Semua Bab From My Ex's Betrayal To His Father's Bed: Bab 41 - Bab 50

JULIADinner felt like the longest hour of my life.The dining hall was quiet, too quiet. The only sound was the faint clinking of silver against porcelain and the soft hum of the chandelier above us. The light fell golden on the table, on the glistening glasses, on the elegant dishes that looked too expensive to touch.And there were only three of us.Father sat at the head of the table, his usual composed self—back straight, expression unreadable, barely speaking a word since we began. Beside him, Marcus Lucchesi looked perfectly at home, leaning slightly in his chair, wine glass turning lazily in his hand.And me, stuck in the middle of them, trying my hardest not to choke on my own breath.I hadn’t even expected to be here. I thought Father would’ve forgotten his invitation, or maybe Marcus would’ve politely refused. But the universe apparently enjoyed watching me suffer.Now, I sat across from Marcus, doing everything I could not to look at him.But it was impossible not to notic

JULIASemester break was supposed to feel like sunlight after rain. Everyone at school was buzzing with excitement, planning trips, getaways, reunions with family. Even Terra’s friends were chattering about flights and beach houses.But all I could think about was one thing.I wanted to go to my mother’s house.I needed to.My chest felt tight every time I thought about her cooking, her laugh, her arms around me. I had not seen her in weeks, not since I sneaked out last time and came back to my father’s disappointment.So when school finally ended for the term, I went straight home with one mission: ask permission.And pray he said yes.By the time I reached the estate, my hands were sweating. Phoebe greeted me at the door, but I barely heard her cheerful welcome. I set my bag down and went straight to my father’s office.The door was slightly open. I could hear the sound of pages flipping, a pen scribbling, and faintly, the deeper tone of another voice.Marcus.Of course he was here.

JULIA I honestly thought it would just be me and Phoebe.The moment Father finally—finally—gave his reluctant permission, I rushed upstairs to pack like a soldier given a minute to flee a battlefield. In my head, I pictured Phoebe’s calm presence beside me on the drive, her gentle humming, the way she always made awkward silences feel… safe.But when I came down the stairs dragging my luggage, Phoebe wasn’t there.Marcus was.Leaning lazily against the car outside the villa gates, sunlight cutting along his jawline like the world itself wanted to highlight trouble. His jacket was thrown over his shoulder, one hand in his pocket, hair slightly tousled like he had woken up and decided chaos was his hairstyle.My feet slowed.No. No, no, no way.I scanned the courtyard again. “Where’s Phoebe?”He looked up at me with that maddening half-smirk.“Not coming.”I blinked. “What do you mean ‘not coming’? She always escorts me.”“Your father asked me to,” Marcus said simply, shrugging on his

NEROI only asked the question because it seemed harmless.A formality.A son checking if his father slept in his own damn house.But the moment Augustus answered me, the world tilted slightly enough to make my jaw clench.“Why hasn’t my father gone home since last night?” I had asked casually.Augustus didn’t even look up from the documents he was signing. “Last I heard,” he said, voice bored and unconcerned, “Marcus escorted Julia to her mother’s house.”My brain stalled.“…What?”Augustus continued writing, completely unfazed. “He was the one who drove her.”I blinked.Then blinked again.Marcus? The one man I could never picture in the same room as Julia without something blowing up. And escort?Those words didn’t belong in the same sentence. Nothing about that scenario made sense. Absolutely nothing.“Julia?” I repeated, slower this time, like maybe he accidentally swapped names. “My Julia?”“Your ex,” Augustus corrected, glancing up. “Yes. Who else?”I stared at him.No explanat

TERRA I found her exactly where I knew she would be. A quiet corner of the garden behind the east hall, tucked beneath that ugly old tree she loved like it was some kind of guardian spirit. Julia always hid there whenever she wanted to avoid people. Pathetic. Predictable. Convenient.But today, I wasn’t in the mood to appreciate how easy she made things for me.My heels clicked sharply against the stone path as I approached, each step fueled by the storm boiling in my chest. Marcus and Julia. Marcus. And Julia. Even thinking the two names together made my skin itch.Father-in-law and ex–almost daughter-in-law.Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.I didn’t care about Marcus—not in that way. But he mattered. He was powerful. He was Nero’s blood. If he looked at Julia even once with something other than indifference, then that meant she held some sort of leverage I didn’t know about. And leverage was dangerous.Especially coming from her.Julia’s head snapped up when she heard me. She had a book on her