Chapter 176

He was mad. Anna kept her hand frozen mid-air, staring blankly at the top of the stairs, but deep down, she could feel it clearly—Julian was angry. No yelling, no snapping, just calm—so calm it felt suffocating. And somehow, that quiet kind of anger hit even harder. She'd rather he just shouted at her, scolded her, anything would have been better than this cold silence, like being judged without a voice. Something heavy and bitter welled up in her chest, spreading through her whole body. The room was dead silent, eerily so. But in her head, Julian's voice kept repeating on loop. "You'd rather take Ethan's word over mine?" "I thought you knew me better than that…" So, who was she really supposed to believe? Megan walked in quietly, only to find Anna slumped on the couch, completely spaced out. She glanced around but didn't see Julian anywhere. Her heart skipped a beat, though she kept her expression composed. Leaning forward a little, she called out, "Ma'am?" Anna didn't respond at firs