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.