Chapter 1

I was Julian’s first love.

But after years of marriage, he started looking for younger girls who looked just like me.

When the car crash happened, Julian’s first instinct was to shield me with his body.

Outside the emergency room, someone sighed emotionally, "An instinctive reaction like that doesn’t lie. That’s true love. I believe in love again."

I could only smile bitterly. What they didn't know was that Julian and I had been sleeping in separate bedrooms for years.

Even when I swallowed my pride and crawled into his bed at night, he would only look at me with cold indifference.

"Sorry, Elena. I'm too tired. I'm not in the mood," he would say, brushing me off.

But on my birthday, the very day he claimed he was too busy with work, I saw him with my own eyes—kissing a young girl in the middle of a shopping mall.

When I finally made up my mind to walk away, his eyes turned red, and he growled at me:

"Elena, you never loved me. I was just a substitute for him, wasn't I?"

I discovered Julian’s secret in the fifth year of our marriage.

My birthday party was supposed to be held at our estate in the suburbs. I put on my new pink dress, walked up to Julian, and asked him how I looked.

Julian was smiling at his phone, texting someone. Hearing my voice, he looked up and spared me a casual glance.

"Pink doesn't suit you. Don't wear it again."

I froze. A suffocating pain pierced my chest.

I was seven years older than Julian, and I was no longer young.

No matter how much money I spent on skincare, fine lines were starting to creep up under my eyes. My body was losing the firm youthfulness it once had.

I didn't even know when it started, but Julian and I had become a "separate bedroom" couple.

Even when I just wanted a simple goodnight kiss, he would turn his head away impatiently.

But Julian never used to be like this.

The old Julian loved me with everything he had. I was his entire world.

He would look at me with the gentlest eyes, telling me I was the most beautiful woman in the world. He would drive across the entire city of New York just to buy me my favorite sandwich.

I clenched my fists, looking at the mocking expression on his face. Panic surged deep within me.

I parted my lips, desperate to ask him.

To ask him if he still loved me.

Before I could speak, Julian stood up and prepared to leave the bedroom.

"There’s an emergency meeting at the office. I won't be able to make it to your birthday dinner tonight."

I grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.

He pulled his arm back sharply, his voice laced with annoyance. "Can you stop being so needy for once?"

Three years ago, Julian would have canceled a multi-million-dollar deal just to spend my birthday with me.

Now, he just brushed me off and told me to grow up.

I stared blankly at his cold, impatient face.

After a long silence, he sighed and patted my head.

"I'll come back to celebrate with you as soon as the meeting is over."

I watched his retreating back in silence, slowly lowering my eyes.

I used to ask Julian silly questions.

I would grab his sleeve and ask, "Would you still love me if I turned into an ugly bug? What if I turned into a tiger?"

Every single time, Julian would look at me tenderly and say, "No matter what you become, Elena, I will always love you."

Back then, I was sure of his love.

But now, I didn't even dare to ask him if he still loved me.