Julian read and re–read every single word on the yellowed piece of paper, over and over again, until his eyes finally turned sore

and bitter.

Suddenly, he understood the pain that Willow had been through. He understood her tears.

He finally understood why Willow had screamed at him in the parking lot, asking him why he wouldn’t even spare her one minute

of his time, and why he had changed so much.

She couldn’t give birth anymore.

He didn’t love her. However, Willow was someone very important to him. She had been with him for four years. She had been by

his side when he was at his lowest, and she had also witnessed him achieving his greatest bsesses/b.

They had agreed to have two children after they got married. One would be a boy named Landon Ziegler, and the other would be a

girl named Evelyn Ziegler.

Julian slowly sat down on the bed.

His usual handsome features suddenly looked like they’d aged by a few years. He grabbed a cigarette from his pocket, lit it up, and

took a huge drag of it. His slim face hollowed out even more, giving off a mysterious aura.

ir appeared at the door again and cautiously said, “Ms. Barker is here.”

Julian didn’t respond.

Esther had rushed over from the hospital. She was shocked when she saw all the broken ss shards on the floor.

Had Julian been abandoned?

However, Esther was a trained professional. She quickly set her emotions aside and asked Julian what they should do next.

Smoke framed Julian’s faceb, /bslightly blurry to the vision. He answered faintly, “Keep this out of the media. No matter what, the

bpublic /bmust never know that Willow has separated from me.”

Esther nodded in bresponse/b.

bShe /blooked bat /bher bboss /band suddenly couldn’t wrap her head around something. Weren’t Julian and Willow just married for a

bbusiness /bballiance/bb? /bSob, /bwhy did Julian look bso /bsad now after learning that Willow had left?

Did Julian really not blove /bWillow bafter /ball?

bWillow /bmoved into ban /bapartment. bIt /bbwasn’t /ba huge one, just about b1,200 /bsquare feet in bsize/bb, /bbut the interior had been designed

using only the bbest /bmaterials bavable /bbin /bthe market.

b+25 /bbBonus /b

She pushed open the floor–to–ceiling length windows, looking out at half bof /bthe city’s nightscape.

The next morning, Willow went to see Grace.

Grace knew nothing about her altercation with Julian and smiled widely as she asked her about him. Willow didn’t want her to worryb, /bso she smiled back in return and said, “It’s all good! Julian has been treating me really well.”

Even if they weren’t married anymore, life still had to go on. So, Willow decided to pick up oil painting once more, something that she’d always loved since she was young.

For the next week, Willow stayed at home as she painted.

She had never felt as carefree as she did now. She even bought herself a dog, a mixed breed with fur as white as snow, and named it Snowy. She liked it very much.

As the weekend rolled around, Willow went to attend an art show and gallery. There were hundreds of paintings on sale at the show, and she found herself particrly drawn to a painting of flowers titled “Twin Blooms“.

She was about to ask for the price when she suddenly caught sight of the artist’s name–Charlie Burke.

He was none other than Catherine’s father.

Willow began to get lost in thought. Just then, a woman’s gentle voice sounded from behind her. “You like this painting too, right?”

Willow turned around and saw a noble–looking woman standing next to her. She was dressed in a fashionable outfit and looked very beautiful and pleasing to the eye. There were also two personal assistants on either side behind her.

Anyone could tell at first nce that the woman hade from a noble background, most presumably the wife bof /bba /bprominent family.

The woman smiled at Willow and introduced herself. “My husband is from the Chapman family.”

Willow suddenly remembered her. This woman’s name was Heather Kipling, and her husband was Timothy Chapman, from bAurelia /bGroup. Timothy’s business was often more focused in the southern part of the country, Soudern. That was why Willow had only bjust /bcaught a glimpse of Heather before.

bSeeing /bthat Willow recalled who she was, Heather grinned and said, “I saw you as soon as I arrived. You must be Mrs. Ziegler, Julian’s wifeb. /bRight?”

If bthe /bbZieglers /bbwere /bba /bprominent family in the northern part, then the Chapmans were prominent in the southern part.

bHeather /bhad bspecifically /breferred bto /bJulian by his first name, implying that the two families had a close–knit rtionship. It also meant that Timothy was looking forward bto /bcoborating with Neb Group.

Willow and Heather began chatting and got along like a house on fire. Ultimately, Heather invited Willow for a cup of coffee to

bcontinue /bwith their bconversation/b.

Of course, Willow was happy to oblige.

b+25 /bBonus

They went to a bright, cozy cafe. Heather stirred her coffee with a silver spoon, speaking in an unhurried tone, “Mr. Burke is a

great artist. However, he’s quite a character. It’s fine if you don’t buy his paintings after all.”

Willow just smiled faintly.

She was about to reply when she saw that Heather was suddenly spacing out with a sad look on her face. It was as if she was suddenly revisiting old memories of the past.

Her personal assistant quicklyforted her. “Mrs. Chapman, you don’t have to think about the past anymore. Mr. Chapman will be worried if he learns that you fell sick again.”

Heather smiled apologetically at Willow. “Please excuse my behavior, Mrs. Ziegler. It’s just that I had a very painful recollection

of the past. When I was young, I fell in love with a man and gave him a child, but he was a cruel man.

“I was then harmed by an enemy, and by the time I woke up, my five–year–old daughter had gone missing. Luckily, I met my husband then. But even after searching high and low for my missing daughter, I still was never able to locate her again.”

Tears fell from Heather’s eyes as she continued talking about her painful past.

She remembered that her daughter had a mole on her waist. It was small, faint, and red in color, but she would be able to

recognize her daughter immediately as soon as she saw the mole.

Willow was an orphan. She could rte to Heather’s loss of a family member, so she held Heather’s hands and tried tofort

her.

Heather felt better after a while. She then came a little closer to Willow and said, “I felt a connection with you, so I couldn’t help

telling you so many things about myself. Please excuse me if I’m being too much of a chatterbox, Mrs. Ziegler.”

Willow immediately said gently, “Oh no, Mrs. Chapman! I believe that fate will have you meet your daughter again. I’m sure

you’ll find her again.” bo /b

Heather broke into a smile. “I sure hope so!”

She then thought of something else. After taking out her business card, Heather said, “Timothy will be hosting a dinner event at his mansion in a while. You have to attend. I know that you’re an ambitious womanb, /bso let me get you acquainted with a few

prominent figures.”

Willow couldn’t possibly let her downb, /bso she exchanged cards with Heather and agreed.

When it was time to leave, Heather stood next to a luxurious car, seemingly not wanting to leave Willow bso /bsoon. It had been a

very long time since she’d felt like this. Chatting with Willow somehow reminded her of chatting with her own daughter when

she was little.

Heather’s secretary then gently reminded her again that it was time to leave. It wasn’t until then that she finally let go bof /bWillow

and said, “bLet’s /bcontinue again next time.”

b+25 /bBonus

Willow stood in ce, watching quietly as Heather left in her car. She thought that Timothy must really love Heather very much.

He showered her with love and everything else she needed–he even gave up on asking for a child because of her.

All of a sudden, Willow’s head was filled with thoughts.

Around 9:00 pm, Willow finished thest stroke of her paintbrush and stretchedzily, while Snowy wagged its tail next to her.

Willow fed the dog and made sure to add a small treat for it. Snowy was delighted and devoured everything as quickly as possible.

She petted it for a while before going into the bedroom to fetch a change of clothing. It had been cloudy for the past few days, and

the clothes she set out to dry were still damp. With no other choice, she went over to the wardrobe and opened it up, looking for a

shirt she could use as a bathrobe.

She turned on the lights in the wardrobe and let her fingers slide over the fabrics inside. Finally, shended on a ck shirt.

It used to belong to Julian.

She had identally brought it with her when it got lost among all of her other clothes.

After pondering for a moment, Willow decided to take it out. After all, it wasn’t like Julian would ever find out.

Ten minutester, Willow finished her shower and came out of the bathroom in the ck shirt. She flipped her damp hair behind

her shoulders, preparing to blow dry her hair, when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Thinking it was Annie, Willow went over to open the door without giving it much thought.

A split secondter, however, she was shocked.

Julian was standing at her door. His tall silhouette blocked out the light from themps outside, casting a shadow over his face so that she couldn’t read his expression well. She just didn’t know why he would be here in the middle of the night.

It had been a week, and they never contacted each other. There hadn’t been a single phone call at all.

Willow believed that Julian must have received the court summons. So, what was he doing here at her home?

Julian stared at Willow.

Willow was only wearing a dark men’s shirt on her body, with nothing much on her lower half. He thought she looked sultry with her long legspletely exposed beneath the shirt. It was a thin shirt that left little to the imagination, after all.