From then on, Julian became even colder toward me.

Once, in the middle of making love, his phone rang—it was Tiffany.

Tiffany said she was drunk and needed him to take her home.

Julian immediately got off me. I reached out to stop him, but he shook me off.

He glared at me and hissed, "Tiffany doesn't know anyone here. Are you going to take responsibility if something happens to her? Chloe, stop being so childish."

Everyone also said, "Tiffany has such terrible luck. If only she had accepted Julian's confession back then, she'd be married to the hospital's top obstetrics and gynecology doctor by now. No one would stand a chance against her."

None of Julian's relatives or friends liked me. They all believed I came from a humble background and was never worthy of him.

Even Julian seemed to think so. Ever since Tiffany returned from abroad, he had been giving me the silent treatment, 

Tiffany walked in while I was packing my things for discharge. I had just begun to feel a little better physically.

Today was the day of my daughter's funeral.

Tiffany said, "So what if you gave birth to his child? Julian never loved you. He only sees you as my replacement."

Once again, Tiffany acted delicate and frail. She looked at me with mockery and disdain, no longer the elegant figure she usually portrayed in front of Julian.

I pursed my lips and looked at her seriously. "Do you really enjoy being a mistress that much?"

Tiffany clearly hadn't expected me to ask such an unrelated question. The words hit a nerve, and I saw her face twist in irritation and embarrassment.

"Why are you still pretending, Chloe? You're terrified, aren't you? What's wrong with loving someone? Just because your heart is filthy doesn't mean everyone else's is too. If you love Julian, you'd let us be to

Just as I was about to respond to Wendy, I heard Julian's voice outside the door.

"Wendy, hurry! Tiffany isn't feeling well again."

The door swung open. Julian froze for a second when he saw me.

Our eyes met. Then, he said indifferently, "The baby is just born, and there's nothing urgent for Wendy to handle right now. Since Tiffany needs someone to care for her, Wendy can help her out.

"You don't mind, do you? Also, I'll be looking after Tiffany during this period. You should probably hire someone else. I don't have the energy to manage everything."

Just then, a nurse opened the door and said nervously, "Dr. Burton, Mrs. Burton is looking for you. You should come quickly." 

"What's wrong with Tiffany?" Julian asked with a worried expression. And just like that, he rushed off without any explanation.

The nurse shot me a look of pure contempt—no doubt branding me as the mistress in this scenario. 

I bit my lip hard. A wave of grief and fury threatened to drown me whole.

Suddenly, Wendy shrieked, "Mrs. Burton!"

The pain finally registered. I didn't even realize I'd bitten through the skin on my lip. 

Seeing Wendy's worried expression, I tried to smile to assure her. 

Wendy sighed, and her voice filled with pity. "Men always want what they don't have. You're his wife, yet he allows others to think it's someone else? And here I thought Dr. Burton was different."

However, I'd known that Julian loved someone else even before we were married.  

The three of us went to the same university. During all those years, he liked Tiffany, and I was secretly in love with him.

Unlike Tiffany, I was just a nobody, the kind of girl no one noticed. Julian thought I was an embarrassment and never once took my feelings seriously.
 
For years, I watched Julian get hurt again and again. Every time he confessed to Tiffany and got rejected, I was being rejected, too.

Then, Tiffany went abroad with her then-boyfriend. After we graduated, pressure from his family piled on, and Julian finally gave in and agreed to "give us a try".

I thought I had finally made it and that, after everything, I'd waited long enough to win his heart. 

Even when I heard his friends laughing outside our wedding suite—calling me a pathetic girl who'd begged her way into a marriage—I ignored it.

On our wedding day, Julian told me frankly, "I'll only ever love Tiffany. Don't get your hopes up."

However, I still believed that he'd come to love me with time.

Eventually, Tiffany came back.

Then, I realized that while it hurts to love someone stuck on their true love, it feels worse when that true love walks away, gets divorced, and comes back even more radiant than before.
 

From then on, Julian became even colder toward me.

Once, in the middle of making love, his phone rang—it was Tiffany.

Tiffany said she was drunk and needed him to take her home.

Julian immediately got off me. I reached out to stop him, but he shook me off.

He glared at me and hissed, "Tiffany doesn't know anyone here. Are you going to take responsibility if something happens to her? Chloe, stop being so childish."

Everyone also said, "Tiffany has such terrible luck. If only she had accepted Julian's confession back then, she'd be married to the hospital's top obstetrics and gynecology doctor by now. No one would stand a chance against her."

None of Julian's relatives or friends liked me. They all believed I came from a humble background and was never worthy of him.

Even Julian seemed to think so. Ever since Tiffany returned from abroad, he had been giving me the silent treatment, claiming he was swamped with work.

He only came home once a week and even refused to accompany me t

Chapter 5