Leaving You Bereft (Willow and Julian) novel Chapter 9

Julian read and re–read every single word on the yellowed piece of paper, over and over again, until his eyes finally turned sore

and bitter.

Suddenly, he understood the pain that Willow had been through. He understood her tears.

He finally understood why Willow had screamed at him in the parking lot, asking him why he wouldn’t even spare her one minute

of his time, and why he had changed so much.

She couldn’t give birth anymore.

He didn’t love her. However, Willow was someone very important to him. She had been with him for four years. She had been by

his side when he was at his lowest, and she had also witnessed him achieving his greatest successes.

They had agreed to have two children after they got married. One would be a boy named Landon Ziegler, and the other would be a

girl named Evelyn Ziegler.

Julian slowly sat down on the bed.

His usual handsome features suddenly looked like they’d aged by a few years. He grabbed a cigarette from his pocket, lit it up, and

took a huge drag of it. His slim face hollowed out even more, giving off a mysterious aura.

Blair appeared at the door again and cautiously said, “Ms. Barker is here.”

Julian didn’t respond.

Esther had rushed over from the hospital. She was shocked when she saw all the broken glass shards on the floor.

Had Julian been abandoned?

However, Esther was a trained professional. She quickly set her emotions aside and asked Julian what they should do next.

Smoke framed Julian’s face, slightly blurry to the vision. He answered faintly, “Keep this out of the media. No matter what, the

public must never know that Willow has separated from me.”

Esther nodded in response.

She looked at her boss and suddenly couldn’t wrap her head around something. Weren’t Julian and Willow just married for a

business alliance? So, why did Julian look so sad now after learning that Willow had left?

Did Julian really not love Willow after all?

Willow moved into an apartment. It wasn’t a huge one, just about 1,200 square feet in size, but the interior had been designed

using only the best materials available in the market.

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She pushed open the floor–to–ceiling length windows, looking out at half of the city’s nightscape.

The next morning, Willow went to see Grace.

Grace knew nothing about her altercation with Julian and smiled widely as she asked her about him. Willow didn’t want her to worry, so she smiled back in return and said, “It’s all good! Julian has been treating me really well.”

Even if they weren’t married anymore, life still had to go on. So, Willow decided to pick up oil painting once more, something that she’d always loved since she was young.

For the next week, Willow stayed at home as she painted.

She had never felt as carefree as she did now. She even bought herself a dog, a mixed breed with fur as white as snow, and named it Snowy. She liked it very much.

As the weekend rolled around, Willow went to attend an art show and gallery. There were hundreds of paintings on sale at the show, and she found herself particularly drawn to a painting of flowers titled “Twin Blooms“.

She was about to ask for the price when she suddenly caught sight of the artist’s name–Charlie Burke.

He was none other than Catherine’s father.

Willow began to get lost in thought. Just then, a woman’s gentle voice sounded from behind her. “You like this painting too, right?”

Willow turned around and saw a noble–looking woman standing next to her. She was dressed in a fashionable outfit and looked very beautiful and pleasing to the eye. There were also two personal assistants on either side behind her.

Anyone could tell at first glance that the woman had come from a noble background, most presumably the wife of a prominent family.

The woman smiled at Willow and introduced herself. “My husband is from the Chapman family.”

Willow suddenly remembered her. This woman’s name was Heather Kipling, and her husband was Timothy Chapman, from Aurelia Group. Timothy’s business was often more focused in the southern part of the country, Soudern. That was why Willow had only just caught a glimpse of Heather before.

Seeing that Willow recalled who she was, Heather grinned and said, “I saw you as soon as I arrived. You must be Mrs. Ziegler, Julian’s wife. Right?”

If the Zieglers were a prominent family in the northern part, then the Chapmans were prominent in the southern part.

Heather had specifically referred to Julian by his first name, implying that the two families had a close–knit relationship. It also meant that Timothy was looking forward to collaborating with Nebula Group.

Willow and Heather began chatting and got along like a house on fire. Ultimately, Heather invited Willow for a cup of coffee to

continue with their conversation.

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Of course, Willow was happy to oblige.

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you’ll find her again.” o

She then thought of something else. After taking out her business card, Heather said, “Timothy will be hosting a dinner event at his mansion in a while. You have to attend. I know that you’re an ambitious woman, so let me get you acquainted with a few

Willow couldn’t possibly let her down, so she exchanged cards with Heather and agreed.

When it was time to leave, Heather stood next to a luxurious car, seemingly not wanting to leave Willow so soon. It had been a

Heather’s secretary then gently reminded her again that it was time to leave. It wasn’t until then that she finally let go of Willow

and said, “Let’s continue again next time.”

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Willow stood in place, watching quietly as Heather left in her car. She thought that Timothy must really love Heather very much.

He showered her with love and everything else she needed–he even gave up on asking for a child because of her.

All of a sudden, Willow’s head was filled with thoughts.

Around 9:00 pm, Willow finished the last stroke of her paintbrush and stretched lazily, while Snowy wagged its tail next to her.

Willow fed the dog and made sure to add a small treat for it. Snowy was delighted and devoured everything as quickly as possible.

She petted it for a while before going into the bedroom to fetch a change of clothing. It had been cloudy for the past few days, and

the clothes she set out to dry were still damp. With no other choice, she went over to the wardrobe and opened it up, looking for a

shirt she could use as a bathrobe.

She turned on the lights in the wardrobe and let her fingers slide over the fabrics inside. Finally, she landed on a black shirt.

It used to belong to Julian.

She had accidentally brought it with her when it got lost among all of her other clothes.

After pondering for a moment, Willow decided to take it out. After all, it wasn’t like Julian would ever find out.

Ten minutes later, Willow finished her shower and came out of the bathroom in the black shirt. She flipped her damp hair behind

her shoulders, preparing to blow dry her hair, when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Thinking it was Annie, Willow went over to open the door without giving it much thought.

A split second later, however, she was shocked.

Julian was standing at her door. His tall silhouette blocked out the light from the lamps outside, casting a shadow over his face so that she couldn’t read his expression well. She just didn’t know why he would be here in the middle of the night.

It had been a week, and they never contacted each other. There hadn’t been a single phone call at all.

Willow believed that Julian must have received the court summons. So, what was he doing here at her home?

Julian stared at Willow.

Willow was only wearing a dark men’s shirt on her body, with nothing much on her lower half. He thought she looked sultry with her long legs completely exposed beneath the shirt. It was a thin shirt that left little to the imagination, after all.

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