His Betrayal: Choosing Her Over Me

"Tonight's the last time—if you're not up for this, I won't push."

In the dim glow of their bedroom, Julian’s deep, gravelly voice held a sharp edge of seriousness. Leia froze mid-undress, her hands hovering over her shirt buttons, then lifted a bright smile to the lamplight. "What's that supposed to mean, darling?"

Before he could answer, she’d already undone the last button and leaned into his chest, her fingertips dragging slow, lazy circles across the warm skin over his heart. She smiled, her lips curling soft and sweet.

With a soft click, the bedside lamp flooded light over Julian’s sharp, perfect features—over that strong, smooth jawline that still made her heart skip a beat. When her hand lifted to brush his chin, he finally spoke, voice rough and gruff: "She's back."

"Who?"

"Piper’s recovery came a year earlier than anyone expected. All because of your bone marrow. She never would've bounced back this fast without it."

The second Piper’s name left his mouth, it hit Leia like a fist to the gut. A dull, unspoken ache settled deep in her bones, heavy and cold.

"So..."

Leia laughed a bitter, hollow laugh. Her face drained of color, but she forced a smile anyway. The light turned her skin almost translucent, and the hand that’d been drawing circles on his chest slowly fell away to her lap.

She sat up slow. Piper was back. That meant it was her turn to leave. Stifling the sharp ache clawing at her chest, she kept her tone light: "No need to thank me. It was all part of our mutual agreement."

The words "mutual agreement" made Julian’s handsome jaw twitch. A flicker of irritation cut through his cool composure. She was acting like this didn’t even matter. Like none of it mattered.

"Yeah," he replied flatly, swinging his legs out of bed and tugging on his pajama pants.

Leia stared at him blankly, a hurricane of emotion churning inside her. Five years of loving him. Two years of marriage. And she still couldn’t make him hers.

Julian walked to the dresser by the door, pulled out a folded sheet of paper, hesitated for a long beat, then walked back to the bed.

Leia studied his face, catching a flash of something that looked like reluctance, and quickly buttoned her pajama top back up. Her gorgeous blue eyes locked on his, a tiny flicker of hope clinging to her gaze. Would he miss her? Could he?

"Sign it."

He held the paper out. Leia instinctively bowed her head. When her eyes landed on the bold words at the top—*Divorce Agreement*—her heart dropped straight to her stomach, twisting so sharp it made her breath catch.

Her throat tightened, closing up around any words she might have said. She just stared down at the paper, eyes burning, tears pricking the backs of her lashes. After what felt like forever, she swiped at the wetness with the back of her hand and pulled a faint smile. "Alright. I'll sign."

Julian hadn’t expected her to agree so easily. Caught off guard, irritation pricked at him. "You’re in that much of a rush? You won’t even think twice about it?"

"Think twice?" Leia laughed, sharp and miserable, her head still bowed. "Looks like you’re the one who can’t wait to get this over with."

Julian went quiet, unable to find words, totally blind to the broken heart right in front of him. He sat down beside her, the unease coiled in his chest slowly loosening, and asked softly, "Is there anything you want to say? Anything at all?"

Leia bit her lip hard, shoving the pain burning in her eyes back down. Then she looked up, smiling bright: "No."

"But..."

She cut him off before he could go on: "That's all. I wish you both all the happiness in the world."

Her words stirred a fresh wave of unease in Julian. He frowned, voice sharp when he answered: "It's good you're taking it so well. I was honestly worried you wouldn't agree."

"Ha! You were worried I'd throw a big scene, weren't you?"

Her offhand, biting joke made Julian’s eyes go cold. He answered quietly, "Don't get me wrong. I don't care about the money. You should know I'm not like that."

Silence fell over the room. Leia’s hand clenched the papers so tight her knuckles went white, the veins in her wrist standing out stark against her pale skin.

Julian glanced at her, then stood and fetched a pen from the dresser. Staring at the fountain pen held out between them, Leia buried the pain twisting in her chest and forced a joke. "You're really generous, aren't you? This was supposed to be a sham marriage for mutual benefit, but I never expected a severance package of 888,000 pounds."

"Honestly, I am grateful to you. Over the past two years, my mom was critically ill. Without you standing by me, she never would've pulled through."

"Now that she's better, you deserve this. So 888k, plus a luxury car worth a million, and a mansion worth ten million—it's still being renovated, but it's yours."

"Why 888,000?"

Julian laughed, easy and unbothered. "Because 88 sounds like 'bye-bye' in Chinese. Fitting end for our arrangement, don't you think?"

Goodbye. The word sliced through her ears, sharp and hot and bleeding. He was that eager to cut all ties after two years of sharing a bed? Sleep with her, then pay her off to disappear—how was that any different from any other cold, heartless jerk?

The pain spread, warm and aching, through every inch of her.

"These past two years, we got along really well. Even as a married couple. You were wonderful."

As he spoke, a fleeting flicker of reluctance crossed his face, gone before she could be sure she’d even seen it.

Leia couldn’t speak for a long minute, her fists clenched tight at her sides. *Wonderful*. Did he mean in bed? They’d fit so perfectly together she’d let herself believe he loved her, only to find out it was all just her own stupid wishful thinking.

It was never going to go anywhere more than this. Their intimacy was just him satisfying his physical needs, and she just happened to be the one available when he needed it.

Her heart ached so bad she could barely breathe. After a long pause, she finally forced the words out: "We agreed from the start I wouldn't take anything when it ended. I can't accept this. Please take it back."

"But it's yours."

His voice was soft, gentle even, but every word pierced her heart like a needle. Two years of her youth. Her bone marrow. Her love. Every sacrifice she’d made—all of it gone, reduced to a check and a house.

"Alright then. Let's part on good terms."

She took the pen, her nose stinging, her hand shaking so bad she could barely scrawl her two name across the line.

He didn’t rush her… just glanced indifferently at the pen in her hand and said, "By the way, Piper's coming tomorrow night. She's staying here. It'll be easier for me to take care of her. If that bothers you..."

Before he could finish, Leia cut in, masking her pain with a mask of cool indifference. "It doesn't bother me. I'll be out in a few days, once I find a place."

"The mansion's still being renovated. You'll have to wait a little longer for it."

"Got it."

She forced a smile, then feigned nonchalance as she finished signing and handed the papers back to him.

"Thank you."

Julian took it, glanced over the signature, and felt an inexplicable heaviness settle in his chest. Without thinking twice, he tucked it into his bedside drawer.

Leia pretended to yawn, keeping her voice casual as she said, "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep. You can take the couch tonight."

With that, she lay down straight away and pulled the covers up to her chin. Julian stood there, stunned for a few seconds, a tiny, sharp pang of loss tugging at his chest. He pushed the unease down and said, "Alright. Get some rest."

He turned and headed straight for the bathroom. The sound of water hitting the tile echoed through the room, his silhouette darkening the frosted glass door. Leia glanced over at it, her heart aching so bad she could barely draw breath.

She turned to face the wall, pulled the covers over her head, and let the tears fall silent and hot down her cheeks.

Much later, after she’d fallen asleep, Leia felt arms slip around her waist. Instinctively, she nuzzled closer, her soft messy head rubbing against his chest.

Julian’s hand slid into her hair, stroking it slow and gentle, his eyes fixed on her peaceful sleeping face.

That night, he couldn't sleep at all.