Chapter 1

"Dad, in just one more week, the three years will be up," Julia Evans said softly. "I'll get Oliver to sign the divorce papers. I'll be gone for good in a week."

Julia had been expecting this day to come since she got married to Oliver Miller three years prior. However, she never imagined it would come so soon.

Oliver had never loved her. Emily Evans, Julia's younger sister, was the one whom Oliver had always loved.

Martin Evans, Julia's father, looked at the divorce agreement. He wore a satisfied smile. "Oliver was always supposed to be with Emily. She only went abroad for a few years. We got you to take her place to keep Oliver around. Now that she's returned, it's time you step aside."

Julia laughed bitterly to herself when she heard Martin's unfeeling reminder.

Of course, favoritism existed in their family. As Emily was their real daughter, they used Julia, the adopted one, as much as they could. They milked her for all the value she had.

A month before, Oliver's rival had kidnapped both Julia and Emily.

There was only one parachute on the plane, and Oliver gave it to Emily without a second thought. Julia was pushed out of the plane, straight into the open sea.

It was Noah Vaughan, the richest man in the country, who saved her just in time.

That was when she finally saw things for what they were. If Oliver didn't even care about her life, then he wasn't worth holding on to. It was time to let go completely.

Seeing Julia stay silent, Martin frowned and said, "Julia, no matter what, I'm still your father. When you leave, I'll give you a small house in the suburbs and ten thousand in cash as compensation."

He sounded like he was handing out a reward, as if these things were some kind of huge favor.

Julia replied in a flat voice, "That's not necessary. I won't take anything from the Evans family."

Martin narrowed his eyes and said, "I know you have your pride, but you're only the adopted one. The fact that I'm even offering you this is generous enough. You shouldn't be so greedy."

There was no love in his gaze, only endless calculation.

"Don't worry, Dad. The day I leave Oliver will be the day I cut ties with the Evans family forever," Julia said.

She was nothing more than an adopted daughter.

Years ago, after Emily went missing, her mother, Juliette Keller, fell into a deep depression.

Hoping it would lift Juliette from her grief, Martin adopted Julia. At first, they treated her kindly, pouring all their guilt and love into her.

The second year after her adoption, they found Emily. But for the sake of their reputation, they didn't send Julia away.

The first few years were fine, but by the third year, Emily had started to bully her. She even set her up to look like a thief.

Julia lived in a lavish villa, but she was made to do all the menial chores. Rather than an adopted daughter, she was more like an unpaid maid.

Seeing how tough Julia was, Martin scoffed, "Let's see how you survive after leaving the Evans family!"

Julia gave a cold laugh. Her biological parents had found her six months earlier. They were the wealthiest family in Jelburge, and she was their only heir. At that time, she had turned them down because of Oliver.

It wasn't until two weeks ago that she finally reached out and agreed to return home and inherit the family estate. The Evans family's small fortune was nothing compared to that.

Julia stood up and walked to the door. She paused to say, "Don't worry, Dad. I promise I'll do better than you ever could."

With that, she turned and headed for the stairs.

The bedroom door next door was slightly open. She could hear a woman's breathless moans and a man's deep groans coming from inside.

Even though Julia had long known the truth, seeing her husband and her sister in bed together still made her chest ache.

"Oliver, who makes you happier? Me or Julia?" Emily's teasing voice drifted out.

"You, of course," Oliver said quickly but firmly. "You're the only one who's ever made me feel this way. You know I've always loved you. Julia was just filling in while you were gone."

Each word cut into Julia's heart, wounding her again and again, but never enough to break her completely.

She stood frozen. Her blood ran cold, and she was barely able to keep her balance.

Then, Emily's voice came again as she feigned innocence. "Oh no, Julia's right outside! How am I supposed to face her after this?"

Oliver pulled the covers around Emily and yelled at the door, "Get out!"

Eyes brimming with tears, Julia ran to the backyard.

She had loved Oliver for ten years. Even though she knew he didn't love her, she still agreed to marry him. She had even accepted a secret marriage when Oliver proposed it.

For three years, she was his secretary by day and his secret wife by night. She was never allowed to step into the light.

Julia had believed that if she worked hard enough, Oliver would eventually be moved. But after three years, all she ever was to him was just a stand-in.

Julia wept and laughed, collapsing helplessly on the ground. She laughed at herself for being such a fool, and at Oliver for being even more foolish.

Emily only came back because she'd finished playing around and needed someone to take care of her, yet Oliver treated her like a treasure.

Julia didn't know how long she had been sitting there before she finally pulled out her phone and called Noah.

"Mr. Vaughan, didn't you say you liked me?" Julia asked. "I'll be divorced in seven days. Would you be willing to marry me?"

Chapter 2

Noah hesitated on the other end of the line. He paused for several seconds.

Julia thought maybe she'd been too forward, so she apologized. "I'm sorry if that was out of line, Mr. Vaughan. If you don't want to, just forget it."

After a moment, Noah's rough, deep voice came through. "Ms. Evans, why the sudden change of heart? You turned me down two weeks ago."

Julia took a deep breath and glanced up at the bedroom above. "The man I loved turned out to be worse than a dog. I must've been blind not to see it sooner."

She heard the flick of a lighter on the other end, followed by the faintest smile in his voice. "Alright. I'll come to get you in a week. As soon as you have those divorce papers, we'll get married."

Julia agreed, then added, "I heard you own 50 percent of Miller Corporation. I want those shares."

She was about to offer something in return when Noah simply said, "Alright. Not just the 50 percent of Miller Corporation, though. You'll have the right to half of everything I own."

Julia never expected Noah to be so generous. Before she could process it, he'd already hung up.

...

It was midnight when Oliver finally walked into her bedroom. The strong scent of perfume made Julia feel nauseous.

She wrinkled her nose and tried to push him away, but Oliver just tightened his grip, and his voice softened. "Come on, don't be mad. I lost control earlier. That's why that happened.

"You know I've loved Emily for years. I almost married her back then. Men always feel something special for the one that got away. Sure, I slept with her, but you're still my wife.

"Julia, you love me so much. I know you'll understand, right?"

Julia felt her heart freezing over, little by little. Oliver had slept with Emily, and he still expected her to understand him? To accept that he was cheating?

She forced down the disgust, pushed him off, and said with a blank face, "I don't care."

She didn't love him anymore. No matter what he did, it wouldn't matter to her. He wouldn't hurt her ever again.

Oliver was a little surprised by her reaction. He knew how outrageous his words were, so he'd already come up with plenty of excuses to cover it up. But when Julia said she didn't care, he suddenly didn't know what else to say.

As Oliver stared into her eyes, he quickly came up with his own explanation. Julia was so hopelessly in love with him that no matter what he did, she'd always forgive him.

He breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "I knew you'd be the understanding one. Oh, and tomorrow is Emily's birthday. Make sure you come to the party or people will start gossiping."

Julia laughed coldly to herself. She was an orphan. She didn't even know when her birthday was, so her birthday had always been set to the same day as Emily's. But for all these years, she had never once truly celebrated her own birthday.

She tried to say no, but Oliver told her it was what Martin wanted as well.

...

The next day at the party, the entire house was bright as day, filled with business elites coming and going.

Miller Corporation was at the top in Harbour City, and everyone wanted to curry favor with Oliver.

Julia, out of habit after three years as his secretary, stood at Oliver's side.

A petroleum magnate walked over with a glass of champagne. "Mr. Miller, I hear you're about to marry one of the Evans daughters. They have two daughters. Which one are you marrying?"

Julia's heart nearly stopped. In their three-year marriage, Oliver had never once acknowledged her in public. Would he this time?

All eyes turned to Oliver.

Emily immediately took Oliver's arm and smiled. "Oliver and I grew up together. There's no need to spell it out, right?"

Oliver just laughed and replied, "Right. Whatever Emily says."

He didn't deny it.

People all around them started laughing, some even sneering.

"The real daughter and the adopted one are just not the same. Julia worked as his secretary for three years without pay, and she still didn't become his wife."

"She's just the adopted one. If the Evans family hadn't taken her in, who knows where she'd have ended up?"

Julia heard every mocking word. She felt herself growing colder and colder. Maybe she'd heard it all so many times that she couldn't even feel sad anymore.

Everyone at the party gave their gifts to Emily, making her the center of attention.

Julia just slipped out to the rooftop to get some air.

She told herself to hang on a little longer. Once everything was settled, she'd finally be able to leave.

As she stood lost in thought, Emily came over with a gift box. "Julia, you haven't gotten any presents today, have you? Let me give you something special."

Before Julia could refuse, Emily had already opened the box. What was inside made Julia's face change instantly.

It was the lingerie Emily had worn the night before and a used box of condoms.

Chapter 3

"Julia, maybe if you wear my clothes, Oliver will actually love you a little more," Emily taunted in a mocking voice.

"Honestly, I almost feel bad for you. In the Evans family, you're just my stand-in. And with Oliver, you're not even that. If I were you, I'd have left ages ago."

She leaned in, lowering her voice. "You know, Oliver never seems to run out of energy when he's with me, but..."

Julia couldn't listen to another word. She smacked the gift box out of Emily's hands and cut her off. "That's enough! Remember your place. Right now, I'm still Oliver's wife. If you push me any further, I'll take all this downstairs and show every guest exactly what you've been up to with your brother-in-law!"

The words had barely left Julia's lips when Emily fell to the floor. She burst into tears. "Julia, I'm sorry! I swear, I'll never get close to Oliver again. If you really hate me that much, I'll buy a ticket and leave the country right now, and you'll never have to see me again."

At that moment, Oliver rushed over, pulling Emily into his arms to protect her.

Martin stormed up. Without asking what had happened, he slapped Julia hard across the face. He snapped, "Julia, Emily's my only daughter. You'd better know your place! If you mess with her again, don't blame me for cutting you off and acting like you were never part of our family!"

Julia's ears rang from the blow. She turned and bit her lip. She said through gritted teeth, "She started it. She..."

Oliver cut her off, frowning, "That's enough. We all know what Emily's like. She would never provoke you first. You must've done something.

"I get that you're upset that I didn't acknowledge you tonight, but keeping our marriage quiet was something we both agreed to. So, why are you making such a big deal out of it now?

"I'm really disappointed in you, Julia. Don't bother coming home tonight. Stay here and think about what you've done!"

With that, Oliver scooped Emily up and hurried away from the rooftop.

Julia clutched her chest while fighting back tears. She tried to run after them to explain.

Just as she reached the door, Oliver kicked it shut on her hand.

Pain shot through her. She dropped to her knees as blood welled up from the wound. Her whole body trembled violently, spasming from the sheer agony.

She finally realized that when the pain ran deep enough, it left her too weak to make a sound.

As she leaned against the wall, tears streamed down her face. She whispered over and over, "Oliver, we're done."

...

Seeing all the blood, the maids took Julia straight to the hospital.

The doctor wanted to give her a local anesthetic, but Julia refused. She told herself that only by remembering this pain would she learn her lesson.

She had over a dozen stitches. The doctor warned her to be careful or the wound would leave a scar.

Since it was starting to get infected, the doctor recommended that she stay overnight for observation.

At 11:55 pm, Noah called Julia.

"Happy birthday, Julia."

Her nose stung, and her voice came out hoarse, "Thank you. You're the only one who's wished me a happy birthday today."

Noah asked, "You sound off. Have you been crying? Did someone hurt you? Who was it?"

Hearing Noah's concern brought a warmth Julia hadn't felt in a long time. He was the only one who cared about her tonight.

She tried to keep her emotions in check. "It's nothing. I just cried at a TV show."

Noah was quiet for a few seconds. It was obvious he didn't buy her excuse, but he let it go. "Alright, don't watch TV too late. It's bad for your eyes. I have your birthday present ready. I'll bring it when I come to get you.

"If anyone ever hurts you again, don't just deal with it alone. You can tell me. I'll make them pay."

For a moment, Julia remembered Oliver saying something like that to her long ago, but those words had lost all meaning now.

Julia managed a smile. "Okay. It's late. You should get some rest."

After they hung up, Julia slept better than she had in a long time. Somehow, the pain felt a little easier to bear.

The next morning, the first thing Julia did was go find a lawyer and start drafting the divorce papers.

Chapter 4

Julia brought two sets of agreements to the office that morning.

Oliver noticed how carefully she had her hand wrapped and frowned. "What happened to your hand? Did you get hurt? Are you seriously going to hurt yourself just because I scolded you last night?"

He didn't even realize her hand was injured because of him.

Of course, with Emily around, he never paid attention to Julia.

Julia didn't bother to explain. "No, I just cut it by accident."

Oliver wasn't stupid. He knew there was no way such a deep wound was an accident.

Before he could press further, Julia pulled out the agreements. "Mr. Miller, I have two contracts here. I need you to sign them."

Oliver's frown deepened. Julia never addressed him that way when it was just the two of them. The change in tone irritated him.

Just as he was about to read the agreements, Emily called.

After just a few words with her, he grabbed his jacket and said, "I've got something to take care of. We'll talk about these contracts later."

But Julia wasn't having it. She shoved the pen into his hand and insisted, "These contracts are urgent. I need your signature now."

She flipped both to the last page and set them in front of him.

Just then, Emily called again.

Julia's fist clenched a little tighter. "Just sign them and you can go."

Oliver felt that Emily was being a bit unreasonable, but he still scribbled his name on both pages. "There. Happy now?" he asked coldly.

Julia took a deep breath as she looked at the signatures. "Alright," she replied.

Oliver headed for the door but paused for a moment. "Emily's coming over for dinner tonight. She's picky, so make a few of her favorite dishes. She's already forgiven you, so don't dwell on it. You're her sister. Just make dinner as an apology."

With that, he left without looking back.

Julia glanced down at her heavily bandaged hand and let out a bitter laugh. Even when he saw her hurt like this, he would always expect her to give in for Emily's sake.

...

That evening, Oliver brought Emily home with him.

The moment they stepped inside, the smell of something burning hit Oliver. He rushed to the backyard and found Julia standing by a small fire.

"What are you burning?" he asked.

As he got closer, he saw it was a pile of gifts he had given her over the years. She used to treasure them.

Once, a maid had ruined one of them in the wash, and Oliver remembered that Julia had thrown a fit over it. But now, she was burning all of them.

Oliver lost his temper, kicked over the fire pit, and demanded, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Julia answered calmly, "There's no room left in the house, so I thought I'd burn some things. You told me earlier that Emily was moving in and needed a room, remember?"

The explanation caught Oliver off guard and shut down whatever argument he'd planned to start. The excuse was perfectly reasonable, but it still left him unsettled.

Emily clung to Oliver's arm and said, "Sorry, Oliver. I do have a lot of stuff. It's just some old clothes anyway, so burning them doesn't matter."

Oliver's expression softened. "Forget it. What's done is done. None of it was important anyway."

With that, he turned and walked away with Emily.

Julia watched the ashes of her old memories and smiled wryly.

He was right. None of it mattered anymore.

...

Later in the dining room, Oliver frowned when he noticed Julia hadn't cooked dinner. "Didn't I tell you Emily was coming for dinner? Why didn't you make anything?"

Julia looked at him, raised her bandaged hand, and said simply, "I can't."

For a moment, Oliver felt a pang of guilt. He'd forgotten she was hurt.

Seeing him hesitate, Emily quickly tugged his arm. "Oliver, since Julia didn't cook, why don't we just eat out tonight?"

Julia didn't want to watch them together another second. She turned and headed upstairs.

After her shower, Noah called to talk about wedding plans. He asked her what kind of venue she liked.

Julia had never dared to dream of a wedding during her three years with Oliver. She always thought she just didn't deserve it.

But Noah gave her a wedding before she even asked. He made her feel like she was truly cared for.

Julia thought for a moment and said, "By the sea. I'd love a beach wedding."

Just then, Oliver was passing by her door. He barged in. "What wedding are you talking about?"