From Neglected Wife to CEO’s Obsession novel Chapter 136

Julia was standing under a streetlamp that had just flickered on, dressed in nothing but a thin cotton nightgown. Faint scars lined her neck and shoulders, not quite healed, and her hair whipped around in the night breeze. Her cheeks were hollow, just like mine, making her eyes look even bigger and more haunted.

It hadn’t been that long since I’d last seen her—maybe three or four days since her last photo—but she looked like she’d wasted away in that short time. She was all sharp angles and fragile bones, like someone had stretched skin over a broken porcelain doll. One strong gust and she might shatter.

Tears left streaks down her face, and beneath her pale skin, blue veins twisted like tiny snakes. Her hands, thin and shaky, pressed against her mouth as she tried to hold back her sobs, her whole body trembling in the cold night air.

You’d think seeing your rival would make you angry—hurt, at the very least.

I’d expected to feel something. Bitterness, pain, anger—anything. But when Julia stepped out of the shadows, all I felt was confusion. How had she gotten so sick, so breakable? She looked like she could die at any second.

Remy heard Julia’s voice and turned around slowly, his eyes cold and sharp, like he was staring straight through her. In the dim light, there was something almost red seeping into his gaze. He smiled at me, just a little, trying to reassure me. “It’s okay,” he said softly.

Then he gently moved me aside, his whole body tense as he walked right up to Julia.

He didn’t hesitate. In a few long steps, he was in front of her. He grabbed her hair, wound it twice around his hand, and with a brutal flick of his wrist, threw her aside.

Julia hit the curb headfirst. Blood started to trickle down her forehead. Suddenly, a weird, sickly sweet smell filled the air—so faint but so nauseating I almost gagged.

I quickly pulled a tissue from my bag, clamped it over my nose, and stepped back until I could finally breathe again. The breeze helped clear the air.

When I looked back, Remy was staring at the blood on Julia’s forehead, his whole body frozen. He looked like he wanted to go to her, but something held him back. His face twisted with inner conflict.

“Remy, how could you do this to me?” Julia’s voice shook. “Did you forget how much we used to love each other? Even if I made mistakes, isn’t almost dying enough punishment?”

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