Chapter 2 - THE BRIDE AT THE CATHEDRAL
Chloe Mercer knew something was wrong the moment Julian returned.
He had left the bridal suite corridor looking entertained.
He came back looking like someone had reached inside his chest and rearranged his organs.
Chloe stood beneath an archway of white roses wearing a custom silk gown that had required seven fittings and a confidentiality agreement.
Her platinum earrings had belonged to Julian’s grandmother.
Her veil extended nearly twelve feet behind her.
Everything was perfect.
Except Julian.
“What did she say?”
Julian stopped.
“Who?”
Chloe smiled.
It was the same polished smile that had carried her through press disasters, shareholder rebellions, charity scandals, and five years of pretending Elena Sterling was her favorite person in Manhattan.
“Elena.”
Julian slipped his phone into his pocket.
“Nothing important.”
Chloe studied him.
She knew him too well to believe that.
For three years, she had learned every movement.
The tightening of his jaw meant anger.
The tapping of his thumb meant impatience.
The complete stillness he displayed now meant fear.
“You called her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To offer closure.”
Chloe nearly laughed.
Julian Sterling had never offered closure to anyone in his life.
He offered settlements.
He offered severance packages.
He offered nondisclosure agreements.
Closure was something ordinary people gave each other when relationships ended.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Julian.”
His gaze sharpened.
“Not today, Chloe.”
That tone would have frightened almost anyone else.
Chloe merely lowered her voice.
“This is exactly the kind of thing she does.”
He looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
“She waits until something important happens to you, then finds a way to make herself the center of it.”
Julian said nothing.
Chloe stepped closer.
“What did she tell you?”
Before he could answer, the wedding coordinator appeared.
“Mr. Sterling, Mrs. Mercer, we need everyone in position.”
Chloe smiled at the woman.
“Two minutes.”
The coordinator disappeared.
Chloe turned back.
“Tell me.”
Julian looked toward the cathedral doors.
“She had a baby.”
For one fraction of a second, Chloe’s face changed.
It was almost invisible.
But Julian saw it.
Shock.
Then calculation.
Then sympathy.
Perfectly arranged.
“Oh.”
He waited.
Chloe touched his arm.
“That explains why she disappeared from society.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed.
“You knew she disappeared?”
“Everyone knew.”
“She told me she gave birth three hours ago.”
“Today?”
“Yes.”
Chloe blinked.
“That’s certainly dramatic timing.”
Julian pulled away.
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“Turn this into a strategy memo.”
Her lips tightened.
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“From Elena.”
Julian stared at her.
Chloe lowered her voice.
“You know what she was like during the divorce.”
Julian did know.
At least he thought he did.
He remembered Elena pale beneath fluorescent mediation-room lights.
He remembered her lawyers asking for financial records.
He remembered Chloe whispering that Elena was trying to destroy the company because she could not have children.
He remembered medical documents.
He remembered fertility consultations.
He remembered the sentence Chloe had repeated after reading one of Elena’s private emails.
She knows she can’t give you an heir, Julian.
For the first time, the memory felt different.
“When was Elena declared infertile?”
Chloe’s eyes flickered.
“What?”
“You were the one who brought me the specialist’s report.”
“Because she kept hiding medical information.”
“When?”
“Julian, we are supposed to be married in thirty minutes.”
“I know.”
“So why are we discussing your ex-wife’s ovaries?”
His jaw flexed.
“Because she just delivered a full-term baby six months after our divorce.”
Chloe went completely still.
There it was.
The thing neither of them wanted to say.
The timeline.
Julian looked at her.
“Eight months ago.”
Chloe’s smile vanished.
He remembered.
She realized he remembered.
The charity gala.
The rain.
Elena wearing a black dress.
Julian returning to the estate after midnight.
Chloe had called him four times that night.
He had ignored every call.
Nothing had happened between Chloe and Julian until weeks later.
Not physically.
Not officially.
At least that was the version they had always agreed to tell.
Chloe took his hand.
“Even if the timing works, you don’t know anything.”
“No.”
“She could have been with someone else.”
Julian slowly pulled his hand away.
“Elena never cheated.”
Chloe’s expression hardened.
“You spent years telling me your marriage was dead.”
“Dead isn’t the same as unfaithful.”
“Do you hear yourself?”
“Yes.”
The organ music began inside.
Hundreds of guests were taking their seats.
Photographers waited outside.
Three television networks had crews stationed across Fifth Avenue.
Chloe looked toward the chapel doors.
Then back at Julian.
“You cannot do this to me today.”
“I’m standing here.”
“Your body is.”
Julian said nothing.
Chloe’s voice dropped.
“If you walk away from this wedding because Elena made one phone call, she wins.”
Julian’s eyes turned cold.
“Elena didn’t call me.”
Chloe froze.
May you like
“I called her.”
The distinction terrified her more than she wanted to admit.
