Chapter 2
Rachel picked me up twenty minutes later, cursing the entire way.
"That witch posted on social media already. Look at this." She shoved her phone in my face while driving. I grabbed the wheel.
"Eyes on the road."
"Just look!"
I glanced down. Madeleine's post read: *My sister came home today. I'm so happy but also nervous. I hope she can accept Dom and me. Family is everything. π*
The attached photo was of me walking away from their car β shoulders stiff, head down. It made me look devastated.
Comments flooded in.
*She came back to steal the groom. Pathetic.*
*Dominic already moved on. She should have some dignity.*
*Madeleine is such a saint. I could never be that gracious to someone who wants my man.*
At the bottom, Dominic had liked the post.
I locked the phone and handed it back. "I don't care."
Rachel shot me a look. "You really don't?"
"I really don't." I pulled out my own phone and opened a chat thread. The profile picture showed a man with sharp, aristocratic features β dark hair pushed back, faint smile, reading glasses perched on his nose.
Ethan.
My husband. My real husband.
His latest message read: *Landed safely? The twins are asking for you. Luca tried to bribe the nanny into letting him call you. He offered her his juice box.*
A smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it.
I typed back: *Tell them Mommy will video call tonight. And tell Luca his juice box bribery skills need work.*
Ethan replied instantly: *He gets it from you. I'll have the penthouse ready by Thursday. Miss you.*
Warmth spread through my chest β real, steady warmth. Not the desperate, aching need I once felt for Dominic. This was something solid. Something safe.
Rachel glanced at me. "You're smiling at your phone like a teenager. It's disgusting. I love it."
I put my phone away. "How's the situation at my father's house?"
Her expression soured. "Same as always. Madeleine's mother runs the place. Your father does whatever they say. And now that Dominic's family is about to merge with the Hartleys through this engagement β your dad treats Madeleine like she's made of gold."
"And my mother's violin?"
"Your dad mentioned it's going up at a private sale this weekend. Some collector is offloading items." Rachel paused. "Julie, are you sure that's the only reason you came back? You could've sent someone."
I looked out the window at the rain-slicked streets. Astoria looked exactly the same. Cold. Gray. Full of ghosts.
"Some things I have to do myself."
Rachel dropped me at the Hartley estate. My father's house β though it had never felt like mine.
I stepped inside with my suitcase and found the living room full.
My father, Robert. Madeleine's mother, Vivian. And at the center of it all, Madeleine herself β now changed into a white silk dress, pouring tea for Dominic's mother like the perfect future daughter-in-law.
Everyone looked up when I entered.
My father's face tightened. "You couldn't even change before coming here? You look like you crawled off the street."
I was wearing jeans and a cashmere sweater β perfectly normal clothes. But next to Madeleine in her designer dress, I understood what he meant.
I wasn't performing. That was the problem.
"I'm just here to drop off my bag," I said. "Which room?"
"The guest room on the third floor," Vivian answered before my father could. "I had it cleaned for you."
The third floor. The attic room with the leaking ceiling. I'd spent my childhood up there after they moved in.
"Fine." I picked up my suitcase.
"Julie, wait." Madeleine stood, her face full of gentle concern. "I saved you dinner. You must be starving after the flight."
Dominic watched from the sofa. I could feel the weight of his gaze.
"I'm not hungry," I said. I climbed the stairs without looking back.
Behind me, Madeleine let out a soft sigh. "She still hates me. Even after five years."
Dominic's voice came low and certain. "She'll get over it. She has no choice."
---
"That witch posted on social media already. Look at this." She shoved her phone in my face while driving. I grabbed the wheel.
"Eyes on the road."
"Just look!"
I glanced down. Madeleine's post read: *My sister came home today. I'm so happy but also nervous. I hope she can accept Dom and me. Family is everything. π*
The attached photo was of me walking away from their car β shoulders stiff, head down. It made me look devastated.
Comments flooded in.
*She came back to steal the groom. Pathetic.*
*Dominic already moved on. She should have some dignity.*
*Madeleine is such a saint. I could never be that gracious to someone who wants my man.*
At the bottom, Dominic had liked the post.
I locked the phone and handed it back. "I don't care."
Rachel shot me a look. "You really don't?"
"I really don't." I pulled out my own phone and opened a chat thread. The profile picture showed a man with sharp, aristocratic features β dark hair pushed back, faint smile, reading glasses perched on his nose.
Ethan.
My husband. My real husband.
His latest message read: *Landed safely? The twins are asking for you. Luca tried to bribe the nanny into letting him call you. He offered her his juice box.*
A smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it.
I typed back: *Tell them Mommy will video call tonight. And tell Luca his juice box bribery skills need work.*
Ethan replied instantly: *He gets it from you. I'll have the penthouse ready by Thursday. Miss you.*
Warmth spread through my chest β real, steady warmth. Not the desperate, aching need I once felt for Dominic. This was something solid. Something safe.
Rachel glanced at me. "You're smiling at your phone like a teenager. It's disgusting. I love it."
I put my phone away. "How's the situation at my father's house?"
Her expression soured. "Same as always. Madeleine's mother runs the place. Your father does whatever they say. And now that Dominic's family is about to merge with the Hartleys through this engagement β your dad treats Madeleine like she's made of gold."
"And my mother's violin?"
"Your dad mentioned it's going up at a private sale this weekend. Some collector is offloading items." Rachel paused. "Julie, are you sure that's the only reason you came back? You could've sent someone."
I looked out the window at the rain-slicked streets. Astoria looked exactly the same. Cold. Gray. Full of ghosts.
"Some things I have to do myself."
Rachel dropped me at the Hartley estate. My father's house β though it had never felt like mine.
I stepped inside with my suitcase and found the living room full.
My father, Robert. Madeleine's mother, Vivian. And at the center of it all, Madeleine herself β now changed into a white silk dress, pouring tea for Dominic's mother like the perfect future daughter-in-law.
Everyone looked up when I entered.
My father's face tightened. "You couldn't even change before coming here? You look like you crawled off the street."
I was wearing jeans and a cashmere sweater β perfectly normal clothes. But next to Madeleine in her designer dress, I understood what he meant.
I wasn't performing. That was the problem.
"I'm just here to drop off my bag," I said. "Which room?"
"The guest room on the third floor," Vivian answered before my father could. "I had it cleaned for you."
The third floor. The attic room with the leaking ceiling. I'd spent my childhood up there after they moved in.
"Fine." I picked up my suitcase.
"Julie, wait." Madeleine stood, her face full of gentle concern. "I saved you dinner. You must be starving after the flight."
Dominic watched from the sofa. I could feel the weight of his gaze.
"I'm not hungry," I said. I climbed the stairs without looking back.
Behind me, Madeleine let out a soft sigh. "She still hates me. Even after five years."
Dominic's voice came low and certain. "She'll get over it. She has no choice."
---