She Played Weak for Sympathy, So I Walked Away Without Looking Back Chapter 04

She Played Weak for Sympathy, So I Walked Away Without Looking Back Chapter 04

Julian came home early the next morning with dark circles under his eyes.

“Why didn’t you answer my FaceTime call last night?”

“There was no point.”

He sighed wearily.

“I only wanted to prove that there’s nothing going on between Camille and me. I help her because she’s your best friend.”

I nodded without emotion.

“From now on, you can help her as much as you want.”

He missed the meaning behind my words, and relief flickered across his face.

“I knew you’d understand.”

A few moments later, he received a call.

“Natalie, how could you be so vicious?”

He grabbed my wrist hard, his eyes filled with disappointment and hatred.

“The private investigator Camille hired traced that man back to you!”

“No wonder she keeps getting followed and harassed. You were behind all of it!”

My breath caught.

“I wasn’t! Julian, you’re hurting me!”

“I can call the police right now and have them investigate!”

He gave a humorless laugh.

“Those men have already fled the country. If you were capable of setting this up, of course you covered your tracks. You scare me.”

He shoved me violently.

My lower back struck the sharp edge of an ornament. Pain and numbness shot through my body, and I crumpled to the floor.

Julian had already vanished through the doorway.

I tried to get up, but a rush of hot liquid suddenly spread beneath me.

I was losing the baby.

I immediately called Julian.

“Julian, please take me to the hospital. I’m losing the baby!”

His breath hitched on the other end.

“Where are you?”

Then Camille’s soft voice drifted through the phone.

“Natalie, I know you hate me, but you can’t fake a miscarriage just to manipulate Julian.”

“Your pregnancy seemed perfectly healthy the last time I saw you. How could you possibly be miscarrying?”

I broke down.

“Julian, don’t listen to her! I really could be losing the baby. This is our child!”

Julian’s voice turned cold.

“Natalie, the fact that you’d lie about a miscarriage disgusts me!”

The call ended abruptly.

With the last of my strength, I pushed myself upright and called an ambulance.

By the time I reached the hospital, my blood oxygen level was low, and the baby was already gone.

I underwent a D&E, and the pain was unbearable.

Meanwhile, Camille posted a photo on Instagram.

She was leaning against Julian’s shoulder, eating the homemade chicken pot pie he had made for her, a gentle smile on her face.

[You promised you would always protect me, and you kept your word.]

Around her neck was the necklace Julian had special-ordered from overseas for our last anniversary. It had only just arrived.

The pain inside me went so deep that I felt nothing at all.

The baby I had carried for four months was gone.

I had once worried that if Julian ended up with a conviction, our child would grow up paying for his recklessness.

Now my baby was gone.

The final bond between Julian and me had been severed.

The following day, I went to the court clerk’s office to pick up a certified copy of the final divorce decree.

When I returned, Julian was in the kitchen simmering soup.

He glanced up when he saw me.

“You’re back? Camille isn’t angry with you anymore, but you still owe her an apology.”

I spoke quietly.

“Okay.”

Julian paused, his tone slightly awkward.

“Her place isn’t safe, so she’ll be staying with us for a while. I’m going to turn your studio into a bedroom for her.”

“Okay.”

He looked as though he wanted to say something else. After studying me for a long moment, he sighed.

“I hope you really mean that.”

His gaze dropped to my stomach. My heavy clothes concealed the change, so he noticed nothing.

“Take care of yourself and the baby. Stop working yourself up over nothing. I’m going to the hospital to see Camille, but I’ll come back and stay with you later.”

I smiled and quietly left his certified copy of the divorce decree in his study.

What I thought no longer mattered. All that mattered was that I was leaving.

Just before Julian walked out, he added, “I have a seafood delivery coming. Camille likes fresh Maine lobster, so put it in the refrigerator when it arrives.”

I nodded again.

He had forgotten that I was allergic to seafood.

The moment the door closed behind him, whatever remained between us disappeared from my life for good.

I took my suitcase and headed steadily for the airport.

I left him one final message.

Me: [Julian, this is over. For good.]

A few hours later, my flight landed in Savannah.

The moment I turned on my phone, missed calls and text messages poured in like a storm.