Chapter 4Polished Parents

When I regained consciousness, Julian was on the phone.

His voice was soft. "Rosalind, don't worry. Leo's fine."

Rosalind's voice was shrill even through the receiver. "I'll make Tia pay for this!"

Julian sighed. "Let it go. She was hurt badly. She was unconscious for a whole day."

He lowered his voice. "The succession gala is the day after tomorrow. That's when I'll do it. I'll bring her beggar parents on stage and expose her for the fraud she is. Once she and her trash family are gone, the three of us can finally be together. So don't be angry, okay?"

He hung up and reached out to touch my forehead, his eyes softening with a flicker of something that looked like gentleness.

I opened my eyes and jerked my head away.

He froze. There were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept, but his handsome face quickly settled back into its familiar, cold mask.

"You're awake. The doctor said you have a fracture. Rest for the next two days. You need to accompany me to the gala. You can't be absent."

I closed my eyes.

I had already agreed to a divorce. Why did he still need to use me as a stepping stone? To humiliate me further, to continue paving the way for his true love?

The one who falls in love first always loses.

Seeing that I wasn't responding, he left without another word.

That afternoon, Rosalind paid me a visit.

Her eyes were filled with contempt. "You're tough, I'll give you that. My son pushes you down a flight of stairs, and all you get is a fracture. I guess beggars are built to last."

The pain from my injuries was a dull, constant throb. I didn't have the strength to fight back. I remained silent.

"I know all about the stupid things you did to win him over," she continued, her voice dripping with condescension. "Staying up all night embroidering his favorite cartoon character on a pillow just to coax him into taking his cold medicine. Pathetic. And for what? He only loves me."

When I still didn't speak, a flicker of annoyance crossed her face. She pulled a thick stack of papers from her designer handbag and threw them onto my bed.

"It's not just my son who loves me. Julian loves me more than anything. Every single night, after you were asleep, he was on a video call with me."

"This," she said, gesturing to the papers, "is our chat history. Eight hundred pages. From the day you got married, he has never missed a single night of telling me, 'Goodnight, I love you, wifey'."

"For three years, he never once thought of you as his wife! You were always just a pawn."

I stared at the pages scattered across the white bedsheets.

Even though my heart was already dead, even though I knew our three-year dream was a lie, I never imagined this. That they had never lost contact. A single glance at the pages revealed the depth of his devotion to her.

I felt like I was submerged in ice water, the cold and pain making it impossible to breathe.

Rosalind seemed pleased with my reaction. She pressed her advantage.

"Surprised? He loves me so much he was willing to fake an illness for three years. He loves me so much he was willing to touch you, a disgusting beggar girl!"

Her voice turned venomous. "He told me every time he touched you, he had to shower for hours afterward just to feel clean enough to sleep."

"Enough!" I shrieked, my body shaking uncontrollably. I screamed for the nurse to get her out.

"Worthless beggar," Rosalind sneered as she was escorted out. "On the day of the succession, you and your whole family can go crawl back to the gutter where you belong."

She turned, her heels clicking smartly on the polished floor as she left.

I collapsed back onto the pillows, closing my eyes in despair.

A few seconds later, I picked up my phone and dialed my secretary.

"On the day of the Astor succession gala," I said, my voice cold and clear, "initiate a full short sale on Astor Corp."

I had been weak because I loved Julian Astor.

But he had forgotten who I was.

I was the woman who had clawed her way out of the slums. I was no fragile flower, easily crushed.

He didn't want a peaceful separation.

Fine. Then I would make sure he knew nothing but pain.