Chapter 3

Julian dragged me straight into their VIP booth.

"Well, well. Look at that. Has the ruined princess fallen so low she can't even afford an umbrella?"

Carter leaned back on the plush sofa, a mocking smirk on his lips.

"Sleep with me one more time, Daisy, and I'll buy you one."

Laughter erupted around the room.

One of the guys nudged Carter's shoulder, chuckling crudely:

"Come on, man. Just how wild was Daisy in bed that you're still obsessing over her five years later?"

"Hey, Julian, since you don't care about her anyway, why not let her service the rest of us? We can afford to pay."

Disgusting, degrading comments flew across the table one after another. Julian sat in the center of the booth, swishing the amber whiskey in his glass.

After a long pause, the corner of his mouth curved up into a cold smirk.

"Be my guest."

The booth erupted into rowdy cheers.

Veronica's smile turned triumphant, though she put on a show of lightly slapping Julian's arm.

"Stop it, you guys. What kind of men pick on a defenseless girl?"

She leaned close to Julian, pressing against him.

"Technically, Daisy is my stepdaughter-in-law. You two have been married for five years, and I never gave you a proper welcome gift."

At her words, Julian's expression darkened, an undeniable hint of jealousy flashing in his eyes.

In the past, seeing them like this would have driven me to tear the room apart.

Now, the fire inside me was completely extinguished.

I just wanted it all to be over.

I turned to leave, but Veronica stood up and grabbed my wrist.

"Since we ran into each other today, take the Vance family heirloom bracelet."

With that, she slipped a heavy jade bangle from her wrist and tried to force it onto mine.

The next second, the jade shattered on the marble floor!

Veronica stumbled back with a gasp, collapsing straight into Julian's arms. Tears instantly welled in her eyes.

"Daisy, I know you don't like me, but I'm still your mother-in-law by law. You didn't have to push me and break the family heirloom..."

Her voice choked up with manufactured pain:

"Julian, I think I sprained my ankle."

The same old trick.

Over the past five years, Veronica had framed me like this countless times. Her acting was clumsy, her excuses paper-thin.

Yet Julian believed her every single time.

Today was no different.

Julian's face twisted with rage as his fingers clamped around my wrist like a vice.

"Daisy, have I not broken you enough? Are you still completely unrepentant?"

"Apologize to Veronica."

I looked down at the hand bruising my wrist.

"Fine," I said softly.

I looked up into his eyes.

"How do you want me to apologize?"

"On my knees? Begging? Or by getting on my back for your friends?"

Once, my pride was higher than the sky. But now, what did humiliation matter compared to death?

I turned my eyes toward the men lounging in the booth.

"If it's the last option, please hurry up. I want to be home before dark."

"Daisy!"

Julian shoved my hand away with sudden violence.

The entire room fell dead silent.

After several agonizing seconds, someone whispered, "Holy shit, she's actually psycho."

The quiet murmur echoed loudly in the stillness.

"Shut up."

Julian shot the man a murderous glare.

"Keep your damn mouths shut."

He stared at me, his chest heaving, until Veronica tugged softly at his suit jacket, crying quietly:

"Julian, it hurts so bad."

Julian snapped back to reality. He scooped Veronica into his arms and headed for the exit.

"I'm taking you to the hospital."

Before walking out the door, he stopped and looked back at me over his shoulder for the very first time. His gaze was dark, conflicted, and strange.

Not long after, my phone buzzed with a message on SnapChat.

Julian:

[Wait for me at home tonight. About what happened today... I'll let you explain.]

The corners of my mouth curled into a hollow smile.

Julian, you want an explanation.

But tonight... I'm not waiting for you.