Chapter 5

I ignored her, holding Chloe's hand as I walked toward the bedroom.

But Audrey stood up and pulled a cake out of the fridge.

"Chloe, you didn't get to eat any cake on your birthday. I bought this specially to make it up to you. I was waiting for you to come home."

She smiled like a saint, but her words were laced with poison.

Her birthday party was a traumatic nightmare for Chloe, yet Audrey kept ripping the wound open.

"Even though you're not Julian's kid, children are always innocent."

"Come, have a bite."

Chloe's face went pale. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes, looking as if she had done something terribly wrong.

I forced down my rage. "We don't want it."

Audrey paused. "Are you waiting for Julian to cut it for you?"

"Should I call him out here?"

"Don't worry, Chloe. I already talked to him. Even if your parents divorce, he'll keep supporting you for my sake."

Chloe's face turned even whiter, her tiny fingers clutching my coat.

I stared at that disgusting cake, a wave of nausea hitting my stomach.

In the next second, I swept my hand across the counter, slamming the cake onto the floor.

The frosting splattered all over the expensive carpet.

Audrey let out a dramatic shriek, tears instantly streaming down her face. "Gemma! I just wanted to be nice to you! How could you do this?"

Just then, Julian walked out of the study.

Seeing the mess, fury flared in his eyes. He stepped forward and slapped me across the face.

"Gemma! Have you lost your mind? Haven't you embarrassed us enough?!"

I burst into laughter, looking at him.

"You faked a DNA test at Chloe's birthday party. Didn't you think that was embarrassing?"

"You took Audrey to the OB-GYN clinic in the middle of the night. Didn't you think that was embarrassing?"

Julian's eyes widened slightly.

"What nonsense are you talking about! If you keep throwing dirt at us, don't blame me for being ruthless."

He shoved Chloe and me into the bedroom.

"Go inside and think about what you've done! Tomorrow morning, we are going to sign the divorce papers. Since you're the one at fault, you won't get a single penny from the Vance estate. You're leaving with absolutely nothing!"

The door was locked from the outside. The strength I had been faking crumbled instantly. Tears poured down my face.

I could only hold my daughter tightly, whispering apologies over and over again.

"Chloe, I'm sorry... Mommy is so useless. I couldn't protect you. I let them ruin your name and make you suffer like this."

But Chloe raised her tiny hand, gently wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Don't cry, Mommy."

"Mommy, if Daddy doesn't want us, we don't want him either."

That night, looking into my daughter's resilient eyes, I finally made a decision.

The next day, the moment we walked out of the courthouse with the divorce decree in hand, Julian still looked at me with his usual arrogant confidence.

"Gemma, if you apologize to me right now, it's not too late to fix this."

"No need. I'm getting married."

Hearing this, he scoffed, amused. "Married? To whom?"

Right at that moment, a sleek black Maybach pulled up smoothly at the bottom of the steps.

In front of Julian's eyes, I grabbed the hand of the man who stepped out of the car, and we walked straight into City Hall.

As Julian rushed after us with a look of sheer disbelief, we handed our documents to the clerk.

"Hi, we're here to register our marriage."

The clerk took our IDs and began verifying the information.

I didn't look back, but I could feel Julian's burning gaze piercing through my back.

Julian stood frozen for a few seconds before laughing coldly.

"Gemma, cut the crap."

"You really hired an actor just to make me jealous?"

He took a few steps up the stairs, trying to get past, but the clerk stopped him with a frown.

"Sir, please do not disrupt our clients."

Julian's face darkened. He ignored the clerk, his eyes locking onto my hand, which was tightly held by Caleb Sterling.

"Ma'am, please confirm the information on the screen."

I looked at the monitor and nodded. "Everything is correct."