Chapter 4

Edward was up early again, cooking breakfast in the kitchen.

When he saw me, he waved me over to join him.

I took a quick look: it was pancakes.

They were drizzled with honey and looked absolutely delicious.

After setting the fruit on the table, Edward called out again, "Come grab a bite!"

"No need, James is bringing me breakfast," I replied.

Edward stood rooted to the spot, stunned.

After a few seconds, he finally asked, his voice uncertain, "Are you with James now?"

"Yeah. If you can be with Victoria, then I can be with James," I retorted.

Edward sounded a bit agitated. "It's not the same."

"How is it any different?" I snapped.

Edward frowned, looking dead serious.

"You and James just don't fit. He's way too complicated, and you'll only end up getting hurt if you stick with him," he said.

He was being totally honest with me.

Back in our last life, Edward secretly tried to go head-to-head with James countless times, but he always ended up on the losing side.

"That's none of your business," I shot back.

"Even if we were just friends, I'd still look out for you. But after everything we've been through as husband and wife, I can't just stand by and watch you fall into trouble," Edward said.

He was acting all serious and protective, like he really cared about me.

But every time I remembered what he said in our last life, a wave of anger just hit me out of nowhere.

"Not for a single moment."

He tossed those words out like they meant nothing, but to me, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.

"Even if it's a mess, I'd jump right in without a second thought," I said.

"Julie, I never knew you could be this stubborn," Edward said.

"That's because your heart was always with Victoria," I shot back.

Edward gave a wry smile. "Is that really what you think of me?"

I sneered, "What else am I supposed to think? The only reason you proposed to me back then was because Victoria was out of the country, wasn't it?

"If Victoria had come back first and you saw her before me, you would've dropped everything and proposed to her on the spot, just like you did today."

He looked like he wanted to say more, but I wasn't having it.

"It's getting late. I'm heading to work," I said.

*****

During my lunch break, I got a friend request from Victoria.

I wrestled with it for a moment, but ended up hitting accept.

Almost instantly, Victoria sent me a message: [Hey Julia, it's Victoria.

[Edward told me you guys are splitting up your assets and planning to sell the house.

[I've seen the place, and I really like the way it's decorated and the layout.

[Edward and I talked it over. We'll buy the house at market price, and you'll get half the money.]

It was the place Edward and I bought when we got married, our first home together. I handled all the renovations myself, and slowly chose every piece of furniture and decor, bit by bit.

Every inch of that house was filled with memories.

Even though it was already on the market with a realtor, having Victoria buy it just hit different.

I didn't reply to Victoria. Instead, I opened up my chat with Edward.

My hands were shaking as I typed. [Are you and Victoria planning to buy the house?]

Edward replied almost instantly. [Yeah.]

I typed: [Do you even remember that was our wedding home? The place where we built our life together?]

But now, Edward was taking Victoria to check out the place, and they were planning to buy it and turn it into their new home.

Edward replied: [Yeah, I know. But so what? A sale's a sale. Doesn't matter who ends up with it"]

A sale's a sale.

Rage just shot up to my head, burning hot.

I never imagined Edward and Victoria could pull off something this messed up.

Edward typed: [Who knows how long it'll take for the realtor to sell it? Might as well just sell it now.

[See? It's a sure thing: no way we lose.]

My heart felt like it had been drowned for good; there wasn't a single spark left.

For some reason, I suddenly felt like laughing.

I replied: [Alright. If you two aren't grossed out by it, then I guess I don't care either.

[But you know as well as I do, the value's only going up in a few years. This price just doesn't cut it for me.]