Chapter 4Me or this kid, who's it gonna be?

I called Julian back, but I didn't mention divorce.

I looked at the man, who had lost a lot of weight, and quickly averted my gaze.

"I didn't pick you up last night. Where did you stay?"

Julian's fingers trembled slightly. After a moment, he said:

"I stayed at the office."

I couldn't quite describe the feeling in my heart—not much bitterness,

But mostly disappointment.

When did Julian start lying to me?

The man who once promised to be honest with me forever had changed.

I didn't expose him because, to me, it no longer mattered.

"She, how many months along is she?"

Julian's voice paused for a few seconds, as if he couldn't bear to hurt me.

"Almost seven months."

After saying that, he knelt before me, burying his head deeply in my lap.

His tears soaked my dress.

"Nora, I'm sorry. Please don't leave me."

In my memory, Julian had never cried before.

Now, his sobs were violent.

Watching him cry, my heart ached too.

But I knew, at this moment, I couldn't soften.

"Arrange for me to meet that girl."

We met at Selena's apartment.

Julian waited for me outside the door.

Selena gently stroked her belly, her eyes filled with anticipation for the baby.

"That night, the lights were off, and I was really terrified.

"But the next day, when I saw Julian lying beside me, I actually felt a moment of relief."

Selena chuckled as she spoke.

She looked up at me, still maintaining that gentle, lovely demeanor.

"Miss Shen, Julian's and my baby is almost due. Why don't you just let us be?"

With Julian not present, the girl in front of me seemed to transform.

Honestly, I wasn't too surprised.

Because the night I went to find Julian, Selena had glanced towards the door.

I knew she had seen me that day.

She slowly stood up and pushed open a closed bedroom door.

Inside was a cozy nursery.

"Everything in here was personally chosen by Julian, and he decorated the room himself.

"He's not without hope for this child."

I desperately wanted to maintain my last shred of composure in front of Selena, who was flaunting Julian's fatherly love to me.

But she still provoked me.

So, Julian *did* have expectations for this child.

He wasn't indifferent at all.

All the strength seemed to drain from my body. I leaned a hand on the dining table, knocking over a water glass.

It hit the floor with a crisp *clink*, a sound that echoed in my heart, shattering it into cracks.

Julian heard the noise. When he looked, he saw me swaying, and Selena on the floor crying out in pain.

That day, I will never forget, Julian's first choice was no longer me.

Selena shot me a triumphant smile, believing she had won.

As he brushed past me, Julian hesitated for only a second.

Then he went past me, picked Selena up, and rushed her to the hospital.