Chapter 4

I didn't know how I managed to leave that place.

Julian had held onto my wrist extremely tightly because he was afraid I'd hurt Penelope. My wrist was dark with bruises, but the pain in my wrist was nothing compared to the ache in my chest.

A light rain had begun to fall, and I struggled to flag down a cab by the side of the road. Laughter and chatter spilled from the bar behind me, but no one from the group came after me.

Suddenly, my phone lit up with a message from Dylan Scott.

"Which wedding invitation design do you prefer?"

My fingers trembled as I typed out a reply.

"Let's go with the first one."

I reposted the wedding invitation Dylan had posted on social media before hopping into my cab. Some time later, Julian called me.

"They went too far tonight, Jennifer," he said over the phone.

"So?"

My voice was flat, and my reaction seemed to have caught him off guard. After a long pause, he said, "Penelope's pregnant."

My hand started to shake, and my voice came out dry and strained. "Why are you only telling me this now? Why didn't you tell me that the two of you were sneaking around behind my back?"

He didn't answer my questions. Instead, he went on.

"She's keeping the baby. Once the child is born, we'll raise the child as our own."

"You want me to raise her child?"

My voice shook with anger. When I turned around and saw their wedding photo, I grabbed it and smashed it onto the floor.

"What the hell do you take me for, Julian Spencer?" I screamed.

I put the call on speaker.

His voice came through clearly, but his tone was eerily calm. I could almost picture him sitting next to Penelope, calm and composed.

"The doctor said you'll have trouble conceiving. Keeping this child will be good for you, too. You'll still be my wife, and she'll remain a good friend of mine."

I shut my eyes and sank wearily to the floor.

When I stayed silent for a long time, Julian added, "After all of this is over, I'll give you the wedding you've always wanted."

But to me, it had never been about the ceremony.

Last year, Julian and I were crossing the street when a car suddenly lost control and came barreling toward us. Without even thinking, I pushed him out of the way, and I ended up in a pool of my own blood.

When I woke up, the doctor told me that my chances of having children were extremely low. Hearing this, Julian pulled me into his arms and sobbed hysterically.

"We don't need children, Jennifer. It'll just be the two of us for the rest of our lives," he told me.

Now, he wanted me to raise the child of the woman he'd cheated on me with.

I used to love him dearly. But now, I just felt utterly exhausted.

I dragged my suitcase behind me and boarded a plane back to Westbridge.

…

Third-Person POV

Meanwhile, Julian and Penelope were shopping for wedding dresses.

Penelope twirled around. Then, she turned to Julian and asked, "Do I look pretty, Julian?"

Julian flashed her a smile. "You look beautiful."

Then, he pulled out his phone and casually sent Jennifer a message.

"Penelope's trying on wedding dresses. Come over and help us pick one."

Suddenly, one of his good friends, Samuel Clinton, came over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Damn, Julian. I can't believe you're actually divorcing Jennifer and getting together with Penelope," said Samuel.

Julian frowned and grabbed Samuel's wrist. "What did you just say? What divorce?"

Samuel stared at him in confusion. "Jennifer's social media post? Didn't she post that wedding invitation because the two of you are divorced?"

Julian hastily took Samuel's phone from him and checked Jennifer's social media page. When he clicked on the wedding invitation she had reposted, he realized that the groom was someone named Dylan Scott.

"Why aren't you the groom, Julian?" Samuel pressed him for answers.

Julian immediately pulled out his own phone and tried to message Jennifer.

"What's with the wedding invitation? Where are you?"

To his dismay, the message wouldn't go through. A glaring red exclamation mark had appeared next to it.

"She blocked me!" Julian exclaimed. "How could she?"