

I collapsed onto the bed, completely drained, yet sleep would not come.

Memories of the past rushed into my head like a flood.

Julian used to love me so deeply.

We got together when I was twenty. Later, he told me he had secretly crushed on me for four whole years before that.

He said I was radiant and full of life, like a ray of warm sunshine in the coldest winter.

One summer, when I fell ill and couldn't tolerate air conditioning, tossing and turning in the heat, he sat beside me all night, fanning me until dawn.

After my mother died, my deadbeat father, drowning in gambling debts, wanted to sell our house.

When I refused, he sneered, “You're just a girl. Not a single brick in this house belongs to you. What right do you have to say no?”

I was kicked out into the street. It was Julian who came looking for me in the dead of night, pulling me into a tight embrace.

He said, “Don't be afraid, Nora. You still have me. We'll build our own home.”

Yet now, just as that home was finally within my reach, he shattered it into pieces with his own hands.

It had only been twelve years.

The lifetime he had promised me burst like a fragile bubble under the sun, vanishing with a single poke.

I rolled over, burying my face into the pillow, letting tears soak my cheeks.

When I woke up the next morning and unlocked my phone, countless notifications flooded the screen.

Without reading them, I threw on some clothes and headed to the clinic.

On the way, I sent Julian a text: [Let's finalize the divorce.]

Julian replied: [Have you really thought this through? We just had the wedding yesterday. Filing for divorce today will make us a laughingstock to all our family and friends.]

So he did remember yesterday was our wedding.

Bitterness welled up in my throat. I replied with a mocking sneer: [I'm already the biggest joke in town.

[Have your lawyer draft the settlement papers and send them over. Once we sign, we'll file the paperwork.]

I stared fixedly at the screen.

It took him a long time to text back: [Sorry, Chloe threw a fit and smashed a glass just now. She's delicate and insecure. Took me a while to calm her down.

[Fine. We'll do it your way.]

My eyes locked onto his first sentence, unable to pull away.

A hollow ache blossomed in my chest. It wasn't just pain—it felt as though a giant hole had been punched through my heart, leaving an icy draft blowing right through it.

A moment later, another text popped up:

[Nora, don't blame me. Truth is, I left plenty of clues about the affair. I just didn't expect you to be so oblivious that you didn't notice for months.

[Like that night you were hospitalized for stomach cramps? I told you at midnight that there was an emergency at the office. The truth is, Chloe was jealous that I was by your bedside and threw a tantrum until I went over to comfort her. That was the night she got pregnant.]

My pupils constricted in horror.

I had waited for him all night that night.

I was in so much agony I couldn't sleep, yet I didn't dare call him because I was terrified of interrupting his work.

And all the while, he was in bed with Chloe Sparks!

I bit down hard on my lower lip until the metallic taste of blood spread across my tongue.

I couldn't bring myself to look at my phone again. Like a hollow shell, I walked into the hospital.

Dr. Evans asked me repeatedly, "Are you sure you don't want this child? I recall you and your husband trying to conceive for quite some time. And didn't you two just get married yesterday...?"

Yes.

We tried for so long, only for him to get another woman pregnant first.

I offered a bleak smile and insisted on the procedure. With a sigh, the doctor completed my paperwork.

The D&C procedure was over quickly.

An hour later, I staggered out of the operating room, leaning heavily against the wall.

My lower abdomen felt hollow and excruciatingly painful.

For some reason, a bone-chilling cold overtook my body, followed by a strange, throbbing ache radiating through my limbs.

I looked around, desperate to find a seat.

The next moment, a familiar figure entered my line of sight.

Frowning, Julian strode toward me. He grabbed my wrist, pulling me aggressively toward the exit.

"Come with me," he demanded coldly.

"Chloe wants to apologize to you."