Chapter 5

After Claire finished speaking and disappeared into the crowd, Julian was left frozen, unable to react.

For a brief moment, he felt a strange panic, as if he were about to lose something incredibly important.

It was the same feeling he had when Claire calmly signed the divorce papers, a quiet unease in his heart.

She hadn't yelled or caused a scene. It seemed as though she had already predicted the outcome.

But just not long ago, Claire had been furious with him for forgetting her birthday, causing a huge uproar. He even got slapped by her.

He had thought when he brought up about faking the divorce, Claire would have gone crazy, causing a scene, and he was even prepared for it.

But she didn't. She picked up the pen. Her expression was calm.

At that moment, he had thought about stopping her, but in the end, he did nothing.

He convinced himself it was okay, that Claire loved him. They were only faking it, and after things settled down, he would propose to her again, giving her the marriage she deserved.

But Emily was different.

She couldn't be hurt because of him. If it hadn't been for Emily's father recognizing his talent all those years ago, taking the risk of being kicked out of the shareholders' meeting to invest in his project, and helping him grow and rise as a new force in Jymara, he wouldn't have achieved what he had today.

He didn't deserve Emily.

Before Emily's father passed away, he had asked him to protect Emily, to ensure she lived a peaceful life. He didn't want to be the kind of person who betrayed his word.

Arthur had once asked him, "If one day, both Emily and Claire fall off a cliff, who would you save?"

At the time, he laughed, thinking the question was beneath him.

He would save Emily, but he would die with Claire.

Arthur laughed along but then asked, "But what if Claire doesn't want to die?

"Julian, you can't always take Claire's love for granted. If she can't feel your love, she will despair."

At the time, he didn't take his words seriously.

He had never even considered them important.

He didn't expect it, but in the end, his words came true.