Chapter 5

I stared down at the screen.

Victoria was dressed noticeably differently than usual. Less corporate, much more sensual and daring.

I used to coordinate all her outfits. Now that I was gone, the boy from the café had clearly taken over the job.

She was probably dressing to his tastes.

How pathetic. When we were together, I had to bend over backward to match her preferences. Yet with him, she was reshaping her own habits—just because his face looked like Dominic's.

A dead first love really is an unbeatable phantom.

"Ms. Sterling, the public hasn't seen you and your husband attend events together for months now. Rumor has it he packed his bags and walked out?"

The interviewer's question pulled my wandering thoughts back to reality.

The media loved milking scandal. Drama brought clicks, and clicks brought ratings.

Clearly, the scene at the café hadn't stayed entirely buried.

Even with the Sterling family's hush money, someone had leaked the story.

Victoria offered a polished, camera-ready smile, though I caught the cold annoyance flickering beneath her eyes.

"I sent him away on a business trip. He doesn't have anyone else in this world besides me. If he ran away, where on earth would he go?"

Her tone dripped with supreme confidence.

My hands clenched tightly into fists at my sides.

I grew up an orphan before Professor Campbell took me in. Once the professor passed, I truly had no family left.

Victoria was banking on the belief that I was helpless without her. She thought I'd come crawling back.

This time, she was dead wrong.

"Let's head back. I'm exhausted," I said flatly.

I didn't watch another second of the video. I quickened my pace, and Chloe locked her screen and hurried after me.

"Did something upset you?"

"No. Just spent the whole night awake."

"Julian, you do know teachers take plenty of psychology classes, right?"

I managed a faint chuckle. Chloe clearly picked up on my mood, but instead of prying, she cracked a few goofy jokes to cheer me up.

After that night, I spent several more peaceful months in the valley.

Before I knew it, more than half a year had slipped by. My savings were running thin.

It was time to get back into the real world and find a job.

The night before I left, I cooked a lavish dinner to say goodbye to Chloe.

Chloe loved my cooking, constantly telling me it was a crime I wasn't a professional chef.

I only developed those skills because of Victoria.

Victoria was ridiculously picky about her food—both the ingredients and the seasoning. To please her, I had spent a year taking culinary classes abroad and earning certifications.

There was an old saying: the way to someone's heart is through their stomach.

Too bad that after five years of effort, it hadn't made a difference.

As I stepped outside to head toward Chloe's place, high beams suddenly blazed in my face from a parked sedan.

I froze. The headlights flashed twice.

Then, the driver's door swung open. A pair of long legs stepped out.

My heart skipped a beat.

I spun on my heel to walk away, but a voice called out behind me: "Julian Vance! Where do you think you're running to?"

I stopped dead in my tracks.