Chapter 3

Hearing her voice, Julian's gaze softened as he turned to her.

It was a look of tenderness he had never once given me, his fiancée.

The moment Sierra saw me, her face went pale.

Her hands, clenched into tight fists at her sides, trembled.

She looked terrified of me.

Julian frowned, walked to her side, and took her hand.

"It's okay," he said gently.

A bitter smile formed on my lips, and I looked away.

Before, if I had seen him holding Sierra's hand, I would have screamed and thrown a fit like a madwoman.

He was my fiancé, after all.

We were practically engaged since childhood.

But my parents died in an accident.

So, from the age of fifteen, I grew up in the Ford family home.

Julian was always cold to me.

I used to think it was just his personality.

But when I saw him smiling so brightly for Sierra, his expression so gentle, I knew I was wrong.

Sierra stood on her toes and whispered something in his ear.

"Mr. Blackwood is here."

So, he was here for a business meeting.

Visiting me was just an afterthought.

I was… being delusional again.

A flash of self-mockery appeared in my eyes.

"Okay," Julian replied, then looked back at me. "When you're done with this drama, come home. I don't have this much time for you to waste."

I stared out the window, giving a slight nod without a word.

But Julian didn't leave right away. He lingered for a few more moments before finally going.

When I heard the door click shut, I finally turned my gaze back to the empty doorway.

I suppose… I couldn't love him anymore.

The men who kidnapped me didn't just want money.

They wanted to humiliate me, body and soul.

They called me an ugly duckling trying to become a swan.

They said I was worthless trash, not good enough for Julian Ford.