Chapter 3

"Now you're satisfied, aren't you? You don't have to drug me anymore; it'll be hard for me to get pregnant anyway."

My voice hitched, and tears flowed even more heavily than before.

My body trembled, shaken by the force of my sorrow.

"But we have no future, Julian. I hate you."

After the pills' components were identified, I immediately made an appointment at the hospital to check my body, just to be safe.

Everything was so brutally real. I hadn't escaped the damage those pills had caused.

When the doctor told me it would be difficult for me to conceive in the future, that's when my hatred for Julian truly began.

Now, my hatred for Julian had reached its peak.

I would never forgive him.

I walked into the bedroom and locked the door. Just then, my laptop screen lit up.

It was another message from Dr. Leo Maxwell.

He had been waiting for me in the States for a long time.

Ever since we officially broke up, he'd sent me an email every week.

And now, an email arrived as promised. I hastily wiped the tears from my face.

Pulling myself together, I opened and read the email.

Attached was a blurry photo of a black hole.

【Observed another collapsing star today, Audrey. How have you been? I miss you terribly.】

【After I retire, to keep myself from becoming a sad black hole, I'll definitely come back home and stay by your side.】

【But it's still too far away. My heart aches missing you.】

Leo had grown up abroad, always with a touch of that foreign dry humor.

Over the past five years, the emails he'd sent me had piled up, filling my entire inbox.

The photos he'd taken for me, the sweet words he'd written – I'd backed them all up separately, always afraid they'd disappear over time.

But I had never replied to him. For all this time, it had been his one-sided show.

Because unlike Julian, I knew I was married, and I had my own sense of propriety and honor.

I always thought that with time, Leo would eventually move on from me. But he never did.

I sat there, quietly scrolling through his old letters.

Memories flooded my mind, and for a fleeting second, it felt like two tiny figures were wrestling in my heart.

My phone chimed. Julian had transferred ten million dollars to my card, with a message:

【This was my fault. This is your compensation.】

As I looked at the ten million dollars and realized it couldn't even begin to erase my hatred, I finally understood: for the rest of my life, I needed to live for myself.

Once I'd processed that thought, a thrill ran through me.

I replied to Leo's email: 【It's not far. Wait for me one month. I'm coming with you.】

Since the argument with Julian, we had tacitly been sleeping in separate rooms.

I slept in the master bedroom, and he slept in the guest room.

But when I got up at night, I often saw the open guest room door, empty and dark.

He was probably spending the night at Serena's house.

But now, I didn't care where he spent the night.

I packed up my belongings in the bedroom, slowly arranged for them to be shipped, and Leo would receive them in the States.

One day, Julian bought me a gift. It was a stunning, jeweled headpiece I'd spent a long time admiring at a boutique counter.

He also, for the first time ever, brought out a bottle of vintage red wine he'd been saving and cooked an elaborate dinner for me.

"Audrey, Grandfather's birthday is in a few days. Can we just... not fight for now?"

Again, it was all for the sake of appearances for both families. We were already used to putting on a show for such grand occasions.

I agreed, "Alright."

Ever since Grandfather Sterling turned seventy, his birthday celebrations had always been lavish.

We went to the most exclusive restaurant in the city, filling the entire place with people.

My family, Julian's family, and many business partners and friends.

Before entering, Julian extended his hand to me. As usual, I took it.

He then pried my fingers open, forcing his fingers to interlace with mine.

I tried to pull away, but he held on tight, making my knuckles ache.

When he saw me settle down, he smiled, satisfied, and then walked through the restaurant's main doors.

Serena Hayes was there too.

She was busy helping out Julian's family.

Julian's smile vanished instantly, a flicker of unease in his eyes.

During the meal, the same dreaded conversation about starting a family was once again thrown my way.

My mom and mother-in-law, one after another:

"Are you two playing tricks on us? You've been married for five years, and trying to conceive for three, why is there still no news?"