Chapter 2

The next day.

I got a message from Julian.

[You want a divorce? Are you insane? I don't agree! Come back right now.]

I didn't go home to negotiate.

I went straight to the law firm.

Attorney Harper flipped through the documents and asked,

"Are you sure you want to file for a contested divorce?"

I nodded.

"Yes. Mediation is fine too, but I don't want this dragged out."

At 10:40, Julian sent another message.

"Lily is having her ankle evaluated today and she's upset. Stop making trouble. Come home tonight and we'll talk."

I stared at it for a while, then replied.

"If you want to discuss the divorce, talk to my lawyer."

He called almost immediately.

I declined the call, turned off my phone, and went to the hospital.

Noah was awake, an oxygen mask over his face.

His eyes lit up when he saw me.

I bent down and asked, "Does it hurt?"

He shook his head.

"Did Julian come?"

I pulled the blanket up to his shoulders.

"He's busy."

The light in Noah's eyes dimmed, but he quickly smiled again.

"Julian is an important man. Of course he's busy."

My throat tightened.

Noah had always liked Julian.

He said Julian was like a lighthouse. As long as you could see even a little light, you could hold on for a long time.

Only now did I understand.

He wasn't a lighthouse. He was a searchlight.

He could shine on the Hensleys, on the company, on everyone respectable enough to matter.

Just not on us.

That afternoon, the hospital told me the balance had to be paid.

I went to a pawnshop and laid my mother's pearl necklace, my father's old pocket watch, and the diamond ring Julian gave me when we married on the counter.

The owner looked at me.

"Need cash fast?"

I said, "It's life or death."

He quoted me a very low price.

I didn't bargain.

As I tried to pay, I got an alert from the bank.

The supplementary credit card tied to the Sterling family trust had been restricted.

Restricted transactions: medical institutions, pawnshops, large transfers.

A few minutes later, Julian's assistant called.

"Mrs. Sterling, Mr. Sterling said you've been emotionally unstable lately and may make impulsive purchases, so he put temporary restrictions on the card as a risk-management measure."

"He said you need to learn asset management."

I gripped the phone.

"Tell him I'll be giving this record to my lawyer."

Half an hour later, my GoFundMe page ran into trouble too.

A notification popped up on the platform.

"Your campaign has been suspended for review due to suspected exaggeration of a medical condition and using the public profile of an affiliated corporate figure to solicit donations."

Customer service said a verified corporate account had filed a complaint.

The complaint alleged that

I was exploiting my status as the spouse of the Sterling Group CEO to manipulate public sympathy and damage the company's reputation.

I stared at the ten-dollar donation in the account dashboard and suddenly laughed.

Julian even wanted control over the way I begged for help.

He wouldn't save Noah.

And he wouldn't let anyone else save him either.

That evening, he came to the hospital carrying paperwork for a medical installment loan.

"The limit is decent. Sign it and the money should come through quickly. And you should delete that GoFundMe link."

I asked, "Why?"

"As my wife, public fundraising makes the group look bad."

"Noah is dying, and you're worried about appearances? Besides, weren't you the one who refused to give me the money and told me to start a GoFundMe?"

He said in a low voice,

"So I changed my mind. Is that not allowed? How was I supposed to know you'd make yourself look like a beggar and embarrass the Sterling Group? And why should I give you money to save Noah? What does that have to do with me?"

I said, "Because you're my husband."

He sneered.

"A husband isn't an ATM."

"And a wife isn't some liability for you to manage."

His face went cold at once.

"Evelyn, you're getting more and more hostile."

I said quietly,

"I used to think that if I endured a little more, you'd feel sorry for me. Then I realized it only made you more comfortable."

I picked up the installment-loan documents and tore them up page by page.

"I'll find another way."

Julian stared at me.

"Then remember that. Don't call me in the middle of the night crying and begging again."

After he left, Noah woke up.

He looked at the torn paper in the trash and suddenly said,

"Evelyn."

"Chloe wasn't the one who saved Julian in that fire."

"I was."