Chapter 3
1375 Words
Julian's words were so absurd and biased that I trembled with rage.
He actually expected me to treat Gia, a bastard child, like my sister?
I shoved him away, furious. In that instant, half the admiration I had held for him over the years crumbled to dust.
The Julian I had followed for all those years had always been distant but upright and principled. This man standing in front of me, who could not tell right from wrong, felt like a complete stranger.
I took a deep breath, forcing the anger down, and pointed at the door.
"Gia and her mother teamed up with my trash of a father and drove my mother to her grave!
"I will never let Gia stay in this house. Get her out!"
Before Julian could even respond, Gia covered her face and burst into tears.
"Please do not be mad, Lily. I'll go now. Just some stalker wouldn't leave me alone—no big deal. I'll be careful.
"I am just a nobody anyway. If something happens to me, I guess it is just my bad luck..."
Julian's eyes went cold as ice as he turned to me.
"Lily! Gia is not just a friend. She saved my life. Whatever happened between your parents, you have no right to hold it against her."
With that, he took Gia by the arm and led her to the guest room.
Julian was an Oscar-winning actor, for God's sake.
There was no way he could not see through Gia's pathetic little act.
But he chose her side anyway.
I stood there alone, my throat so tight I could barely breathe. I opened my mouth, closed it, and opened it again, but no words came out.
But I had saved his life too. He had promised to protect me as well...
When I was ten, on a trip to Jingdezhen, I pulled Julian out of the water after he fell in.
Later, he took off the clover necklace from around his neck and pressed it into my palm.
"Thank you for saving me. From now on, it is my turn to protect you."
Did promises made as children just stop counting once you grew up?
Across the hall, in the guest room—Gia pulled a clover necklace from her pocket and placed it in Julian's palm, tears streaming down her face.
"Julian, you should take this back. I know you promised to protect me, but you are married now.
"Lily is your wife. You should be protecting her. I can take care of myself. It is fine if you are not there for me..."
Julian looked at the necklace in his hand, then shook his head, his eyes full of tenderness.
He fastened it back around her neck with the utmost care.
His voice was low and gentle. "I gave this to you, and I am not taking it back. You saved my life. I will not break my word to you.
"Stay as long as you need. We made a promise when we were kids. I will protect you."
Gia threw herself into his arms, overwhelmed with gratitude, but her eyes dropped, sharp with scheming.
If her father had not stolen the necklace from Lily and given it to her, she would never have had the chance to pose as Julian's savior.
She had hated Lily her whole life, hated the way she always walked around like she was better than everyone else.
Same father, same blood—so why was Lily the princess everyone adored while she was the bastard nobody acknowledged?
She would use that very status to take away everything Lily held dear.
Her mother had stolen Lily's mother's man. And she would steal Lily's man too.
Night fell.
After settling Gia in, Julian finally came back to the master bedroom.
I heard him come in, but I did not jump up and run to him like I used to. I did not call him "honey" in that sweet voice.
I was too tired to put myself out there and get nothing back.
But to my surprise, Julian actually pulled me into his arms.
Neither of us spoke.
His warm breath was the only sound in the silent room.
His heat wrapped around me, but I felt no comfort at all.
I did not fall asleep until almost dawn, but I was woken up not long after.
Rubbing my tired eyes, I went downstairs.
And there was Julian, still home, not on the set like he should have been at this hour.
He was giving careful instructions to the housekeeper. "Gia will be staying here for a while. She is particular about her pillows, so do not touch the ones she brought.
"Her skin is sensitive. Change all the bedding to the softest ones we have.
"She likes bright colors. And she prefers French cuisine..."
He went on and on, every detail covered, his tone serious and focused.
I stood at the bottom of the stairs, listening, and felt my heart sink into ice water.
I had once asked Julian if he had any ideas about how to decorate the house.
He had brushed me off with a vague, "Just do whatever you like."
Back then, I thought he was being considerate, letting me have my way. I was so happy he cared about what I wanted.
Turns out he just could not be bothered to put any thought into it.
I could not stand to watch anymore. I walked out the door to get some air.
And Julian did not even notice I had left.
Love and indifference. He made it so painfully clear.
I could not keep lying to myself.
Just then, my phone buzzed with a message from the hospital, reminding me about my prenatal checkup.
I pushed my feelings down and went in for the appointment.
But after a whole morning of tests, the results were not good.
The doctor said, "There is a risk of hemolytic disease in the baby. We need the father to come in for genetic screening too."
Panic hit me like a wave. I called Julian right there on the spot.
The ringtone barely started before he hung up.
A text popped up on my screen almost instantly.
Julian: Busy.
I stared at that single word. A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it.
He had promised to take a whole week off for me.
And now he did not even have a few seconds to pick up my call.
I swallowed the bitterness and the hurt and was about to turn off my phone when a push notification lit up the screen.
It was a trending headline.
Gia was live-streaming.
From my house?!
From my and Julian's bedroom?!
Julian had always been a fanatic about privacy. He would not even let me post a photo from home without running it past his agent first.
But he allowed Gia to start a livestream from our place!
My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles went white.
In the stream, Gia was answering questions from viewers in that saccharine, simpering voice of hers.
"You guys have such sharp eyes. Yes, I am indeed streaming from Julian's house.
"Julian does not mind at all. After all, I am the most important person in his life.
"For reasons I cannot get into, he married someone else. He and I were just never meant to be in this lifetime..."
Her vague, suggestive words lit a fire under Julian and Lily's fan base.
The comment section was flooded with outrage.
A: [Who is this nobody trying to ride Julian's coattails?!]
B: [Everyone knows Lily was a fan who married her idol. Julian proposed to her himself!]
C: [If Julian did not love his wife, why would he have proposed? Get lost, you wannabe homewrecker.]
D: [@JulianCrawford, come look at this! Someone is spreading rumors about you. Shut her down!]
The chat was exploding with hate when a verified account entered the stream.
It was Julian's main account.
And the next second, he dropped a comment that took over the entire screen.
Julian: [Gia Kay has never been a homewrecker. She is, in fact, the most important person in my life!]
- Writer
