“Demi, I’m going to Germany for liposuction. And I’m not coming back.”

Demi’s brows furrowed. “What about Cameron? And Reese? I heard that kind of surgery is dangerous. Are you really sure about this?”

Julia turned her head and stared through the glass at her bloated reflection. The slender silhouette she once carried across the ballet stage was nothing but a distant memory.

She let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh. “I’m divorced. I just want to live differently now.”

——

Julia Gosling returned home and noticed the master bedroom door upstairs hadn’t been fully closed. She held her breath, leaning in as she peeked through the narrow gap.

Cameron Cruise stood with his back to the door, his expensive suit crumpled carelessly on the floor. The room pulsed with heavy breaths and muffled moans. The bed rocked in a steady rhythm as his voice, low and full of desire, filled the air.

“That waist… so damn slender…. If only I could… grab it while doing it once…”

Without a word, Julia turned and walked back downstairs.

Ever since giving birth to Reese, her once-slim figure had changed beyond recognition. Cameron hadn’t touched her in ages. He’d rather take care of it himself than come close to her.

Hearing footsteps, Reese came bouncing over with a small cake in her hands. The moment she saw Julia, she flung it at her.I smashed the cake on her skirt.

“You fat woman! Why are you back? You’re so fat and ugly, it ruins my mood for practicing piano! Where’s Teacher Anne? I want Teacher Anne!”

Julia felt a bitterness rise in her chest. This was the daughter she had nearly died giving birth to. If not for her, Julia wouldn’t have developed hormonal imbalance syndrome, wouldn’t have gained over 150 pounds in just two months, and wouldn’t have been forced to abandon her beloved career in dance.

Now, even her daughter looked at her with disgust.

Julia kept her facial expressionless. "This is my house. If you don’t want to see me, you can leave."

Cameron came down the stairs, frowning at the clutter near the steps. "Reese, what’s going on?"

"The fat woman came back and interrupted Teacher Anne’s piano lesson!"

Cameron’s displeasure was written all over his face. "Didn’t we agree you wouldn’t come back until Reese finished her lesson?"

Julia stood frozen. This house had been bought with the money she earned through years of dancing. The child had lived in her womb for ten months, born after a life-threatening labor. Every meal, every day, she had made with her own hands.

And now, she needed permission from both father and daughter just to step into her own home. How laughable.

"Since you’re back, go make dinner. Don’t just stand there being an eyesore. Look at yourself."

"Anne Lawrence worked hard teaching Reese. She deserves a good meal. It’s not like you’re useful for anything else, stay in the kitchen where you belong."

Julia let out a bitter laugh. This was the man who, seven years ago, had sworn he loved her, who begged her to give up her career for him.

Back then, when she stood on the stage accepting the International Ballet Gold Award, it was Cameron who knelt with a glittering purple diamond ring and asked her to marry him.

Once, just because she mentioned wanting a pineapple bun from the south side of the city, he drove there overnight to get it for her.

Who would have imagined that seven years later, neither the daughter she nearly died bringing into this world, nor the husband who once claimed to love her more than life itself, cared if she lived or vanished. Now, all their affection was poured into the new piano teacher.

Ever since the teacher began giving lessons, Reese had been utterly enchanted, insisting every single day that her father divorce Julia.

And just to satisfy their five-year-old daughter’s whim, Cameron and Julia ended their marriage.

He told her it was only to calm the child down, that he would withdraw the divorce during the cooling-off period.

The door opened again, and Anne walked in with a key.

Reese instantly ran into her arms. "Teacher Anne smells so nice! I love Teacher Anne the most! Daddy likes you, too. Can you be my mommy?"

Anne gave Cameron a soft glance before crouching down to hold Reese’s hand. "Reese, don’t say that. Let’s go practice piano."

Julia silently studied the woman before her, dressed in white, the neckline of her dress dipping just enough. With every breath, the soft rise and fall of her chest shimmered beneath the light, subtly seductive.

As she bent down, her cleavage deepened.

Julia turned her head, only to catch Cameron swallowing hard, his gaze fixed on Anne.

After her daughter was taken away, Cameron used the excuse of checking in to follow them, but Julia stepped in to block him.

"What is it?"

Julia hesitated. "Are you free on the 10th?"

Cameron’s gaze lingered on Anne’s curvy figure. His voice was dismissive.

"Don’t know. I’ve been swamped lately. Why?"

Julia slowly pulled her hand back. "It’s nothing."

She no longer held any expectations. The 10th marked the final day of the divorce cooling-off period. If neither of them withdrew the application, the divorce would become official.

After that day, Julia would be gone.

After he left, Julia picked up her phone and dialed a number she hadn’t called in years.

"Hello, it’s me, Julia Gosling. I’m ready to come back."

A joyful cheer came through the line. "Julia, you’re finally returning to Paris? You should’ve done this long ago! A star like you deserves the spotlight! When are you leaving?"

Julia answered gently, "In seven days. I’ll stop by Germany first, then return to the troupe."

"Wonderful! Let us know, anytime, we’ll be ready to welcome you!"

After ending the call, Julia quietly turned and walked back to her room.

Turns out, what she had endured for seven years only needed seven days to end.

Just after hanging up the phone, Reese tiptoed in holding a glass of milk.

"It was your fault for interrupting my piano lesson today. Drink this, and I’ll forgive you."

Reese turned and handed the glass to Julia.

Julia hesitated, puzzled. She hadn’t planned to drink it, but in the end, this was the child she had carried for ten months. Her heart softened. She drank it.

That night, in a hazy, half-conscious daze, Julia seemed to hear Cameron again, his breathing thick with desire, accompanied by familiar, rhythmic sounds.

"This waist… so damn slender… Teacher Anne, you’re beautiful..."

The next day, she opened her eyes to a pounding headache and a wave of dizziness.

She reached for her phone. It was already afternoon.

All these years of marriage and raising a child, she had hardly ever slept in. And now, she had slept so long it felt unreal.

Just then, her phone rang. She tapped the answer button.

"You’re awake?" came Cameron’s voice. "You were tired last night, so I let you sleep in. Didn’t want to wake you."

"Help prep a few dishes for dinner tonight. Reese and I will eat at home. Teacher Anne is coming too."

Julia rubbed her temples. "I thought there wasn’t a piano lesson today. Why is she coming?"

There was background noise on his end, followed by Anne’s cheerful voice, "President Cruise, Reese wants to play hide-and-seek with us."

Cameron sounded impatient. "Just do as you’re told. Reese wants her to come and play. We’ll talk when I get home."

Before Julia could respond, the call ended. She slowly got up, walked to the mirror, and stared at her swollen, unfamiliar reflection.

She couldn’t pull herself out of the fog.

Let’s just treat it as one last memory before leaving. Julia let out a soft sigh.

The front door opened. Cameron and Anne stepped in, holding Reese’s hand.

The three of them walked in, chatting and laughing.

That scene looked exactly like a real family of three.

The table was already set, the dishes still steaming with fragrant heat.

“Wow! Smells amazing!” Reese exclaimed, exaggeratedly sniffing the air before eagerly digging in.

Anne sat quietly, her eyes brimming with tears, her utensils untouched.

Cameron glanced up and frowned. “Julia, Teacher Anne needs to maintain her figure. She can’t eat greasy or spicy food. Didn’t I tell you to make something lighter? Why did you put so much chili? Are you trying to kill her?”

Both Cameron and Reese loved spicy food, which was precisely why Julia had prepared the meal that way.

The moment Reese heard that Anne couldn’t eat spicy food, her face fell. She turned and screamed at Julia.

“Teacher Anne doesn’t eat spicy food! Why did you make everything spicy, you bad woman!”

She banged her utensils on the table and ordered, “Teacher Anne loves seafood! Go make seafood for her now!”

Julia let out a bitter laugh. The daughter, who had nearly died giving birth to her, remembered what her teacher couldn’t eat, yet forgot that her mother was allergic to seafood.

The corners of Anne’s mouth lifted ever so slightly, a faint trace of false apology flickering across her face.

“I’m really sorry for the trouble, Mrs. Cruise...”

But before she could finish, Reese shouted, “Teacher Anne, I won’t let that fat witch bully you! She stays home all day doing nothing, and now she can’t even cook properly. What else is she good for?”

Julia had once been a dancer who avoided spicy food to stay fit. But over the years, she forced herself to eat it, just to please that father-daughter pair. Even when the spice caused her stomach to burn, she kept smiling. And yet, they never once remembered that she couldn’t handle it.

Her hands trembled with rage. She slammed her utensils down.

“Why should I remake it? I’m done with this kind of life!”

The words had barely left her mouth when Cameron cut in sharply.

“Julia, be reasonable. How can you act more childish than a kid?”

Backed by her father, Reese shrieked and swept her little hands across the table, sending all the dishes crashing to the floor.

Hot chili oil splashed onto Julia’s body, searing her skin with a sharp burn.

“Your food is disgusting! You won’t even let Teacher Anne eat, bad woman!”

“Just seeing you makes me sick, fat witch! That’s why I put sleeping pills in your milk, so Teacher Anne could go to school and pretend to be my mom. All my classmates said she’s pretty and gentle. She looks like my real mom, not you! You’re just a fat, ugly maid who should stay home!”

Reese’s shrill voice pierced the room, her little face twisted with open disgust.

Julia stood there, frozen as if struck by lightning.

What?

No wonder she’d slept half the day with a splitting headache.

She turned to Cameron, eyes wide in disbelief. “What did Reese just say?”

A flicker of surprise crossed his face before he quickly composed himself.

“There was a parent-child event at the kindergarten today. If you’d shown up looking like this... the other kids would've laughed at her. She has her pride, too. You’re her mother, you should understand.”

He paused, then added flatly, “But yeah, giving you sleeping pills was wrong. I’ve already scolded her for it.”

Julia felt suffocated. Cameron was actually condoning their daughter’s behavior.

She let out a cold laugh. “This is how you raise her? What’s wrong with how I look? I only became like this because I gave birth to her!”

All reason snapped. She grabbed the remaining bowls and dishes and hurled them to the floor.

The sharp shatter of porcelain echoed through the dining room.

Cameron’s expression turned cold. “Julia, what the hell are you doing? Reese is just a child. Can’t you be more tolerant? And there’s a guest here. Stop making a scene!”

“Making a scene?” Julia laughed, her voice trembling with rage. “Fine, I'm leaving!”

She couldn’t bear one more minute in that suffocating room. Stumbling out of the dining area, she kept walking.

Even after reaching the garden behind the estate, the pain in her chest wouldn’t ease. The nausea lingered like a knot that refused to loosen.

She collapsed onto the pavilion bench, gasping for air, trying to calm herself.

Footsteps sounded behind her.

“Mrs. Cruise?”

It was Anne’s voice. She had followed Julia out and quietly walked up beside her.

“Are you alright? Children speak without thinking. Julia, don’t take it to heart. Reese just likes me a little too much; that’s why she said those harsh things. You’re her mother, of course, you wouldn’t blame her.”

Julia didn’t reply. She didn’t even want to look at that face pretending to be innocent.

Anne’s gaze drifted to the necklace around Julia’s neck, a delicate diamond pendant shaped like a ballet slipper, intricately set and gleaming under the light.

Anne spoke with open admiration. “Julia, your necklace is beautiful.”

She reached out to touch it.

Julia instinctively raised her hand and said coldly, “Don’t touch it.”

At that moment, Reese’s voice echoed from a distance. “Teacher Anne, where are you? I want to eat cake with you!”

Anne, having been blocked, suddenly staggered as if losing balance. With a sharp cry, she fell toward Julia.

Caught off guard, Julia tried to dodge, but Anne grabbed at her, and both of them went crashing backward!

Julia’s back and legs slammed hard against the sharp edge of a statue. Warm blood soaked through her clothes almost instantly, and the searing pain made her body tremble uncontrollably.

“Teacher Anne!” Reese rushed over to Anne and looked up at her, eyes full of worry. “Does it hurt? Daddy, hurry, help Teacher Anne up!”

Anne had only landed on the grass, suffering a small scrape, yet her eyes shimmered with tears. “Thank you, Reese. It doesn’t hurt.”

She turned to Cameron with a pitiful look. “I just… thought Julia’s necklace was beautiful and wanted to admire it. That’s all.”

Cameron frowned but stayed silent. He stepped forward and helped Anne up. As he did, she leaned gently into him, her hand resting on his shoulder, making him visibly stiffen.

Reese’s face twisted with anger. She screamed at Julia, who was still on the ground, “You nasty, fat witch! How dare you push Teacher Anne!”

She lunged at Julia, her little fists pounding. “Bullying Teacher Anne! See if you dare do it again!” Then her tiny hand gripped the necklace at Julia’s throat and yanked it with all her strength.

With a sharp snap, the chain broke.

Reese clutched the broken necklace like it was treasure and held it up to Anne.

“Teacher Anne, here! This pretty necklace, fat witch doesn’t deserve it!”

Anne made a show of modest refusal, her tone gentle. “Reese, you shouldn’t. That belongs to your mommy.”

But Cameron’s voice followed coldly. “It’s a kind gesture from the child. Just take it as an apology from her mother.”

Julia, still enduring the burning pain in her back, forced out a hoarse whisper.

“I didn’t push her…”

Cameron’s gaze turned cold. “Julia, apologize to Teacher Anne.”

Julia stared at him in disbelief.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. She lost her balance and dragged me down!”

Reese pointed a finger, her face twisted with contempt.

“You’re fat like a pig! Teacher Anne is skinny. How could she push you? You’re just jealous! You did it on purpose!”

All trace of warmth vanished from Cameron’s eyes, replaced by nothing but disgust.

“Julia, you’ve truly let me down, so petty, so pathetic.”

He scooped Anne into his arms.

“Teacher Anne’s hands are meant for the piano; they’re too precious. I apologize on her behalf.”

Then, his tone softened as he turned to her. “Come on. I’ll take you to the hospital and have that wound looked at.”

Reese trailed after them like a loyal shadow, not once glancing back at Julia.

The pain in Julia’s back seared through her skin, but she still let out a laugh, low, bitter, and soaked in tears.

This was the child she had nearly died giving birth to. This was the man who once swore he’d love her forever.

And now, without a shred of hesitation, they protected an outsider, leaving her behind like she meant nothing.

In that moment, Julia made a quiet vow to herself: She would never again cling to this man. And as for that heartless child, she was done.