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8 Kapitel

Chapter 1

Julia's POVThe moment Adrian Grant attentively settled Bella Reed and her daughter, Tia Reed, into the front passenger seat, I knew I was no longer the main character of this gathering.Bella rolled down the window and gave me a sweet smile. "Julia, Adrian said today is your birthday. He specially invited us to come."Then she added apologetically, "Sorry, Tia gets carsick easily. You don’t mind us sitting in front, right?"I caught the faint provocation hidden in her eyes and said nothing.Adrian placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke gently, as if soothing her. "Bella, don’t overthink it. We’re all family. How could Julia mind?"After saying that, he opened the car door and got out, clearly intending to clear the items piled in the back seat to make space for me.My eyes burned red. Disappointment and sadness pressed heavily against my chest.He knew perfectly well that I didn’t like Bella, yet he still used the excuse of celebrating my birthday to bring her along.Bella w

Chapter 2

At that moment, the bus pulled up beside me.Under Adrian’s watchful gaze, I didn’t want to argue. I boarded the bus calmly.They were driving a supercar and reached the destination quickly.In contrast, the bus I was on was old and sluggish, swaying along the road. It would take at least four hours to get there.My phone vibrated.I saw Adrian and Bella Reed interacting intimately in the outing group chat.Adrian sent an animated boy blowing a flying kiss. Bella immediately replied with a blushing, shy rabbit. He sent a heart-stealing thief. She answered with a little figure holding hands, captioned "locked by you".Every frame was bubbling with sickly sweetness, an unspoken intimacy.My eyes skimmed past their earlier conversation about a newly opened bar, Harborline Lounge. It was the secret spot they had gone to together last night.I tried to catch the tail end of the conversation. "Is that the one where you can see the whole river view? It’s really popular, right?"My m

Chapter 3

Third-person POVAdrian enjoyed the entire day with his friends. It wasn’t until they arrived at the hotel that they were informed the birthday dinner and the reserved room had been fully canceled.Everyone was exhausted and hungry, and complaints immediately broke out.Still, deep down, they all understood. Being ignored so completely on her own birthday, Julia was bound to feel wronged.Bella’s nose reddened. Tears slowly slid down her face. "I’m sorry. Julia must be angry at me, so she’s throwing a tantrum. It’s all my fault for dragging everyone down. I should just leave."After saying that, she picked up Tia and walked out of the hotel.Adrian stood frozen in place, a wave of inexplicable guilt rising in his chest. It wasn’t Bella's fault. It was because he had completely forgotten about picking up Julia.He hurriedly tried to think of a way to make things right, yet when he saw Bella walking away, his heart softened anyway. He chased after them and pulled them back."Bell

Chapter 4

Julia's POVAfter proposing divorce to Adrian, I wasn’t as relieved as I had imagined.Severing a love that had once cut so deeply into my bones was painful beyond words, especially since he had once been the only light in my life.When I was ten, Bella became an orphan after her parents died in an accident and was adopted by my parents. From that moment on, all they could see was this adoptive sister who needed to be "loved twice as much".To protect her feelings, my parents didn’t even require her to change her last name.She was always so fragile and pitiful. With just a few words, she could make everyone believe I was bullying her.My clothes. My toys. My parents’ love. Little by little, all of it shifted to her.Every time I tried to defend myself after being wronged by her, every time I got angry after having something taken from me, it was always met with my parents’ scolding, calling me "immature"."Bella already lost her parents. Isn’t that pitiful enough? Why are you

Chapter 5

Early the next morning, my mother’s phone calls rang one after another, stubborn and relentless."Come home for dinner today. We’ll treat it as making up for your birthday."A faint warmth stirred in my chest. Deep down, they still cared about me, didn’t they?However, the moment I stepped through the door, everything froze.Bella was holding Tia in her arms, tear tracks still clinging to the corners of her eyes, leaning tightly against my mother.Beside her, Adrian was wearing a worried expression as he handed her tissues.The instant he saw me, Adrian stood up, his tension visible to the naked eye. "You’re here… I brought Bella today so she could personally explain and apologize to you. Julia, can we not get divorced?"Explain? Apologize?A cold laugh rose in my heart as my gaze fell back on Bella.Sure enough, before I could say a word, Bella had already stood up with the child in her arms, tears welling in her eyes."I’m sorry, Julia. This is all my fault…"Adrian only w

Chapter 6

"Julia, wait!"Adrian’s hurried footsteps came from behind me, uneven and frantic."Julia, I never imagined your parents and brother treated you like this! I’m sorry. My original intention was really just to let Bella talk things through with you. I never expected…"I slowly turned back. "An apology doesn’t change anything."You said you wouldn’t see her again. But the root of the problem was never whether she appeared or not. It was that your heart was standing on her side."His brows knitted tightly as he tried to argue.I interrupted him, my voice calm, "Anything that Bella can take away or shake was never truly mine to begin with. The thought that you once wavered in our relationship because of her is unbearable. That pain is worse than separation. So divorce is the best release.""Impossible! I absolutely won’t agree!""There’s no going back for us." I let out a long breath, turned, and got into the car, leaving him far behind.Three days later, Adrian’s parents asked me

Chapter 7

My sudden disappearance tore apart the family’s false harmony.According to the housekeeper who later helped manage my apartment, the day after I left, both families completely lost their footing.Calls went unanswered. Messages vanished without a trace. I cut off every possible way they could think of to reach me.This total loss of control was what enraged my parents first.Driven by a sense of offended authority, they actually brought Bella and Tia straight to my apartment.My father used the spare key to open the door and shouted into the empty rooms, "This is outrageous! Disappearing without a word! Since she’s so capable, we’ll just act like we never had this daughter!"Bella, take a look. Do you like this place? From now on, you and Tia can live here peacefully!"Bella leaned against my mother, putting on a show of obedience. "Dad, this doesn’t seem right… This is Julia’s apartment."My mother and brother immediately chimed in, their tones sharp."Forget her! Does she e

Chapter 8

The next time I saw Adrian was at my award ceremony.My research had achieved a major breakthrough.After the ceremony ended, he stood at the edge of the crowd, his expression complicated. He walked quickly toward me, his voice hoarse."Julia."I looked at him calmly, as if I were looking at a stranger I hadn’t seen in years.His gaze locked tightly onto me, his voice dry. "All these years, I thought about you every day. Bella’s true colors have already been exposed. She won’t steal your life again. Can you give me another chance?"He tried to reach for my hand, but I was no longer where I had been.I stepped aside lightly, my tone distant. "Adrian, what’s between us ended a long time ago."His face drained of color. He was about to say something when my phone rang at just the right moment.I glanced at the screen.It was a video call from my parents.Over the past few years, they had continued to reach out to me, carefully lowering themselves, cautious and restrained.I an

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