All Chapters of I Escaped His Love Trap: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

I, Julianna Warren, slowly pushed myself up against the wall. I rested a hand over my flat stomach as tears that had just stopped began falling again.To be honest, Ian should've known that I had miscarried.This morning, when I saw the steady flow of blood clots in the bathroom, I immediately asked Ian to take me to the hospital for an examination.At the time, he was sorting through some documents. When he looked at me, his brows furrowed slightly."Why are you bleeding so much? Don't you even know how to deal with your period?"I don't have time to go to the hospital with you and watch you make a fool of yourself. Clean it up quickly. Don't get blood on the floor."The house may not be renovated yet, but we still need to keep it clean."His first reaction when he saw me bleeding wasn't panic or concern. Instead, it was unmistakable disgust.Even the unfinished concrete floor, which hadn't even been tiled, seemed cleaner to him than my blood.I endured the pain and carefully

The next morning, I was jolted awake by my phone vibrating.The photos I sent had been shared multiple times and eventually reached the design firm's internal group chat.Before I could even read the messages, an administrator deleted them all.I opened the list of administrators. There was only one administrator, and it was Ian.The next second, my phone rang."Julianna, are you done yet?"Just because I was a little stern with you before I left yesterday, you're going to retaliate like this?"Ian sounded exhausted. He'd probably been smoking all night.I gathered myself."I don't have the energy to retaliate against you, and I'm not in the mood either."Ian, I was simply stating a fact."How other people choose to perceive it and talk about it is beyond my control."There was a long silence on the other end. Just as I was about to lose patience, Ian finally spoke."Julianna, I know you've been holding a grudge for the past three years."Don't worry. I'll start planning

For the next three days, Ian never returned to our house.He delegated all the construction matters to an intern at the design firm and continued overseeing the construction at Tina's new home himself.Life seemed to return to its usual routine. If there was one noticeable difference, it was that I no longer kept urging him to come home.At first, one reason Ian had kept delaying the renovation of our marital home was that I wasn't pregnant yet, and we hadn't fully decided on the design of the nursery.But the biggest reason was that he didn't want to let a house hold him back.As long as the house remained unfinished, it could never really be considered a home.He didn't have to return at a fixed time every day. He could spend the night at the design firm's office, in the small apartment near the firm, or even at Tina's new house.Ian stared at his silent phone screen and suddenly realized something he had never fully acknowledged before.He hadn't considered any place where I

The moment Tina saw Ian, tears began streaming down her face."Ian, I just panicked–"Ian had no patience to let her finish. He turned around and carefully checked me from head to toe.Only after confirming that I wasn't hurt did he finally let out a sigh of relief."Julianna, you just went through a miscarriage. You need to take better care of yourself."He forced a smile and tried to take my hand."I've already booked our tickets back to South City. Once we're back, we'll stay at the apartment provided by the design firm. I've hired a live-in caregiver for you. She'll be able to take good care of you."Just tell me what you want to eat. I'll learn how to make it."I've also restarted the renovation project for our marital home. Construction has already begun."He paused and retrieved a neatly folded blueprint from his suit pocket."Every detail has been designed according to the things you mentioned before. The nursery and guest room will remain as you originally intended."

A month later, I returned to South City.It wasn't because I missed it, and it wasn't because I had softened my resolve.The mandatory cooling-off period for our divorce had ended, and I could finally go to the courthouse to sort out the paperwork.When I saw Ian again, I felt even calmer than before.It was as if I were dealing with a business associate preparing to negotiate a transaction with me. There were no feelings left, only interests.As far as I was concerned, ending this marriage was the most beneficial decision I could make at that point.Ian, by contrast, looked extremely anxious.He lingered outside the courthouse for a long time. Although strong winds were blowing outside, he showed no intention of stepping through the door."Ms. Warren, if your husband refuses to cooperate, you'll have to postpone receiving your divorce certificate."The staff member urged him repeatedly. It wasn't until his fifth failed attempt to light a cigarette that Ian finally took heavy