Chapter 3

In the end, it was my best friend and business partner, Harper Sterling, who dragged me out of that chaotic mess.

"What did you do? This is the first time he's actually playing dirty. He's even pulling out the prenuptial clauses," Harper asked worriedly as she drove.

I looked out the window and smiled faintly. "I guess his little mistress is getting impatient. She wants to be the official Mrs. Vance."

Harper fell silent for a moment before offering some weak comfort. "Men are always like this when they want something shiny and new. It’ll pass."

I curled my lip. "It’s been four years, Harper. Who are you trying to fool?"

Harper sighed. She told me she had set up a dinner with some big-league investors and wanted me to tag along to clear my head.

"Julian will be there too. Use this chance to talk to him."

"I'm not in the mood," I replied.

Her voice turned grave. "Sienna, stop being stubborn. Julian controls all the core technology of NovaTech now. If you two go to war, what backup plan do you even have?"

I went cold.

Harper still ended up bringing me to the private VIP lounge.

As we walked up to the suite, the door was slightly ajar.

Through the crack, I heard Julian’s voice, along with the voices of his wealthy tech-bro friends.

"Julian, are you serious this time? You're divorcing Sienna for an intern?"

"Sienna has been making a scene for four years. Honestly, she's exhausting."

After a brief silence, someone finally spoke up for me. "Come on, Julian. Sienna put her entire inheritance into your startup back in the day. Doing this to her seems a bit cold-hearted, don't you think?"

Julian leaned back on the leather sofa, his voice dripping with exhaustion. "If I didn't care about our history, I would have destroyed her already."

"But bro, do you really love this Chloe girl that much?" the first guy asked again. "You and Sienna went through hell together. You're just throwing that all away?"

"It's not that..."

Julian opened his eyes and poured himself another glass of bourbon. "Sienna is strong. Too strong."

The friend looked confused. "And that's a reason to cheat? Julian, I don't get your logic."

"It's different!"

Julian's voice suddenly turned irritated.

"She can suggest a better algorithm the second my code glitches. She can draft the perfect pitch deck when I'm stressed about fundraising. Even when we play video games, her rank is higher than mine..."

He paused, taking a heavy breath. "She's too brilliant. She always makes me feel like she's not my wife, but my business partner. Like a mirror constantly pushing me to do better."

"I want love, not a second business partner. Do you guys get it?"

He downed his drink in one gulp. "Chloe is different. She looks at me with pure admiration. She gets worried when I face a problem, and she jumps with joy when I close a deal. With her, I actually feel like a man. I feel needed."

I stood frozen in the hallway, my blood running cold.

So... this was why I lost.

I lost because I was too strong. I lost because I didn't massage his fragile male ego.

What a pathetic, laughable excuse.

I took a deep breath and turned to leave. But Julian's final words made me halt.

"Let's drop it. You guys should help me convince her to sign the papers. We just need to let each other go."