Chapter 3

Evelyn's POV

"Taking out the trash."

Clutching the box, I pushed past him without looking back.

Julian leaned against the doorframe, his tone relaxing:

"Just let the maids handle it. It's not safe for you to carry so much down the stairs in the middle of the night."

"My own trash is better thrown out by myself."

I didn't stop, carrying the box straight into the elevator.

The cardboard box crashed into the dumpster with a dull thud.

The sapphire necklace, the Birkin bag, the cross, the scarf, the cufflinks, the scrapbooks.

Along with all that rancid devotion, everything sank into the bottom of the trash heap.

The moment I returned to the apartment, Julian walked over, reaching out to wrap an arm around my shoulder.

I subtly sidestepped him.

His hand grasped at empty air. Turning around, he picked up a cup of mulled wine and offered it to me.

"I bought this for you on the way. You were drenched in that downpour. Drink it to ward off the chill, or you'll suffer if you catch a fever later."

I took the cup and pulled my lips into a smile.

Then, right in front of his eyes, I tossed the mulled wine into the garbage bin, mocking him:

"You're Melanie Sterling's boyfriend now. Best not to do things that might give people the wrong idea."

Julian's face darkened instantly.

Striding over in two steps, he seized my chin, applying just enough pressure to force my head back to look at him.

"I told you, it's only for one week. In seven days, I'll come back and marry you. Mrs. Vance will only ever be you."

Before he even finished speaking, he dipped his head to kiss me.

I jerked my head away frantically, but the grip on my chin didn't budge.

His lips pressed down hard, carrying the trace of tobacco and suffocating possessiveness.

Unable to break free, I trembled with fury, tears bursting forth unbidden.

"Why are you treating me like this!"

Pounding against his chest, my voice cracked from crying, "Why did you lie to me?"

Julian released me. Looking at me weeping, he let out a sigh.

"I thought I didn't care. But the closer we get to the wedding, the more I can't stop thinking about the fact that you were married before."

He stared into my eyes, as if forcing me to see his agony.

"Do you have any idea how much it hurt to watch you marry Sean Miller? Evelyn, I just want you to taste what I felt back then. Don't you love me? If you love me, why aren't you willing to hurt for me just once?"

Staring at him in sheer disbelief, I couldn't stop myself from slapping him across the face.

"Do you even hear yourself? Did you only get together with me to take revenge?"

Julian's face was struck to the side. He snarled in denial:

"It's not revenge! It's because I love you! Because I love you so much, I can't accept it!"

He pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, his eyes burning with years of pent-up resentment.

"Why did I love you faithfully from beginning to end, while you picked Sean Miller over me in the first place!"

Back in college, he and Sean had been roommates as well as archrivals.

Both had confessed their feelings to me at the same time.

Julian was aloof and reserved, while Sean was gentle and refined—exactly the type that made my heart flutter back then.

I had chosen Sean.

Tears streaming down, I demanded:

"If you minded my past marriage so much, you shouldn't have been with me in the first place! Not stay with me, only to betray me later!"

"Julian Vance, you disgust me! I won't attend the wedding. We are over!"

Julian stared at me, then suddenly laughed—a chilling sound that sent shivers down my spine.

"Evelyn, I told you, I don't like hearing that kind of talk. Since you refuse to behave, you need to be punished."

I looked at him warily.

"What are you going to do?"

He didn't answer. Pulling out his phone, he dialed a number:

"Come on up."

He turned to me with calm composure:

"I was originally just going to check on you and leave, but you insisted on making a scene. In that case, I'll let you properly experience the torment I went through back then."

The doorbell rang.

Melanie Sterling walked in wearing a seductive slip dress. Her eyes skimmed over my red, swollen eyes before she wrapped her arms around Julian's neck with a dazzling smile.

"Here tonight? That's hardly appropriate. Our sweet Evelyn is so innocent; she can't handle watching this."

Julian sneered,

"Innocent? A woman who was slept with by Sean Miller for years—what innocence does she have to speak of?"

Melanie planted a loud kiss on his cheek:

"Good point. So where are we doing it tonight? The bed, the sofa, or the bathroom?"

I turned to leave.

A hand clamped onto my wrist with brutal force, making my bones ache.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"This place makes me sick."

I tried violently to shake off his grip, but he didn't budge.

Julian laughed out of sheer fury:

"Sick already? It's only just beginning."

He dragged me toward the master bedroom. I fought frantically, scratching and clawing at him.

As if immune to pain, he hauled me inside, unbuckled his leather belt, and in a few swift motions lashed my wrists to the bedpost, cinching it dead tight.

"Tonight, you watch every single second."

"You pervert!"

I yanked desperately against the restraint, but it was useless.

Julian gave a cold chuckle.

"There's worse to come."

He turned around, shoved Melanie—who had followed inside—onto the mattress, and pressed himself down on top of her.

Clothes were discarded all over the floor, and the bed began to creak and sway.

The sounds coming from the bed battered my ears, suffocating me.

I turned my head away, refusing to look, and squeezed my eyes shut.

Yet those sounds burrowed into my ears like living things.

Pain.

It began with my heart shattering, then tore through every bone and nerve in my body, hurting so acutely that I curled into a ball.

My stomach convulsed again, and I leaned over, dry-heaving violently.

Hearing my retching, Julian slammed into her even harder, even more ruthlessly.

"Did Sean Miller touch you like this too? Do I make you sick? You think you don't make me sick?"

My mind was a chaotic haze.

One second, I remembered a rain-swept cliffside four years ago, where he had wrapped his arms around me from behind, his chest burning hot against my back.

He said, “Turn around and look at me. I’m here. Don’t be afraid.”

The next second, my ears filled with Melanie's moans and Julian's low, ragged gasps.

Then I remembered the day he proposed, dropping to one knee with eyes only for me.

He had sworn, I will love you for the rest of my life. I'll never let you suffer a single grievance.

And then his words from just moments ago echoed back: If you love me, why won't you endure pain for me just this once?

I lost track of time. I had no retches left in me, no tears left to cry.

Once my tears ran completely dry, my body felt hollowed out, drained of all sensation.

My heart seemed to have finally gone completely numb, feeling nothing at all.

I closed my eyes and slumped motionless against the edge of the bed.

After what felt like an eternity, the restraint around my wrists suddenly loosened.

I opened my eyes.

Julian stood over me, completely naked, his skin marked all over with provocative, flushed bruises.

He seized my chin in a bruising grip, staring down at me.

"Have you learned your lesson?"

I looked at the face that had once given me such an absolute sense of safety, and a bitter laugh escaped my lips.

"Julian Vance, you pick your girlfriends from Sean Miller's past, and you pick your mistresses from Sean Miller's trash."

"How could you ever measure up to him?"