Chapter 2

Julie had brought her dogs with her.

The two of them were sitting in the seats that were supposed to be where my daughter and I sat.

It made it seem as if Nora and I were the ones who didn't belong.

When Steven saw me, he immediately stood up and walked over. He opened his arms to hug me. "Kelly."

I took a step back. Steven looked embarrassed.

After glancing at Julie, he explained, "Julie said her dogs get anxious whenever I'm not around. They bark all night. And she's had enemies trying to assassinate her lately. She needs protection. After thinking it over, our house seemed like the safest place.

"You don't mind, do you?"

I looked at him in disappointment.

Julie walked over. Instead of apologizing, she looked pleased with herself. "Kelly, I hired Steven, so you wouldn't mind, would you?"

She then started giving orders to the servants. "Put my things in the master bedroom. I looked around the house, and that's the only room with decent lighting."

One of the servants picked up the dogs' belongings. "What about these?"

Julie glanced at me and pointed at Nora's room. "That one."

Right after she said that, one of her dogs trotted out with Nora's favorite stuffed toy in its mouth.

It was a birthday gift from Steven. Nora had treasured it for years. Now, it was torn to shreds.

I looked at Steven. He avoided my gaze.

"Kelly, if you're uncomfortable with this, I can ask Julie to stay somewhere else."

I smiled gently. "That's not necessary. She can stay."

Pulling out my calculator, I began pressing buttons with practiced ease. "The rate stays the same as before. I won't charge extra for that, but the venue rental fee will need to be billed separately. Overnight companionship services from Steven will cost a little more as well."

Steven's expression darkened as he stared at me. "Kelly! You've gone too far! Is money the only thing you care about now? Nora is standing right here, and you're talking about this so openly. Aren't you afraid she'll learn the wrong things?"

I simply smiled.

Was bringing Julie home and letting her dogs destroy our daughter's favorite toy love?

Steven was furious. He grabbed Julie's hand. "Let's go. We don't need to stay here and put up with this."

Before leaving, he stopped in front of me and threw a bundle of cash directly at my face.

"There's 100 thousand dollars here! That should be enough for you!"

The room fell silent. I crouched down and picked up the money.

Nora came over with a tissue and gently wiped my tears away.

Only then did I realize there was blood on the tissue. The edge of the bills had apparently cut me when Steven threw them.

"Mom, it's all my fault. I can't make money for you. That's why Dad gets to humiliate you like this."

I wiped away my tears and pulled her into my arms.

"It's okay. Just hang on a little longer. We'll be leaving this place soon."

When Nora was younger, she used to fall asleep in Steven's arms. Somewhere along the way, she had become used to sleeping in mine instead.

Looking down at her sleeping face, my heart clenched painfully.

How had our once-happy family ended up like this?

It all started when Julie came back.

She claimed enemies were trying to assassinate her, so Steven needed to stay by her side every day.

Eventually, he spent more nights at her house than his own.

To make Julie happy, he walked her dogs every day. He even celebrated their birthdays.

Meanwhile, our daughter was bullied at school because her father never showed up.

One day, a group of girls locked her inside an abandoned warehouse. She called Steven countless times, but he never answered.

By the time I made it there, she was unconscious and covered in injuries.

The doctor later told me that if she'd arrived at the hospital any later, her life could have been in danger.

Even then, when I called Steven, he only said it was Julie's dog's birthday. He told me to be understanding.

The memory made me take a deep breath. I returned to my room and began packing.

I left behind everything Steven had ever bought me except for a few changes of clothes.

To be honest, Steven had bought me many gifts over the years. The scarf in my hands had been a Mother's Day gift from both Steven and Nora.

Thinking about those happier days made my heart ache.

Steven used to be a devoted husband and father. He spent nearly all his free time with us.

But things changed, and people changed too.

He had changed.

After I finished packing, I woke Nora up.

Together, we left that house behind.

A month passed in our new home. I didn't hear a single word from Steven.

Julie, however, was impossible to avoid. I saw her on the news every day.

The cameras seemed to get closer and closer to her. Some reports even zoomed in on her standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Steven.

Apparently, they had been traveling. The destinations they visited were all places Steven had once promised to take Nora and me.

I never expected to see those sights in this way.

Somehow, Julie had also gotten hold of my phone number. She sent me messages every day.

[Kelly, Steven says people need to see him protecting me, or else I won't be safe. I told him not to stay so close to me, but he insisted you wouldn't mind.]

[Kelly, please don't be upset. I don't want the gifts Steven gave me. I can give them to you instead, okay?]

It was painfully obvious what she was doing.

She wanted to provoke me while pretending to comfort me.

The old me would have lost control and confronted Steven.

But now, I no longer cared. I didn't even bother replying. I simply acted as if I'd never seen the messages.

I thought life would continue like that.

To my surprise, one day, I suddenly received a message.

[A deposit of one million dollars has been credited to your account.]

The moment I checked the sender's information, I jolted upright.