Chapter 2
I'd just left the cemetery after visiting my parents when my phone buzzed with a news alert.
It read: [Julian Carter throws punches on set for his girl, Wendy James.]
Before I could even check the news, Julian's mom, Melinda, texted me.
Melinda: [Get to the hospital. Now.]
I paused for a split second, shoved my phone away, and didn't waste a second getting into my car.
While I was driving, Susan messaged me.
Susan: [Julian's at our hospital.
[His head's busted open and took eighteen stitches. So, who did he go all out for this time? Risking it all for a girl again?]
I stared at Susan's messages, lost in thought for a moment.
Julian was rarely impulsive. The last time he ended up with his head bleeding like that was back before we were even married.
Back when I was eighteen and just graduated, Susan took me out to a bar.
Some drunk guy cornered me.
Susan had stepped outside to take a call, leaving me alone, and I almost got into trouble.
Then Julian stormed in with a bottle in hand and smashed it right over the guy's head.
Julian shot him a cold glare. "You really think you can mess with my people?"
The guy was so wasted that he didn't even recognize Julian and actually tried to fight back.
That night, Julian, young and reckless, nearly tore the whole bar apart.
Afterward, Laurent punished him.
I was tending to his wounds, and when I saw those harsh whip marks on his back, tears started streaming down my face.
Julian just chuckled. "Come on, don't cry. How about you make it up to me by marrying me?"
I was so annoyed that I jabbed the cotton swab right into his wound.
He yelled, "Ouch! Alright, I'm sorry, really."
He grimaced, baring his teeth from the pain.
He'd dropped all that high-and-mighty vibe.
I went quiet, and so did Julian.
After a long silence, he murmured, "Nina, you're the only one I'll ever protect in this life."
Then time went by.
Now, at twenty-eight, the people Julian wanted to protect kept changing, one after another.
One thing was for sure. I was definitely not one of them.
I arrived at the ward door.
Melinda was already there, her expression stern.
I walked over and called out politely, "Melinda."
She greeted me with a smile, but before I could react, her hand came down hard, slapping me across the face.
"Is this how you look after your husband?" Melinda demanded.
My head whipped to the side from the force, and her ring left a sharp gash on my cheek.
"There won't be a next time." Her voice was icy.
With that, she walked away with bodyguards trailing behind.
A bead of blood trickled down my cheek.
I wiped it away and walked into the room.
Julian was holding his phone, video chatting with Wendy.
She was crying. "Promise me you won't do anything so reckless again.
"If something happened to you, I wouldn't know what to do."
Julian said, "You've already said that a hundred times."
Julian was clearly losing patience, but for once, he held it together.
"Come on, don't cry. I get it. It's my fault," he said.
I stopped in my tracks.
My foot caught a chair, making a noise.
"I gotta go," Julian said, ending the call.
Julian casually glanced at me.
He leaned back against the headboard, his voice lazy.
He said, "Finally decided to show up, huh? If something really happened, you'd just be here to claim your husband's corpse."
I didn't say a word.
I just stood there, silent and still.
The teasing look on his face faded a bit.
He seemed thrown off by how quiet and well-behaved I was, so he just turned his head and stared out the window.
Honestly, after that thing happened, things between us never went back to normal.
These past few years, it had been nothing but fights, drama, and endless arguments.
Moments of peace were few and far between.
I looked him over.
Even with a bandage on his forehead, he was still unfairly good-looking.
I moved closer, my hand almost reaching for his forehead.
He knocked my hand away without hesitation.
Julian glanced up with irritation on his face, but when he saw the blood on my cheek, he paused.
He reached out, his fingers brushing the wound as he asked, "Did she do this?"
Of course, he meant Melinda.
My chest tightened, and I forced a bitter smile. "Yeah. So, are you gonna stand up for me?"
He caught sight of my tear-filled eyes and was stunned.
Back then, if Melinda ever said anything harsh to me, Julian would go ballistic.
And if she ever actually hit me, he'd blow up the Carter Manor.
But now?
He dropped his head and snorted. "She went way too easy on you.
"That little scratch? Doesn't even come close to what I'm feeling."
Julian's voice was cold and ruthless.
I went quiet again.
After what felt like forever, I finally spoke.
"Maybe we should just get divorced," I said.
After Julian was discharged from the hospital, he didn't come home.
He didn't even want to go back to Carter Manor.
Melinda said, "Nina, how long are you and Julian going to keep fighting like this?
"Get this sorted out right away."
When Melinda called me, I was checking the news.
The headline was still running nonstop updates about Julian and Wendy.
With Julian backing her, Wendy skyrocketed to stardom the moment she debuted.
Just a few days ago, she'd snagged the Best Actress award.
The latest buzz was all about Julian jetting off abroad with Wendy to watch the snow.
The internet was blowing up.
Netizens: [Mr. Carter is treating Wendy like a queen.]
[He and his wife have been fighting forever. Why are they still not divorced?]
[Seriously, she's just clinging to that old engagement to keep Mr. Carter locked down. Everyone's dying for them to get divorced. Please, let him go and marry our Wendy.]
He'd cross continents just for a smile from Wendy.
So, he wasn't even in the country anymore.
Melinda wanted me to fix it.
I lowered my gaze.
It was not like I could just hop on a plane and chase him to another country.
Besides, that day at the hospital, he didn't accept my suggestion either.