Chapter 2

I hung up, refusing to listen to their toxic garbage for another second.

Yet Chloe wasn't planning on letting me off so easily.

Less than an hour later, she dragged Dylan to my house and kicked my front door wide open.

Without a shred of mercy, she pointed her finger in my face and unleashed a torrent of abuse.

"Julian! I spoke a few hard truths, and now you're throwing a fit?! Well, since my head is clear now, I might as well tell you—I turned down your proposals on purpose just to mess with your head!"

Pushed beyond my limit, I fired back, "So you kept your marriage a secret just so you could gloat every time I made a fool of myself proposing to you?"

Her eyes flared bloodshot as she shrieked, "You brought this on yourself! You ruined my first love!"

"If you hadn't framed him for harassing female students back in college, would the university have fired him? Would his gambling-addict mother have beaten him until he was crippled, forcing him to hide from me alone for years?!"

I stared at her in utter disbelief, unable to process the insanity coming out of her mouth.

Back in college, I had only ever advised Chloe to focus on her classes and not lose her head over a campus romance.

She always laughed it off, calling me an unromantic prude.

When I warned her too many times, she began pulling away from me.

It reached the point where she packed her bags to move into an off-campus apartment with him and coldly warned me to butt out of her private life.

That was the moment I realized my secret crush was dead in the water.

From beginning to end, I never interfered in her relationship with Dylan, let alone went out of my way to frame him.

Later on, I only found out Dylan had been fired and vanished through idle campus gossip.

Looking back now... did she only stay with me all these years just to get revenge for her ruined first love? Revenge for losing her precious "white moonlight"?

Dylan subtly tugged at Chloe's sleeve, speaking in a weak, pitiful murmur. "Don't be mad, Chloe, please... Aren't I standing right here in front of you? Julian worked hard taking care of you for me all these years. Think of it as making amends for his past mistakes."

I glared at him, furious. I knew this conniving bastard had framed me!

Dylan lowered his head, putting on a humble show. "Julian, Chloe just has a child's temper. For my sake, don't hold it against her."

"Like I said, once my personal affairs are wrapped up, I'll divorce her. I'm just a crippled loser now anyway. I shouldn't have crashed back into your lives and ruined your relationship."

As he spoke, his voice broke into pathetic sobs.

Heartbroken, Chloe threw her arms around him and gave him a solemn promise.

"Dylan, don't talk like that! No matter what happens to you, I will never abandon you! I'll stay by your side forever! And we are going to watch the person who ruined your life get what's coming to him!"

She spat that last sentence through gritted teeth, glaring right into my eyes.

I let out a breath, a wave of bitter cold washing over my soul.

When push came to shove, Chloe only ever believed Dylan.

A few soft, manipulative words from him wiped out years of my genuine love, pampering, and devotion.

Putting on an indifferent front, I said, "Since you two are legally wedded soulmates, I'll gladly step out of this sick love triangle. Now get the hell out of my house."

Chloe gave me a sideways sneer, her expression laced with malice. "You seem confused, Julian. This house doesn't belong to you anymore."

I froze, staring at her in bewilderment.

"What do you mean?"

She pulled out several signed voluntary gift agreements from her purse. My name was signed across every single page in crisp, clear ink.

Every time she rejected my proposals, I had signed those property agreements just to appease her and cheer her up.

Throughout all our years together, I never imagined she would ever leave me. I never once questioned her motives when she asked me to sign them.

I was just a blind, lovesick fool.

Chloe said cold-bloodedly, "From now on, this is Dylan's and my home. If you know what's good for you, don't ever show your face here again!"

Dylan's lips curled into a faint smirk. "Chloe, you really shouldn't have done that. You should have given Julian a heads-up. Dropping this on him with zero warning... what if the shock gives him a heart attack? People will blame us."

I fixed my eyes on Chloe, my voice shaking with fury. "You planned this from the very beginning? You played me for years just for him?"