Chapter 2

Julian and I once had a five-year-old daughter of our own.

One day, while I was away on a business trip, she came down with a fever. I couldn't get home right away, so I called Julian and made him promise he'd stay with her and take care of her.

He promised he would.

Instead, he left her home alone so he could attend a business dinner. For three hours, no one was there while her condition worsened.

By the time I made it home, our daughter was gone.

Julian and I had the worst fight of our marriage that night. I thought there was no possible way I could ever forgive him.

But later, he dropped to his knees in front of me, crying and begging for forgiveness. And in the end, I gave it to him.

Years ago, Julian had saved my life. I told myself I owed him for that. I let that debt outweigh everything else, even something I should never have been able to forgive.

I was a fool back then, and I wouldn't be one again.

With that thought, I walked out of the venue.

For once, I didn't stay behind to clean up Julian's mess.

I took a cab home, planning to clean the cuts and bandage them myself. But the moment I stepped through the front door, I stopped.

Chloe and Daisy were sitting on my couch, laughing together as if they belonged there. And in Daisy's arms was the teddy bear my daughter had loved more than anything.

My eyes went straight to it, and Chloe noticed.

A satisfied smile tugged at her lips as she looked up at me. "Claire, you're back! Daisy wanted to see your house, so Julian brought us over. He told us to make ourselves at home."

As if that weren't enough, she picked up the designs I'd given her earlier and casually flipped through them in front of me.

"I heard these designs mean a lot to you." She glanced down at the necklace around Daisy's neck. "And apparently you designed this necklace especially for your daughter? All I had to do was ask, and Julian gave us both.

"You still don't get it, do you, Claire? If I want something of yours, sooner or later, Julian will give it to me. So, save yourself the humiliation and leave while you still have some dignity. Because eventually, he's going to leave you anyway."

In the past, Chloe's little performance would have gotten exactly the reaction she wanted. I would've been furious.

This time, I barely spared her a glance before turning toward the stairs. I had cuts that still needed cleaning, and I had absolutely no interest in wasting my time on whatever game she was trying to play.

Chloe, however, wasn't about to let me walk away. She stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

Before I could react, she yanked the necklace from Daisy's neck and slapped her.

Daisy immediately burst into tears, frightened by the sudden blow.

Chloe swept the girl into her arms and raised her voice, making sure anyone else in the house would hear. "Claire, I know you're angry with me about what happened at the press conference, but take it out on me! Daisy didn't do anything. She's just a little girl!"

I almost laughed. This was Chloe's favorite trick, and by now, I knew exactly how it worked.

Sure enough, seconds later, Julian came rushing into the room.

His eyes landed on Daisy's tear-streaked face, and his expression darkened. He crossed the room without even asking what had happened and slapped me across the face.

"Claire, what is wrong with you? She's a child. She had nothing to do with any of this. Daisy is Chloe's niece. What happened at the press conference was just a joke. They were trying to lighten the mood for me. Did you really have to take it this far over something so stupid?"

It was almost impressive. Chloe's performance couldn't have been more obvious, yet Julian fell for it every single time.

Once, watching him defend her like this would've torn me apart. I would have been furious, jealous, desperate to understand why my husband always seemed to choose another woman over me.

But now, I felt nothing. Whatever Julian did for Chloe no longer had anything to do with me.

Without bothering to defend myself, I bent down and picked up the broken necklace. Then I placed it in Chloe's hands with a faint smile.

"Why would I be upset? You were only trying to help Julian out and keep things entertaining. If anything, I should be thanking you. In fact, I already booked a table at a five-star restaurant. Consider dinner my way of saying thanks."

I pulled out my phone and brought up a reservation. I'd originally made the reservation for Julian and me. It was supposed to be our private celebration after he finally announced to the world that I was his wife.

Clearly, there was nothing left to celebrate.

Julian looked at the reservation on my screen and fell silent. For the first time, a hint of awkwardness crossed his face.

"I'll pay you back for dinner."

"No need." I waved him off.

Apparently, my lack of protest pleased him. Some of the coldness disappeared from his voice. "You're finally learning not to make such a big deal out of everything. Don't worry. I'll make it up to you for what happened today. We'll announce the marriage another time."