Chapter 4

"Julianna! I'm here to help you with the assessment for soft furnishings!"

The moment Tina stepped inside, she naturally looped her arm through Ian's. Her gaze landed on the documents nearby, and she paused.

"Julianna, are you going to divorce Ian?"

I ignored her question and looked sternly at the keys in her hand.

A safety charm I had given Ian was hanging from them.

"How do you have the keys to my house?"

Tina's face went pale, and her eyes immediately welled with tears.

"Julianna, are you still angry because Ian went to oversee the construction at my place instead of coming home to keep you company?

"I'm sorry. Please don't let me cause any disagreements between you and Ian–"

"Tina, this isn't your fault. You don't need to apologize to her."

Ian rubbed his brows and gently sheltered Tina behind him.

"Julianna, you're not a three-year-old anymore. There should be a limit to throwing a tantrum.

"Tina is your designer for soft furnishings. She needs the house keys so she can come here and do an on-site assessment for the design.

"Overseeing her construction site is also part of my job."

I looked at the stern-looking man in front of me and almost found myself swayed by his earnest tone again.

He always had a way of making everything he did to hurt me sound completely justified.

Ian didn't bother observing my reaction. He took Tina by the hand and began showing her around the house.

"Ian, what do you think about turning this east-facing room into a walk-in closet? It gets the best light!

"And what about this guest room? It would make such a great study! We could work on our designs here together!"

The east-facing room was the one I had specifically reserved for the nursery.

The guest room was the room Ian had originally prepared for my parents when they came to South City to visit me.

Now, he looked at the woman in front of him with warmth in his eyes, smiled, and nodded.

"Whatever you want."

Although I had already canceled the design project, I still couldn't tolerate Ian rubbing salt in my wounds by indulging Tina again and again.

"Ian, is this the so-called renovation plan you two came up with?

"If this is how you take on design projects, the firm will go bankrupt sooner or later."

Tina's fingers trembled as she made notes on the design plans. When she spoke again, her voice was already choked with tears.

"Julianna, I was just giving my opinion. It's okay if you don't like it–"

Before I could respond, Ian pursed his lips and spoke in a cold voice.

"Tina is a professional designer. Her suggestions are valuable.

"You're not even pregnant yet. What's wrong with turning the nursery into a walk-in closet?

"And your parents hardly ever come to South City. Turning the guest room into a study makes perfect sense.

"Julianna, if you don't want to take our suggestions, fine. But do you really have to be so aggressive?"

His expression darkened as he immediately picked up a pen and began altering the design.

Every stroke was deliberately heavy. The tip of the pen scraped across the paper with an abrasive sound.

A moment later, every detail on the blueprint had been changed according to Tina's wishes.

Ian dropped the pen and tossed the blueprint at my face.

"We're going with this renovation plan. The construction crew will be here tomorrow.

"If you have any more complaints, get out and find somewhere else to live."

It wasn't until the heavy sound of the door closing echoed through the house that I finally smiled in relief.

I pulled out my suitcase and packed my clothes one by one.

I then placed the signed divorce agreement, the diagnosis report, and the uterine scraping record on the living room table.

After that, I booked a flight.

I took one last look at the empty, desolate house before pulling my suitcase behind me and walking away.