4 Chapter 4
Chapter 4 – A Slap, A Call, and the Unthinkable Proposition
The room fell silent at my question. I could see the gears turning in Julian’s head as he processed my words, trying to determine if I was really suggesting what he thought I was.
“Hazel, Julian finally said, his voice strained. “You’re upset. I understand-”
“Do you?” I interrupted, taking a step closer. “Do you understand that for six years, I gave you my blood? That I watched you suffer through your illness, held your hand through treatments, and postponed my own dreams to support yours?”
Julian’s face paled. He couldn’t meet my eyes.
My stepmother Eleanor stepped between us, her perfectly manicured finger pointing at my face. “That’s enough! You’ve caused enough trouble today. How dare you come in here with those… firecrackers and soak my daughter? She’s fighting for her life!”
“And I was fighting for mine for six years,” I countered. “But none of you seemed to care about
that.”
The door opened, and my father stormed in, his face flushed with anger. He must have stepped. out earlier and just returned, drawn by the commotion.
“What’s going on here?” he demanded, taking in the tense scene.
Eleanor immediately turned to him, her expression morphing into one of distress. “Harrison, Hazel is upsetting Ivy again. After everything she’s already done today!”
My father’s eyes hardened as he looked at me. “I warned you to behave yourself.”
“Or what?” I challenged, feeling reckless in my anger. “You’ll disown me? Cut me out of your will? Been there, done that?
His jaw clenched. “You ungrateful-”
He raised his hand, and I braced myself for the slap that had been years coming.
But the blow never landed. Julian had moved between us, catching my father’s wrist mid–air.
“Harrison, don’t, Julian said firmly. “This isn’t helping anyone.”
My father yanked his arm free, pointing at me. “Get her out of here. Now.”
Julian turned to me, his expression pleading. “Hazel, can we talk privately?”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said coldly.
He grabbed my arm as I turned to leave. “Please, just five minutes.”
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I looked down at his hand on my arm, then back up at his face. With deliberate slowness, I raised my own hand and slapped him hard across the cheek. The sound echoed through the hospital room.
“Don’t ever touch me again,” I hissed, then walked out, head held high.
I was shaking by the time I reached the parking lot, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I fumbled with my keys, dropping them twice before managing to unlock my car. Once inside, I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white, fighting back tears that threatened to spill.
My phone rang. Victoria’s face flashed on the screen. I took a deep breath and answered.
“Hey”
“Where are you?” Victoria demanded. “I’ve been trying to reach you all day!”
“At the hospital,” I replied, my voice steadier than I felt. “Or just leaving it.”
“Hospital? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just paid Ivy a little visit.”
There was a beat of silence. “Tell me you didn’t murder her.
Despite everything, I laughed. “No, but I did set off firecrackers in her hospital room.”
“You WHAT?”
I filled Victoria in on everything as I drove to her family’s restaurant, The Imperial Garden. By the time I pulled into the parking lot, she was both horrified and impressed.
“You’re insane,” she said when I finished. “Completely insane. I love it.”
Victoria was waiting at our usual corner booth, two glasses of wine already poured. She stood when she saw me, pulling me into a fierce hug.
“You look terrible,” she said bluntly, examining my face.
“Thanks. That’s just what I needed to hear”
“You know what I mean. She pushed a glass toward me. “Drink”
I obeyed, taking a long sip of the rich red wine. “Julian wants to talk,” I said, setting the glass
down.
“Of course he does.” Victoria rolled her eyes. “What’s there to talk about? He’s marrying your sister in your wedding.”
“Stepsister,” I corrected automatically.
“Whatever. Blood relations don’t seem to matter much to him anyway. Her eyes narrowed.
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“What else aren’t you telling me?”
I sighed, knowing I couldn’t hide anything from her. “They’re getting married in three weeks. At my venue. In my dress design.
Victoria’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding?
“I wish I was. I took another sip of wine. “Ivy’s been planning this for months. The cancer just gave her the perfect excuse.”
“That manipulative bitch. Victoria’s hand tightened around her glass. “And Julian? He’s just going along with it?”
“He’s convinced himself it’s the noble thing to do.” I laughed bitterly. “Giving a dying woman her
last wish.”
Victoria pulled out her phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling that spineless excuse for a man. Before I could stop her, she had Julian on speaker,
“Victoria?” Julian sounded wary.
“You pathetic bastard,” she greeted him cheerfully. “I just heard what you did to Hazel
“It’s complicated-”
“No, it’s really not. You’re leaving a woman who gave you her blood for six years to marry her dying stepsister. That’s not complicated; that’s despicable.”
“You don’t understand-
“What don’t I understand? That you’re weak? That you couldn’t stand up to a manipulative woman and her equally manipulative mother? That you threw away six years for what… guilt?
Pity?”
There was silence on the other end.
“Nothing to say?” Victoria continued. “Good. Listen carefully. If I ever see you near Hazel again without her explicit permission, I will personally make sure every high–end restaurant in this city knows exactly what kind of man you are. You’ll be eating fast food for the rest of your miserable life.”
She hung up before he could respond.
I stared at her, equal parts mortified and grateful. “You didn’t have to do that?
“Yes, I did.” She refilled our glasses. “Now, what’s the plan?”
“Plan?”
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“For revenge, obviously”
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I sighed, suddenly feeling tired. “I don’t know if I want revenge anymore. I just want to move on.”
“Bullshit,” Victoria said flatly. “I saw what you did with those firecrackers. You want revenge. You’re just afraid to admit it.”
Before I could respond, my phone rang. Julian. I showed Victoria the screen.
“Speak of the devil, she muttered.
After a moment’s hesitation, I answered, putting it on speaker. “What do you want?”
“We need to talk about the company transfer,” Julian said, his voice all business. “And finalize our
divorce.”
My heart twisted at the word “divorce, even though we’d only been engaged, not married. But after six years together, it felt like a marriage in all but name.
“Fine,” I said coldly. “When?”
“Tomorrow morning. My office. Nine o’clock.”
“I’ll be there.” I hung up without waiting for his response.
Victoria raised an eyebrow. “What company transfer?”
“He’s giving me MG Designs as compensation, I explained. “It’s a failing fashion house, but the brand still has some recognition. With work, I could turn it around.”
“And you’re accepting this? Like some kind of payoff?”
I shrugged. “It’s better than nothing. And it gives me a head start on my own business.”
Victoria didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t argue further.
The next morning, I dressed carefully in a tailored black suit that I’d designed myself. Professional, elegant, and utterly impenetrable. Julian wouldn’t see an ounce of vulnerability from me today.
His office was exactly as I remembered it–sleek, modern, and soulless. Julian was waiting with his lawyer, documents spread across the conference table.
*Hazel, he greeted me, rising to his feet. “Thank you for coming”
I nodded curtly, taking a seat across from him. “Let’s make this quick”
For the next hour, we went through the paperwork for the transfer of MG Designs. Despite everything, Julian was fair with the terms, ensuring I had complete control of the company and
its assets.
“Now for the divorce,” I said when we finished, pushing the signed papers aside.
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Julian glanced at his lawyer, who cleared his throat. “Actually, since you’re not legally married, it’s simply a matter of terminating the engagement. However, given the circumstances, Mr. Grayson thought it prudent to formalize the separation.
“Let’s go to the Civil Affairs Bureau now, I suggested, wanting this chapter of my life closed as quickly as possible.
Julian nodded, dismissing his lawyer. “I’ll drive.”
The ride to the bureau was silent and tense. I stared out the window, deliberately keeping my body turned away from him.
At the bureau, we took numbers and waited. When our turn came, we approached the desk together.
“We’d like to file for divorce,” Julian explained to the clerk.
The woman looked up from her computer. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No,” I replied. “We thought we could do it today.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but you need to schedule an appointment first. And there’s a
30–day cooling–off period after filing.”
ma
“Thirty days?” I repeated, my stomach sinking
“Yes, that’s the law” she confirmed. “The earliest appointment I have is next Wednesday. After that, you’ll need to wait thirty days before the divorce can be finalized.
I did the mental math quickly. That would mean we’d still be legally married when Julian and Ivy had their wedding.
“Is there any way to expedite the process?” Julian asked.
The clerk looked sympathetic but firm. “No, I’m afraid not.”
We scheduled the appointment and left, the silence between us even heavier than before.
“This is a problem,” I finally said as we reached his car.
Julian hesitated, then looked at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.
“Maybe it’s not,” he said carefully.
“What do you mean?”
He took a deep breath. “Maybe we don’t need to get divorced at all.”
I stared at him, sure I had misheard. “Excuse me?”
“Ivy’s prognosis isn’t good, Hazel. Six months, maybe less. His voice was soft, almost tender. “After she’s gone… maybe you and I could try again.
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My mouth fell open as the full implication of his words hit me. He was suggesting we remain married while he married my stepsister, waiting for her to die so we could reunite. The sheer audacity of it left me speechless.
I
“Are you actually serious right now?” I finally managed, my voice barely above a whisper.
Julian reached for my hand, his eyes earnest. “I still love you, Hazel. What I’m doing for Ivy… it’s just to give her some happiness in her final days. But you’re the one I want to spend my life
with.”
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