Chapter 2

I cried all night, locked myself in my room, and refused to eat for three days, all to make Julian feel guilty and concerned.

I knew Julian, who usually worried if I even lost a single strand of hair, wouldn’t be able to bear it.

This method of hurting myself only worked on him.

And just as I expected.

I starved myself for three days, and Julian coaxed me gently outside my door for three days.

He talked until his voice was hoarse and his eyes were red, yet he still wouldn't give up.

Finally, after he promised he would never marry and would only stay with me forever, I opened the door.

That day, the man who had just been rejected from an engagement was happier than if he’d won the world.

The moment I opened the door, Julian rushed in and hugged me tightly.

His clothes were soaked with sweat, and he kept repeating, terrified, “As long as you’re okay, as long as you’re okay.”

I looked at the two people in the photo, tears welling up in my eyes, uncontrollably falling onto the picture.

At that moment, an urgent knocking suddenly sounded outside my door. Julian’s anxious voice filled the air.

“Sera, what are you doing in there? Open the door!”

“Sera, don’t scare me, okay? Sera!”

Lost in my memories, I hadn't heard the knocking.

By the time I stood up to open the door, it was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

Caught off guard, my forehead was struck, and I cried out in pain.

Julian stood there, holding the broken lock, his face dark. But when he saw me clutching my forehead, my face streaked with tears.

His heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, unable to breathe.

Julian rushed forward to examine my wound.

Before he could even speak, his mouth was already blowing on the spot.

“You’ve been in there so long, I was really worried about you.”

Hearing his familiar words, tears welled up in my eyes again.

Just then, Cassie gasped downstairs.

Julian immediately stopped, turning to rush downstairs.

When I went out, I saw Julian holding Cassie’s hand, gently placing it on his face.

“Let the maid do things like serving dishes. You’re pregnant, you need to be careful with everything.”

He pulled out a chair for Cassie, then blew on the hot soup in his hand, cooling it, before personally feeding it to her.

I stood upstairs for a long time, watching this tenderness that once belonged only to me, my heart a tangle of emotions.

I’d only been abroad for three years, and Julian already had a child.

His promise to never marry and stay with me forever, it was all a lie.

Perhaps I was always meant to live in this world alone.

Unconsciously, large tears rolled down onto my hands clutching the banister.

I’d lost count of how many times I’d cried today, but it didn’t matter. From now on, I wouldn’t shed another tear for Julian.

After composing myself, I calmly went downstairs for dinner.

At that moment, all I wanted was to finish this meal, then go upstairs and adjust to the time difference.

But Julian didn't want to let me go, displaying his adoration for Cassie at the dining table.

Cassie had a poor appetite and wanted Julian’s sweet and sour fish, so he rolled up his sleeves and went to the kitchen.

If Cassie had a grain of rice on her lip, he pulled out sanitizing wipes designed for pregnant women and gently cleaned her mouth.

When Cassie complained of a sore back midway through the meal, he pulled her chair closer and massaged her waist with one hand.

I watched silently, simply eating my dinner.

Cassie blushed, her gaze intentionally or unintentionally falling on me.

“Julian, you spoil me too much. I’m only a little over a month pregnant, and you’re making such a fuss. You’ll make me even more dependent on you.”

Julian stared at me for a few seconds. Seeing no sign of impatience in me, his eyes held a complex expression.

He didn’t respond to Cassie, just fed her the last spoonful of soup in her bowl.

“You must have been scared today. Get a good night’s sleep tonight, you still have to go wedding dress shopping tomorrow.”

Julian put down the bowl, his face expressionless as he looked at me.

“We won’t need you as a bridesmaid anymore. This is my first wedding, everything needs to be auspicious. Tomorrow, you’ll accompany Cassie to pick out her wedding dress.”

I, who had kept my head down, finally looked up.

Was Julian saying I was unlucky?

Just because I was the one who got called off?

I gave a self-deprecating laugh.

“Okay.”

Hearing my reply, Julian’s back, as he was leaving with Cassie, suddenly froze.

“Sera, you’ve grown up in three years. I’m relieved you can think this way.”

He said, then continued to walk away.

The food in my mouth tasted like ash.

I looked at the bowl of soup Julian had specially cooled for me.

This small bowl, decorated with my favorite cartoon character from my childhood, had been handmade by Julian when I was ten.

Julian was good at everything, except drawing.

The crooked, wobbly lines were from the best of the dozens he’d made.

Only then did I realize.

Julian had been by my side for fifteen years.

He had almost completely taken over my past.

I looked up and drank the soup from the small bowl. It was cold, but not as cold as my heart felt now.

After finishing it, I tossed the small bowl into the trash.

That night, I lay in bed, my mind replaying all my memories with Julian.

Usually, at this hour, I would be lying obediently in bed, waiting for Julian to come tell me a bedtime story.

But now, I listened to the sounds of heavy breathing coming from Julian’s room, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

The sounds of passion, one after another, were like sharp swords piercing my heart, making me wish I were dead.

Because I was so exhausted, I finally fell into a deep sleep sometime after midnight.

The next day, I was woken by the sound of things being smashed in Julian’s room.

When I woke, dawn was just breaking.