Chapter 5
Late at night, Ryan came home looking completely wiped out.
He casually held his suit jacket in one hand, leaned against the doorframe, and frowned at the sight of me packing a suitcase.
“You’re leaving?”
“What do you think?”
The bite in my tone made his voice drop low. “Can you not start this again? No one’s blaming you.”
That line. Unbelievable.
“Wow. So this is what you call kindness?” I dropped the suitcase and laughed coldly. “Ryan, who gave you the right to judge me?”
He tried to hold it together, speaking calmly. “I told you, I’ll have her move back home. Why do you keep provoking her?”
“What did I even do?” I shot back. “All I did was not accept her following request. Look, I can’t control who you sleep with, but I damn well get to choose who I let into my life.”
His expression turned cold, and for once, his voice actually showed anger.
“Julia! Do you always have to be this spiteful when you talk? How many times do I have to say it she’s my sister!
“She’s just dependent. She found out she was adopted when she was a teenager, and it completely wrecked her. She tried to kill herself. She was diagnosed with depression. I was the one who got her into therapy, sent
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Chapter 5
her overseas to recover.
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“She can’t handle emotional stress. I’m begging you. Just give her a little patience. Some empathy. Please.”
I stared at the man in front of me–the man who was always calm, always rational–now snapping at me like a volcano finally blowing.
And all I felt was emptiness.
Three years of marriage. He had never raised his voice at me like this.
Even when I used to mess with him to make him jealous, he’d always hold it in–never once said anything cruel.
Now, I couldn’t even speak. The words were stuck in my throat like splinters.
I bit down so hard my lip split. The taste of blood filled my mouth.
I could barely stop my whole body from shaking. “Yeah,” I whispered. “I’m harsh. I’m bitter. I’m awful.” I looked him dead in the eyes. “So go run back to your poor, sweet, broken little sister. You’re a perfect match.”
Ryan took a long breath like he was reaching his limit.
His voice went ice–cold. “Forget the suitcase. I’ll take her with me. We’ll talk again when you’ve calmed down.”
I locked myself in my room.
I heard the sound of him packing. Then, the front door slammed shut.
Turns out, when your heart breaks past a certain point, you don’t even have tears left to cry.
Ryan and I were officially living apart from each other.
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Chapter 5
I had no clue where he went, and I didn’t care.
But then his cousin messaged me. Screenshots of Rachel’s latest posts.
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“What kind of family bans a 24–year–old from going to bars? Lol. Too bad, I’m going anyway.” The caption was posted alongside a screenshot of her chat with Ryan, where he had clearly told her not to go out.
“Tonight’s menu, made with love by my favorite chef.” In the photo, Rachel was grinning at the camera while Ryan, in the background, fed her like they were a cozy little couple.
“Tried this for you guys—men’s shirts are seriously the coziest.” She was lounging on the couch in what was unmistakably Ryan’s shirt. Just over her shoulder, you could see him working in the background, completely unaware she was using him for the shot.
I looked at all of it and just smiled faintly.
Strange. The old me would’ve already stormed over there and slapped both of them across the face.
But now? I felt nothing. Just tired. It was almost laughable.
When my brother texted me updates about the divorce proceedings, my assistant happened to bring me a cup of coffee.
I had to admit, Jason Dawson was a damn good assistant.
Only a few weeks in, and he already knew what I liked. Hell, half the time, he anticipated my mood before I even spoke.
He sat on the edge of my desk, grinning. “That sounded like good news. We should be drinking.”
I raised an eyebrow and hooked a finger through his tic.
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His eyes darkened slightly.
“But I’m not in the mood for alcohol.”
I brought him to my private villa.
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