Chapter 4

Julia’s POV

The next day, I was woken up by my mobile phone vibrating relentlessly. Alex’s name lit up the screen. He’d called a dozen times already, and a new one buzzed before I could even process the count. I didn’t expect him to be so persistent. In my previous life, he’d hated me, loathed me even. Now he couldn’t seem to leave me alone.

I let the phone ring out, the shrill sound piercing the morning silence. I didn’t answer, not because I was afraid, but because I didn’t want to hear any pathetic words from him.

Shortly, there was a message notification.

I checked the messages he’d sent. “You dare ignore my calls?” I read.

I blocked his number without hesitation. He didn’t deserve another second of my time. As I set my phone down. In my previous life, I’d wasted so much energy trying to make him love me, trying to fix what was irreparably broken. Not this time. This time, I’d put myself first.

Shortly after I blocked Alex’s number and sank back into the peace of my thoughts, the door to my room flew open with a bang. Scarlett stormed in, her face flushed with anger and indignation.

“You’re out of your mind!” she barked, pointing an accusing finger at me as if I’d committed some heinous crime. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve embarrassed yourself, this family, and Alex’s family! You’re going to march over there right now, apologize, and revoke this absurd decision about withdrawing from the marriage!”

I leaned back against the chair I was sitting in, crossing my arms. Her outburst didn’t faze me—it was predictable, even amusing in a twisted way.

“Apologize?” I repeated, my voice calm but firm.

“Why would I apologize for refusing to waste my life on a man who doesn’t love me? Why would I humiliate myself for someone who never respected me?”

Scarlett’s eyes narrowed, her expression twisting into a sneer. “Because it’s not about love, you foolish girl! It’s about securing this family’s position! Do you think you can just throw away a marriage to someone as rich and powerful as Alex? Are you really that stupid? I want a better life for you.”

I rose from my seat slowly, my gaze locking onto hers. “As a family member,” I began, my voice cold, “shouldn’t you be supporting me? Why are you so insistent that I sacrifice my dignity for this marriage?”

For a moment, she faltered. The words seemed to have hit a nerve, and her confident cracked. She stammered, searching for an answer, before blurting out the truth I already knew. “Because Alex’s family is influential! Marrying into that family isn’t a loss—it’s a guarantee of wealth and status for us!”

I scoffed, shaking my head. “For us? You mean for you. You’ve never cared about me or what’s best for me. All you care about is how you can benefit from me. You’ve spent years pretending to care about this family, but we both know your loyalty lies with yourself.”

Her face turned crimson, and for a split second, I thought she might slap me. Instead, she clenched her fists and hissed, “You’ve always been ungrateful! After everything I’ve done for you—”

But before I could speak, my teenage stepbrother, Jake, stepped forward, his voice sharp with anger.

“No. I’m not letting this happen.” He glared at his mother. “You know damn well Alex treats her like shit. You want her to suffer? How selfish can you be?”

“You don’t speak to your mother like that!” She scolded but Jake wasn’t done. He turned to me. “You don’t have to do this. You deserve better.”

For the first time, I felt seen. In my previous life, my step brother was never on my side. He had always supported his mother and seeing that he is in my favour now, I couldn’t contain my astonishment.

“You need to apologize to Alex’s family.” Said Scarlet.

Jake let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Apologize? To them? Are you serious, mom?” His gaze snapped to Scarlet, filled with fury. “Alex always cheats on her with Celeste, humiliates her, and you want her to apologize? What kind of twisted logic is that?”

Scarlet’s face darkened. “Jake, you’re too young to understand…”

“No,” he cut her off, jaw clenched. “I understand perfectly. You don’t care about her. You never have. You just want to keep your place in their good graces, even if it means throwing her to the wolves.”

“Enough!” Scarlet snapped, her voice rising. “This is not your decision.”

Jake shook his head in disgust. “No, but it’s hers. And she’s not some pawn you can push around.” Then, he turned back to me, his expression serious. “You don’t owe Alex or his family anything. If you walk away now, I’ve got your back.”

I swallowed hard, surprised at how he was defending me. In my past life, Jake had never stood up for me like this.

Scarlet scoffed, turning to me with a sneer. “So, what? You’re going to let a teenager dictate your decisions now?”

Jake let out another scoff. “At least I’m not selling out my own family for a bunch of rich assholes.” His eyes flashed with fury as he turned to the door. “You know what? If Alex was here, I’d tell him to go to hell myself.”

Scarlet gasped. “Jake!”

But he wasn’t done. “Screw Alex. Screw his family. And screw you for trying to make her crawl back to him.” He took a deep breath and turned to me again, his voice was low and welcoming. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

“Jake, you shouldn’t talk to me with so much disrespect.” Scarlett snapped.

I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. “No more discussion, I don’t have time for this. I’ll be attending to matters at the company today.”