Chapter 2

A flicker of guilt flashed across Julian’s face.

Tara hurried in, reaching out to grab the frame.

"Leo found that while playing. He didn't know what it was."

I dodged her hand, my voice dangerously quiet.

"Where did he find it?"

There hadn't been a single trace of Tara’s belongings in this apartment.

For this photo to sit on the nightstand, Julian had to have brought it here himself.

Julian went silent for two beats, then rubbed his temples in frustration.

"Chloe, do you really have to cause a scene tonight?"

"Tara just went through a painful divorce. She’s raising a toddler on her own. She just wanted something familiar around her to feel safe."

"We’re getting married tomorrow. Are you seriously picking a fight over an old picture?"

I gripped the frame so tightly the corners dug painfully into my palm.

So that was it. In his eyes, I wasn't the victim whose boundaries were trampled.

I was the unreasonable, heartless woman throwing a fit over an old photograph.

I placed the frame back onto the nightstand.

"So she’s sleeping here tonight?"

Julian avoided my eyes.

"Leo gets fussy in new places. The guest room is too small; he won't stop crying in there."

A dry chuckle escaped my lips.

"Then where am I supposed to sleep?"

Julian’s mother chimed in without missing a beat.

"Can't you just go back to your parents' place for the night?"

"You're signing the papers tomorrow, and the reception is the day after. We're all about to be family. Stop being so petty and calculating."

I looked at the people standing in my bedroom.

Their faces were calm, completely unbothered.

So natural that it felt as though I were the intruder crashing someone else’s home.

I didn't yell. I didn't scream.

I walked over to the window, gathered my rumpled crimson bedding, and shoved it into a laundry bag.

Seeing me stay quiet, Julian’s tense posture relaxed.

He walked toward me, raising a hand to pat my head.

"Come on, don't be mad."

"I'll pick you up early tomorrow for City Hall, and I'll buy you a brand-new bedding set tomorrow night."

I took a step back.

His hand froze in midair.

I kept my head down and tied the bag shut.

"I left my legal documents in the drawer. I'm taking them and leaving."

Julian let out a breath of relief.

"They're in the top drawer. I kept them safe for you."

I pulled the drawer open.

My documents were there.

Right next to them lay the finalized seating chart for the wedding reception.

The version I had carefully drafted was crossed out and covered in red ink.

The head table seats reserved for my parents had been given to Julian’s distant uncle and Tara’s little family.

My parents had been demoted to Table 2, surrounded by Julian’s extended relatives whom I barely even recognized.

Staring at the paper, my vision blurred with rage.

"Julian, did you organize this, too?"

He blinked, clearly caught off guard.

Julian’s mother strode over and snatched the paper straight from my hands, completely unapologetic.

"I changed it."

"Everyone knows how hard Tara has it right now. What’s wrong with letting her sit at the main table?"

"Your parents are reasonable people. They won't make a fuss over a chair."

I looked up at her.

"They won't make a fuss? Or do you just assume they wouldn't dare?"

Julian’s face darkened.

"Chloe, how dare you speak to my mother like that?"

Those words felt like a needle popping the very last balloon of hope in my chest.

I had been with Julian for six years.

We rarely argued.

Yet every single time an issue involved his family, he never hesitated to take their side over mine.

In the past, I always made excuses for him.

I told myself it was hard for him being caught in the middle.

I told myself marriage required compromise and patience.

I told myself that as long as he loved me, these little indignities would smooth out over time.

But in this exact moment, reality hit me like a slap in the face.

This wasn't compromise.

This was them testing my boundaries, over and over again.

And Julian was the one pushing my limits further and further back.

I zipped my documents into my handbag.

"Fine. I won't say another word."

"As for going to City Hall tomorrow... let's talk about it later."