Chapter 2

2.

Nora was just around the corner when she heard them say it.

The maids were terrified, thinking they would be fired.

But Nora just calmly told them to get back to work.

Just like now, with that same calmness, she quietly agreed with Julian. "Then I'll leave the birthday party in Miss Ivy's capable hands. It works out, actually. I have other plans tomorrow."

She was about to turn back to her room, but Julian grabbed her wrist.

"Other plans?"

The man stared at Nora's face, which was so calm it was almost indifferent, and a nameless anger flared inside him. "What could possibly be more important than Leo's birthday?"

"Weren't you the one who said Ivy would take my place?"

Nora found it laughable. "And you were also the one who said I should have my own life, instead of clinging to you and our son like a parasite. You said it was annoying."

"That's not what I meant..."

The man who was used to controlling everything tried, for a rare moment, to explain himself, but Nora pulled her hand away. "I'm tired. I'm going to rest."

Staring at his empty palm, Julian was lost in thought.

The old Nora had been suffocating.

She had to tag along to every business dinner, had to share every little detail of his day. If he didn't answer her calls, she'd blow up his voicemail. And when it came to Ivy, she would lose control like a madwoman...

But now, hearing that Ivy would replace her as the hostess tomorrow, she showed no reaction at all.

Ever since she returned from Aspen, Nora had changed. She had become thinner, weaker.

And she had become unsettlingly quiet.

Julian couldn't help but follow her, his expression serious, as if he were making a huge concession at a negotiation table. "The guest list is set, it can't be changed. But if you really want to go, I can have my assistant add a seat for you in the back."

"No, thank you."

Nora's refusal was swift. "I really do have an appointment tomorrow."

"What kind of appointment could you possibly have?"

Julian’s face finally turned cold. "Are you still sulking about what happened on the mountain? I already explained it. Ivy had severe altitude sickness, and I had to rush her to a doctor. You never called, so I assumed you'd taken a ski patrol car down. Do you really have to give me the silent treatment over something so small?"

"The Vance family went bankrupt for fraud. You're not that Upper East Side socialite anymore. No one is obligated to put up with your bad temper forever!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Julian realized he had gone too far.

"That's not what I meant..."

It was a rare sight.

Julian Thorne, a man of few words, had said the same thing twice to the same woman in one night.

But before he could explain, his private phone rang.

It was Ivy's voice, choked with sobs.

Maybe the power was out in her apartment, or she heard a strange noise.

Julian immediately grew anxious, grabbing his coat and heading for the door.

Until the elevator doors closed, his gentle reassurances could be heard. "It's okay, I'm on my way. Don't be afraid."

The moment the front door shut, Nora's phone rang too.

It was the Institute for Life Sciences.

"Ms. Vance, thank you so much for agreeing to donate your data to the neural mapping project. All the preliminary work for the procedure is complete. You can come in whenever you're ready."

Nora was about to speak when a sharp, burning pain shot through her abdomen.

She struggled to get a bottle of strong painkillers from the cabinet, swallowing a handful of them dry before she could regain some strength.

After her breathing evened out, she spoke slowly. "I have late-stage pancreatic cancer anyway. Making a contribution to modern medicine before I die means my life wasn't a total waste."