11 

Julian left Chloe and returned to the mansion. The photo of him and Sera on the wall pierced his heart. He held it for a long time, finally picking up his phone to call Sera’s family and friends. He asked if they knew where she was. Call after call, the answer was no. He even humbled himself and called his business rival, only to receive mocking laughter in return. His search team. also came back empty–handed. Sera had vanished. 

He slumped into a chair, exhausted, and sat there all night. 

Meanwhile, Chloe suffered a massive hemorrhage and miscarried. She woke to find her mother at her bedside. Tears welled up. 

“Mom…” 

Before she could finish, her mother slapped her in the face. 

“Mom?” 

Chloe stared at her mother with disbelief, tears streaming down her face. But her mother wasn’t finished. Another slap came harder. 

“How could you be a mistress?!” 

Her mother trembled with rage and grief. Julian’s affair with Chloe had spread like wildfire throughout the city. Even Chloe’s father rushed home from one woman’s bed to confront her mother. Although it was common for rich men to cheat, they would always keep it secret. As times changed, the older generation was becoming more strict with the younger generation. Chloe’s father strictly forbade his children from having affairs, let alone be known. Chloe had done it all. And it was Julian Stone. Everyone knew of his devotion to his wife. 

Chloe’s father wasn’t concerned with why Julian had cheated; he cared about the damage Chloe had caused the family. The stock would plummet, her brother’s marriage would be jeopardized. Furious, he struck Chloe’s name from the family register and publicly announced that she was no longer associated with him. 

Despair consumed Chloe’s mother. She’d planned Chloe’s life, including her husband, since the day she joined the family. Now, everything was ruined. She tossed a card onto Chloe’s bed. 

“You’re on your own.” 

She left, ignoring Chloe’s sobs. 

At the Stone residence, Sera’s uncle punched Julian. 

“Julian, how could cheat on Sera?!” 

Julian stumbled backward, but Sera’s uncle was so mad that another punch came to him. People gasped, but no one intervened. 

Sera’s uncle seldom threw such a tantrum. His voice trembled with rage.“When you proposed to Sera, you swore you’d never betray her! And after all these years, you cheated on her?!” 

Sera’s uncle and aunt were retired and lived in the countryside. They’d only seen Julian once, at Sera’s wedding. This was their second meeting. Despite the distance, Julian and Sera had always called them and sent them gifts. They used to believe that Sera had married a good guy. Now, their seemingly perfect nephew–in–law had not only cheated but had a child with his mistress. How could they forgive him? 

Sera’s uncle was about to 

beat Julian again when his wife stopped him. 

20:28 

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“Let’s go.” 

Finding Sera was more important. They would pretend Julian never existed. Sera’s uncle finally stopped, his gaze cold as he looked at the man sprawled on the floor. “We don’t know you from now on, and Sera never married you.” 

Since the divorce and Sera’s disappearance, Julian had been in a daze. Now, he was jolted awake by the punches. 

He scrambled to his feet, wanting to beg for forgiveness. He couldn’t lose Sera! 

ut as he rose, darkness consumed him. He collapsed, unconscious. 

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