Chapter 2
Madison immediately started sobbing.
"Julian, stop, please. It's my fault."
"I'm taking her room, so she was angry and accidentally pushed me. I'm fine, really."
She shrank against Julian's side, acting as if she were genuinely terrified of me.
The look in Julian's eyes shifted right back to disgust.
"You're acting like a jealous, hysterical child."
"It makes me sick when you act like this."
"You're not the Claire I used to know."
"There is simply no reasoning with you anymore."
With that, he took Madison's hand and led her away.
Watching them leave, I suddenly realized my chest didn't ache as much as it used to.
This was for the best.
It would make leaving that much easier.
I had cried enough these past few days.
From now on, I would never shed another tear for them.
That evening, Julian attended a formal dinner at the Bennett estate.
The room suddenly buzzed with excitement.
All because of a single sentence he dropped during the pre-dinner cocktail hour.
"I've been thinking about marriage lately."
Several family friends and younger guests immediately started whispering.
"Is Mr. Sterling finally marrying Miss Bennett?"
"Should we start preparing for the wedding?"
Someone else asked in a low voice, "When do you think the date will be?"
I frowned, stepping forward to shut the rumors down.
I had absolutely no intention of marrying Julian.
But Julian heard them first.
"Who said anything about Claire?"
"I never said I was marrying Claire Bennett."
Then, he turned slightly and wrapped his arm intimately around Madison's waist.
The room fell dead silent.
People exchanged wide-eyed glances, terrified to speak.
A smirk played on Julian's lips as his gaze swept over the crowd.
"What's with those expressions?"
"Madison is here. Don't leave her standing there like she doesn't belong."
The guests awkwardly scrambled to greet them.
Then, everyone quickly scattered, pretending to be busy with their own conversations.
Clutching my packed box, I stared straight ahead and walked out of the home I had lived in for over a decade.
"You got what you wanted."
"I hope you're both very happy."
I dropped the words and walked away without looking back.
I hadn't taken two steps before Julian chased after me.
"What the hell was that? Walking out like this—are you trying to humiliate Madison?"
"She's young. Did you even stop to think how people will look at her because of what you just did?"
I gripped the box tighter, my knuckles turning white.
"You're lecturing me about humiliation?"
"What gives you the right to treat me like a joke in there?"
"Did I say something wrong?"
"I just wished you both well. What exactly is wrong with that?"
Tears blurred my vision, and my voice trembled despite my best efforts.
Julian seemed caught off guard by my reaction.
It took him a long time to speak.
"Claire, stop crying."
"Let it go this time, but don't say things like that in public again."
"Madison can't handle it."
He turned and disappeared from my sight, taking Madison with him.
I stood frozen in place. My tears smashed against the lid of the box.
Inside was a brooch my mother left behind, along with the other keepsakes she meant for me.
I hugged the box to my chest. My warm breath hit the cold wood, but it did nothing to thaw my completely frozen heart.
If my mother were still alive, her heart would ache for me.
I wiped my tears away.
Once the anniversary of my mother's passing was over, I would take my inheritance, her belongings, and my future, and leave New York forever.
I would never come back.