Chapter 2 A Month
682 Words
Seraphina saw the concern and urgency in Julian's eyes. The explanation that had reached her lips suddenly lost all meaning. She said nothing and turned to leave.
As she passed him, he caught her wrist. "Apologize," Julian ordered coldly. "Apologize to Elara."
"I will not apologize, because it wasn't me…" Before she could finish, a sharp slap landed across her face.
The sting burned instantly. She covered her cheek in disbelief. "Julian, what right do you have to hit me?"
"Because I am your husband," he said harshly. "Seraphina, I am telling you to apologize to Elara now."
Seraphina looked at the man in front of her. Her heart hurt so much that it had already gone numb.
A faint smile curved her lips. "Fine," she said softly. "I apologize. I am the one who wronged Elara."
She looked at Julian, and her voice carried a lifeless calm. For a split second, Julian felt his heartbeat falter.
It was as though an unseen hand had tightened around his chest, making it difficult to breathe.
"Are you satisfied now?" she asked quietly. "May I leave?"
She stepped around him and reached for the door.
Just as her figure was about to disappear, Julian released Elara and hurried after her.
"Julian, where are you going?" Elara shouted anxiously.
No one answered her. The door slammed shut.
In the corridor, Julian pulled Seraphina so abruptly that she stumbled forward and nearly collided with him.
"Let go of me," she said, pushing him away.
Julian's gaze darkened at her rejection. "Seraphina, are you done causing trouble?"
"Julian, just let me go," she replied. "I will not interfere with you and Elara anymore."
The moment those words left her mouth, something dimmed in his expression. A flicker of emotion passed through his eyes, something difficult to interpret.
"Is that all you have to say?" he asked quietly.
"Yes." Seraphina dug her nails into her palm, forcing her voice to remain steady.
"Julian, I am begging you. Can we stop hurting each other? Just give me one month. I only need one month," she added.
"Seraphina, what right do you have to say that?" Julian's jaw tightened.
A trace of red surfaced in his eyes, a mixture of anger and something more fragile. "When I begged you for one month back then, did you give it to me?"
Seraphina froze. His words dragged her back seven years.
At that time, she and Julian had been the couple everyone envied. He had been poor, but he had loved her fiercely. He treated her like something precious. He endured every hardship himself and refused to let her suffer even a little.
Yet in his poorest year, she had left him. She had stepped into the car of his greatest rival and driven away without looking back.
On the day they broke up, the rain had poured relentlessly. Julian had chased that car through the storm for a long time.
He had run until his voice turned hoarse, shouting that he was about to succeed, begging her to wait just one more month. He had promised that within a month he would give her everything she wanted.
She had not even turned her head. Later, he rose to the center of power and prestige.
The first thing he did was send his rival to prison. The second was to force Seraphina into marriage.
Everyone said that Julian loved her so deeply that he would do anything to possess her.
Only Seraphina knew the truth. From the day they married, he brought different women home every night.
He took those women to their bedroom and humiliated her openly. He confined her and tormented her.
It was not love. It was revenge for her betrayal.
What Julian did not know was that she had left him for a reason. During a k********g incident, she had saved him.
In retaliation, the kidnappers had pushed her from a building. The fall had left her with an incurable condition.
She had walked away because she did not want him tied to someone who was already dying.
- Writer
