Chapter 1

Five years after leaving Julian Vance, I had finally made a name for myself in the fashion world as Avery.

At my celebration gala, surrounded by flashing cameras, Julian's face suddenly popped up on my phone in a financial news alert.

Reporters were pressing him about the rumors of his failing marriage to Rebecca Young, an heiress from an elite family. But staring blankly into the lens, Julian gave a completely unrelated answer:

"I once lost the most precious thing in the world."

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Mr. Vance, what was that most precious thing?"

Julian looked straight into the camera. "A ring."

The press erupted into murmurs.

Nobody knew that the ring he was talking about was the exact one he had left behind on the red carpet at our wedding five years ago.

And just when I finally had the power and success to forge a new ring under my own name, an unfamiliar number called me in the dead of night.

A little girl’s timid, trembling voice on the other end chilled me to the bone:

"Ma'am... are you my mommy?"

Five years apart, and my first time seeing Julian Vance again was at the airport.

After the gala, I was on my way back to my studio when I spotted him instantly in the crowd.

Beside him stood a little girl, around four or five years old.

She wore a delicate pink dress with twin pigtails, looking up and chattering away.

Julian leaned down slightly, listening patiently. The sharp, clean contour of his profile hadn't changed at all.

Five years hadn't left much of a mark on him, except for a quiet maturity in his eyes that I had never seen before.

Or perhaps, it was exhaustion.

I instinctively tried to look away and slip past, but it was too late.

His gaze cut through the crowd and landed dead on me.

In that split second, I clearly saw a flicker of shock in his eyes, followed by a swirl of complex emotions I couldn't read.

After a brief pause, he walked toward me. "Avery. Long time no see."

I nodded, pulling my lips into a polite, practiced smile. "Long time no see, Julian."

Just then, the little girl broke free from Julian's grip, tilted her head back, and stared at me.

"Ma'am, why do you look so much like me?"

The air instantly froze. Julian's face turned pale as he gently pulled her back. "Chloe, don't be rude."

My heart skipped a beat as my eyes locked onto the girl.

If my baby hadn't died five years ago, she would have been this age.

But five years ago, she died in my womb before she could even take her first breath. How could she possibly be mine?

I forced myself to look away from the little girl.

Julian stayed silent, too.

Five years was more than enough time to wear away even the deepest love and hate.

Looking at Julian now, I couldn't feel a single ripple of emotion.

The boarding call echoed over the airport speakers. Relieved, I took my chance to say goodbye. "That’s my flight. I have to go."

The moment I turned around, his low voice drifted from behind: "You're so much stronger than you were five years ago."

My steps faltered for a fraction of a second. Without looking back, I simply gave a dismissive wave.

Stronger?

Five years ago, Julian Vance had been my entire universe.

All because he once told me: "I don't really like strong, career-driven women. I prefer you staying safe behind me, letting me protect you."

Because of those words, I stripped away my armor, quit my job, and gave up everything to be the gentle homemaker waiting for him.

The speaker forgot his promise, but the listener took it to heart.

The man who swore to protect me for the rest of my life was the very one who dealt me a fatal blow at my happiest moment.

Now, five years later...

The woman who was abandoned at the altar and spent three agonizing years fighting to survive was long dead and buried.