Chapter 2

Lily looked at Julian with open desire in her eyes.

Then, in the next moment, she turned her tearful, pleading gaze on me.

Her voice sounded utterly sincere.

“He loves you so much. If my presence makes you unhappy, I’ll leave right now.”

To put it kindly, she’d come to ask for my forgiveness.

To put it bluntly, she might as well have come to stake her claim and challenge me.

The comments went wild.

[The supporting female character is about to die anyway. Why is she still standing in the leads’ way?]

[Hasn’t the male lead been forced to take care of her for years? Isn’t that enough?]

Lily looked heartbroken as she prepared to leave.

Julian panicked.

I hadn’t seen him look that flustered in years.

As far as I remembered, Julian had always been calm and steady.

The last time I’d seen him panic like that was when I was first rushed to the hospital after my heart condition flared up.

He’d looked like he was falling apart.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he stayed by my bedside for three days and nights.

He only relaxed when I woke up. Then he knelt before me and swore he’d take care of me for the rest of my life.

So much for him being forced to care for me.

Now the man who’d once had eyes only for me clutched another girl’s hand and sighed in disappointment.

“Stella, I’m really tired. I only wanted to help Lily because she reminds me of who I used to be. Please don’t make this difficult for me, okay?”

I said nothing. I stared at their fingers interlaced.

My stomach turned.

An eerie silence fell over the hospital room.

Then a phone rang.

It was Julian’s.

As soon as he answered, my father’s furious voice filled the room.

The gentle, careful man he was with me was gone. With Julian, he sounded like a businessman who’d spent decades fighting in the corporate world.

His voice was full of authority.

“Julian, I entrusted my daughter to you. I didn’t do it so you could neglect her.

“You accepted the resources I provided, so you’d better do your part. If I hear again that Stella was taken to the hospital alone…

“Don’t expect me to go easy on you.”

Comments appeared in the air.

[What’s she so smug about? Aren’t supporting characters supposed to provide the leads with resources?]

[She thinks money can buy the male lead’s future? Dream on.]

[Once the male lead reaches the top of the business world, her whole family will be homeless, begging on the street!]

My father was Julian’s benefactor.

Most of my family’s businesses were overseas, but I’d never adjusted to living abroad.

My father made major concessions to Julian to ensure he’d take good care of me.

All he asked was that Julian treat me well.

At first, Julian hadn’t wanted any of it.

He said he loved me.

Even without my father’s help, he’d gladly take care of me for the rest of my life.

He’d never grow tired of it.

But now, I couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d just said.

He was tired.

Julian glanced at me, looking torn. After a moment, he seemed to give in.

“I promise this is the last time.”

In a spot Julian couldn’t see, Lily glared at me with burning hatred.

Only after hearing Julian’s promise did my father soften.

As if to reassure him, he awarded Julian a major project with a profit share worth over $20 million.

But Julian seemed distracted even after securing the project.

He avoided Lily’s gaze and tried to reason with me.

“If you’re jealous, I’ll keep my distance from her. From now on, she can go through my assistant for anything. Would that be okay?”

I didn’t answer. Lily, who’d just insisted there was nothing between them, ran off with bloodshot eyes, looking deeply aggrieved.

Before she left, she apologized several more times.

Julian didn’t chase after her, but his fists were clenched tight.

The veins stood out on the backs of his hands.

He silently pushed a wheelchair over and carefully draped his jacket over my shoulders.