Chapter 2

Lana glared at Leo and me as if she wanted to tear us to pieces.

My maternal instinct kicked in, and I tried to run with Leo in my arms. But her bulky bodyguards grabbed my arms, twisting them behind my back while yanking Leo from my grip.

Lana pointed a finger at Leo’s tear-stained face, screaming:

"I spoil you rotten every single day, and you won't even call me Mom!"

"You see this pathetic stranger for five minutes, and you call her Mommy?! Ungrateful little bastard. Maybe a beating will teach you some respect!"

Lana raised her palm, aiming straight for Leo’s face.

My heart leaped into my throat. "Stop it!" I screamed.

"He’s just a four-year-old child! Hitting a toddler? Lana, are you even human?!"

Lana’s hand stopped mid-air. She slowly turned her head toward me.

With a cruel sneer, she dropped Leo’s collar and strutted in my direction.

"You filthy bitch. Who the hell do you think you are, lecturing me?"

SLAP!

Without a second of hesitation, Lana struck me hard across the face.

The blow sent my head snapping to the side. The metallic tang of blood filled my mouth.

Before I could recover, pain flared across my scalp.

Lana grabbed a fistful of my hair, jerking my head back, and slapped me again with the back of her hand.

My ears rang violently. The corner of my lip split open, blood dripping onto my collar.

Leo was pale with terror. He rushed forward, throwing his tiny arms around Lana’s leg, crying hysterically:

"Stop hitting her! Leo will be good!"

"I’ll call you Mommy! Please stop hurting her! Leo is begging you, Mommy!"

Lana glanced down at the sobbing child, kicked him away with undisguised disgust, and barked at her guards:

"Pin him down! Don't let him get in my way!"

A bodyguard held Leo down, muffling his desperate whimpers.

Lana took her time releasing my hair. She pulled a set of documents and a pen from her designer bag, tossing them onto the floor in front of me.

"These are divorce papers."

"Divorce Julian, give up all custody rights to Leo, and then get the hell out of our lives."

Sign it under duress? No way.

I grabbed the papers and ripped them into shreds.

Lana let out a mocking laugh.

"Tsk. You had the easy way, but you chose the hard way."

She drove the heel of her shoe straight into my kneecap. A blinding pain shot up my leg, dropping me to the floor.

Her bodyguards immediately pinned me down, grabbing my thumb to force my print onto an ink pad. When I fought back with every ounce of strength left in my body, Lana and the guards rained kicks and blows onto my ribs and back until I could barely breathe.

In the end, the print stamped onto the custody agreement wasn't ink.

It was my own blood.

Lana admired the blood-stained paper with deep satisfaction. Just as she was about to order the guards to dump me on the curb, the front doors swung open.

Julian walked in.

His eyes swept across the chaotic living room, landing on my battered, bleeding body.

He frowned at Lana, his tone sharp:

"You said you just wanted to talk to her."

"Why did you make such a mess?"

The viciousness on Lana’s face vanished in an instant. She put on a sweet, vulnerable pout and moved to throw her arms around Julian’s neck.

"I got a little carried away, Julian... but she signed it! Look!"

"When are we going down to the courthouse to get married?"

To her shock, Julian sidestepped her embrace completely.

Instead, he crouched down and lifted my limp body from the floor.

Over his shoulder, he said, "The papers are signed. There's no rush for that."

"I'm taking her up to rest. Don't pull this crap again."

My entire body throbbed with agony, and I had no choice but to lean against him as he helped me into bed. He left and returned with a first-aid kit.

When he tried to dab an antiseptic swab against my face, I jerked my head away.

"I signed your damn papers."

"I’ll divorce you, Julian. But I am taking Leo. Lana is a monster. She won't take care of him—she tried to hit him today!"

Julian grabbed my chin firmly, his hand unyielding as he pressed the swab against the gash on my lip.

Without looking up, he said flatly, "No."

I swatted his hand away with pure fury.

"What more do you want from me?! If you never loved me, why did you marry me?!"

"You stood by for three years watching me fall for you, watched me walk down the aisle thinking I was the luckiest woman alive! You gave me the silent treatment, stole my baby, and cheated on me with your foster sister. Does making me suffer give you a sick thrill?!"

"Sign the divorce! Then you can marry Lana out in the open!"

Julian pulled his hand back, staring at me with icy eyes.

"I'm not divorcing you. Lana is my foster sister. Even without blood ties and without legal adoption on the books, society will talk if we get married. Leo stays with Lana."

"If you want a baby that badly, we can always have another one."

I stared at him, my stomach churning with horror.

"What are you saying? You want me to stay your wife just as a shield to hide your sick relationship with your foster sister?!"

"I am a human being, Julian! Not an object!"

Julian went completely silent.

Seeing his closed-off face, I forced myself to calm down. Challenging him right now was suicide.

I turned my back to him, closing my eyes, and began plotting how to escape with Leo.

After a long time, the mattress dipped behind me.

Julian slipped onto the bed, wrapping an arm loosely around my waist from behind. He whispered against my neck:

"Chloe, don't be like this."

"I do care about you."