Alexander’s secretary was pregnant. And it was his. At our ninth-anniversary party, he brought her home. To our home. He told me, so casually, his voice devoid of any warmth or apology: “Serena is picky with her food, so for her meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, nothing can be repeated.” “She’s delicate and gets scared easily, so she needs company to fall asleep. Pack your things, Chloe. You’ll be moving to the guest room.” I didn’t say a word. I just walked over to the neatly packed suitcase that had been waiting for days, picked it up, and calmly headed for the front door. Our butler started to protest, but Alexander just let out a cold, dismissive laugh. “Let her throw her tantrum. She’ll be crawling back in shame within three days, anyway.” Everyone burst into laughter, their cruel amusement echoing in the grand hall. Right in front of my face, they started a bet – ten million dollars. They bet I wouldn’t even last until morning, that I’d be crying, begging Alexander like a stray dog to let me back in. But what they didn’t know was that *someone else* had already arranged a Maybach for me, waiting outside the gates. This time, I was truly leaving.
As I was about to step out of the mansion’s main doors, Julian Thorne suddenly called out to me. “Celeste, leave that heirloom bracelet with the calming effect. Briar’s been having nightmares lately.” The bracelet was my parents’ legacy, their only keepsake for me. Meeting my reddened eyes, Julian’s gaze was utterly cold: “Name your price.” Nine years of a marriage that felt like I was worth dirt. How much was that even worth? I couldn’t be bothered to calculate. I only knew that last time, when I refused to give Briar my goggles at the ski resort, the consequence was him stripping me bare and leaving me stranded halfway up the mountain. I took off my heirloom bracelet and placed it on Briar’s wrist. “May the child in your womb be safe and sound,” I told her. Upon hearing my blessing, Julian, for once, offered me a way out: “Celeste, as long as you’re obedient enough, my child will be your child.” No sooner had the words left his mouth than the bracelet on Briar’s wrist slipped and shattered. Seeing Briar’s leg scratched, Julian swept her up in a bridal carry. He sharply ordered Mr. Henderson, the butler, to call Dr. Miller, the family doctor. The sight of his frantic worry made everyone present look at me with amusement. This scene, it wasn’t just amusing to them. Even I found it laughable. Last night, when I had a heart attack, Julian was about to leave to watch meteor showers with Briar. Even as I foamed at the mouth and collapsed to the floor, he remained expressionless, stepping right over me. Before losing consciousness, I heard him instruct Mr. Henderson: “Have the entire living room disinfected. Briar’s coming home tomorrow, and I won’t have her smelling any foul odors.” Clutching the handle of my luggage, I turned to leave, but his cold hand seized my wrist: “Apologize.” “Wha—” Before I could finish, he’d already dragged me to my knees at Briar’s feet. My knees scraped against the shattered fragments, staining the white floor crimson. Seeing the blood, Julian’s eyes flashed with disgust, and he let go. “You deliberately broke Briar’s bracelet and injured her. Don’t you think you should apologize to her?” After marrying Julian, “I’m sorry” had become my catchphrase. The soup I made was too bland, I’m sorry. Worried he might get drunk and feel unwell, I messaged him and bothered him, I’m sorry. I accidentally saw a text from Briar inviting him to a hotel, invading his privacy. Truly, I was sorry… Biting hard on the inside of my cheek, I resigned myself and straightened up. After bowing deeply to Briar and repeating my apologies three times, I looked at Julian with indifference. “Is that enough?” I asked softly. Staring at the trickle of blood at the corner of my lips, his chest noticeably heaved. “Celeste, my grandfather isn’t here to help you. Who are you putting on this disgusting show of pity for?” Before I could reply, Dr. Miller, the family doctor, arrived in a hurry. Julian shoved me out of the way and led the doctor to Briar’s side.
While his eyes were entirely on Briar, I quickly walked out the main doors. Just as I stepped out of the mansion, I heard Beep-beep! A double honk. Seeing the silver car beyond the iron gates, I couldn’t help but quicken my pace. However, before the gates could open, two bodyguards suddenly appeared, forcibly taking me back into the mansion. Inside his study, Julian tied me up. He ordered someone to insert a thick needle, the size of a child’s arm, into my arm. Through the half-open door, I heard Dr. Miller tell Julian: “Mr. Thorne, both Mrs. Thorne and Ms. Rosewood have RH-negative blood, but Mrs. Thorne has a history of heart issues since childhood. Forcing a blood draw could easily trigger acute shock. I think it would be better to go to the hospital first for a transfusion for Ms. Rosewood, who is anemic…” “No need to persuade me further.” Julian said coldly, “Your only task is to restore Briar’s health. As for the rest, I know what I’m doing.” Hearing Julian’s approaching footsteps, I slowly closed my eyes. “Does it hurt much?” His voice held a rare hint of comfort. “Just bear with it a little longer; it’ll be over soon.” I turned my head away, unwilling to waste words on him. After they drew eight hundred milliliters of blood, my lips had turned purple. At that moment, Briar, lying in the master bedroom, suddenly coughed. Hearing it, Julian immediately stopped the doctor from pulling out the needle, demanding he draw twice the amount of blood. The doctor, dripping with cold sweat, informed Julian that if they continued, I would likely die. Hesitating for two seconds, Julian only said: “Briar is pregnant. The pregnant woman comes first, always.” “But…” I interrupted the doctor’s protest, “Just draw it. Let me leave once you’re done.” Seeing my bloodless face, Julian’s eyes filled with cold fury, and he opened his mouth. He was about to press me, asking if I was done throwing a tantrum. Was I seriously going to leave home over such a minor thing? “Julian, darling~” Briar’s sweet voice instantly drew him away. Two days later. I woke up in the hospital, recovering from shock, to see Julian reviewing documents. Our eyes met for a long time. Expressionless, he brought over a bowl of porridge, making to feed me. But I shook my head. “I can do it myself.” After quietly watching me finish half a bowl of porridge, Julian asked, “Are you uncomfortable anywhere?” I replied, dodging the question, “Please give me my phone.” Perhaps my tone was too distant, for Julian stared blankly for several seconds before contacting Mr. Henderson, who brought my phone over. Spotting many missed calls on my phone, Julian asked abruptly, “Who was calling?” He hadn’t asked so many questions before. A flicker of annoyance crossed my eyes, and I simply said, “You don’t know them.” Julian unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, his gaze cold as he looked down at me. “Celeste Davies, how long are you going to keep throwing a diva tantrum?” “Don’t push your luck!” In the past, when Julian got angry, I would always reflect on my own actions and try my best to calm him down. But now, I just pointed at his vibrating phone, telling him flatly, “Briar’s calling you.” Hearing that, a smile touched Julian’s eyes, and he instinctively moved away from me, walking into the hospital corridor. As soon as he left, my phone rang. I answered. Before I could speak, the person on the other end anxiously said, “Didn’t you say you were coming to find me? Celeste, did you change your mind?” “No, I haven’t. Just ran into a bit of an accident…” “An accident? What happened to you? No, I have to fly back to the country myself…”
Interrupting their rambling, I lowered my gaze and pursed my lips. “Just give me a few more days.” Julian returned to the hospital room just as I finished my call. Noticing the faint smile on my lips, a smile he hadn’t seen in a long time, an inexplicable tightness squeezed his chest. But he had just promised Briar he’d return immediately to sing lullabies for her and the baby. So he didn’t have time to ask who I’d been talking to— It must have been my cousin, who often called me. After all, since marrying him, my social media was only filled with female relatives. Grabbing his documents, Julian walked out without looking back, saying coldly, “Celeste, something came up at the office. I’ll come back tomorrow.” Tomorrow, the day after, the day after that, he didn’t show up. However, thanks to mutual friends, I kept receiving videos of him and Briar. He took Briar to parties and dinners. Like a young man newly in love, he eagerly introduced her to everyone. The day I was discharged from the hospital, Julian posted many photos on Ins. At sunset, he stood in a romantic hot air balloon, cradling Briar’s blushing face, passionately kissing her. I commented: [Wishing you both an early heir and everlasting happiness.] Ten minutes later, Julian called me. I didn’t answer. Half an hour later, having completed my discharge procedures alone, I saw Julian and Briar at the entrance of the obstetrics and gynecology department. I heard the young nurse at the reception desk tell Briar: “Mrs. Thorne, your husband truly adores you. He accompanies you every time you come. During the ultrasound scan, he even worries about you getting cold from the coupling gel, so he personally warms it up every time before allowing us to use it.” The pregnant women around, hearing Nurse Chloe, all looked on with envy. Instinctively touching my abdomen, I remembered that once, there had been a child here. The day I miscarried after a car accident, due to severe bleeding, I cried and video-called Julian. What I saw was Briar, barely dressed, on the screen: “Mrs. Thorne, Julian lost a game to me, so now he’s tied to the bed, accepting his punishment. Is there something you needed him for?” I didn’t say a word, just hung up the video call. Less than a minute later, Julian called back himself. He was holding a teary-eyed Briar, and he erupted, yelling that I was petty and utterly foolish. He also said: “You incompetent idiot, who can’t even hold onto your own child, what good are you for? Celeste, why don’t you just let a truck run you over?” I pulled myself out of my thoughts. Just as I was about to walk around them, Julian walked over, his face cold: “What are you standing there like an idiot for?” My gaze dropped, and instinctively, I tried to explain: “I wasn’t following you. It was truly just a coincidence. Sorry to have bothered you.” “Wait.” As Julian frowned and uttered that word, a flicker of jealousy crossed Briar’s eyes. Tightening her grip on Julian’s arm, Briar smiled at me: “Mrs. Thorne, I’m incredibly grateful for your blood donation. Without you, I’d still be so dizzy. Julian, honey, please let Mrs. Thorne come home with us, okay?” Julian dotingly flicked Briar’s nose: “My sweetest, kindest pregnant baby, whatever you say goes.” I was already planning to go back for my luggage, so I didn’t refuse Briar’s “kindness.” Inside the spacious black car. Soon, just as Briar wished, in the crevice of the car seat, I found a lace panty, still damp. “Oh dear~ What, why is this still in the car? Julian, honey, didn’t you tell me you’d already gotten rid of it?”
Biting her lip, Briar snuggled into Julian’s arms, playfully pounding his chest with a shy blush. Julian chuckled softly, apologizing to Briar that it was all his fault, while subtly observing my expression. When he noticed that I wasn’t angry at all, that familiar tightness he’d felt in the hospital room inexplicably returned. “Celeste, you’ve been on your phone ever since we got in the car.” His tone was displeased, sounding almost jealous: “Are you chatting with your cousin, or someone else I don’t know?” Having just booked my flight, I turned off my phone screen. “Just browsing the news.” Hearing me say that, Julian’s displeasure only intensified. He snatched my phone before I could react. He asked me gruffly for the password. “My birthday.” Nine years of marriage. Such a simple six-digit number, yet he kept entering it until the phone locked itself, unable to open it. The journey was silent until we reached our destination. As soon as the car stopped, Julian tenderly helped Briar, who was suffering from morning sickness, into the master bedroom. Then he asked Chef Martha, the cook, to prepare Briar’s favorite foods. As he came downstairs, Julian saw my lonely figure walking towards the guest room. After a moment’s thought, he told Chef Martha, “Also prepare two of Mrs. Thorne’s usual dishes. And set three places for dinner.” In the guest room. I opened my luggage, surprised to find all my clothes slashed to pieces. Fortunately, my passport and other documents, placed in an inner layer, were undamaged. As I gathered my documents, ready to leave, Briar blocked the doorway. She held a black bottle in her hand, eyeing me up and down with disdain. “Celeste Davies, I didn’t realize you could endure so much. You’ve been publicly humiliated, a laughingstock in the entire upper echelon, yet you’re still clinging to the Thorne family and refusing to leave.” “Oh, right, that old woman from your family just passed away last month. With her gone, you have no choice but to desperately cling to Julian Thorne, the rich tycoon.” At this, Briar suddenly remembered something amusing. “Celeste, you cried and pleaded with Julian to fly you by helicopter to the hospital to see your grandmother one last time, do you know why he refused? Because he’d promised to take me to watch the sunset by the ocean that day. Look, this kissing photo on my phone screen, that’s from then, you see?” I slapped Briar’s phone out of her hand with a loud crack, unable to bear it any longer, and grabbed her by the neck. The bottle in Briar’s hand slipped and fell. I immediately smelled a pungent odor of gasoline. In the struggle, a panicked Briar lit the gasoline on the floor. Thick smoke billowed, flames raged. Having just been discharged from the hospital, I quickly choked, lost all strength, and collapsed to the floor. Just then, I heard Julian’s voice: “Celeste!” Followed closely by the staff’s shouts of protest: “Sir, it’s too dangerous in there, you can’t go in yet! Wait for security to bring the fire extinguisher before—” “Get out of the way! Celeste is still in there!” He disregarded the danger and rushed into the house after all. Only, he hadn’t expected Briar to be in there too. “Julian, darling, help—” Without Briar needing to finish, Julian unhesitatingly swept her up in his arms. He didn’t even glance at me, turning and leaving directly. Half an hour later. After comforting Briar, Julian searched the entire villa but couldn’t find a trace of me. Late at night at the airport. After mailing my package, I coughed as I boarded the flight to England. Just before the plane took off, I received a text from Julian: [I don’t have time to play hide-and-seek. Briar has her prenatal check-up tomorrow morning at ten. You come along, too, for a lung check-up.] I didn’t reply. I pulled out my SIM card and turned off my phone. Julian Thorne, from now on, you and I are through.
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