She Mocked My “Useless” Husband Then My Family Ended the Party Chapter 10

She Mocked My “Useless” Husband Then My Family Ended the Party Chapter 10

A year later. 

Hayes Group Headquarters. Highcrest. 

I sat on Silas’s sofa and scrolled through my 

phone. 

“Clara, seriously. Do you have any ambition at all?” 

Silas set down the last of his paperwork, picked up his coffee, and stood over me. 

“Julian’s been running a venture capital firm for six months now, and you’re still camped out on my couch, treating my office like your personal 

lounge.” Julian’s been running a venture capital 

firm for six months now, and you’re still camped 

out on my couch, treating my office like your 

personal lounge.” 

I rolled my eyes without a shred of shame. 

“My husband makes the money. I look pretty. We 

play to our strengths. Any questions?” 

Silas laughed in spite of himself. 

“Fine, you win.” 

A lot had changed in a year. Julian most of all. 

He’d finished the intensive program at the top of 

his class. 

He still didn’t talk much, and small talk would 

never be his thing. 

But when it came to numbers and deals, his brain 

just clicked. 

The Sterling matriarchs handed him the reins to a 

venture capital arm under the Sterling Group. The Sterling matriarchs handed him the reins to a venture capital arm under the Sterling Group. 

In six months, every project he touched turned a nine–figure profit.In six months, every project he touched turned a nine–figure profit. 

The same people in Highcrest who used to call him a lost cause now straightened up when he 

walked into a room. Now it was Mr. Sterling. 

My phone chimed. 

A text from Julian. 

[Leaving work. Coming to get you.] 

I bounced off the couch, grabbed my bag, and 

headed for the door. 

“Silas! Julian’s here. Bye!” 

Silas shook his head behind me. 

“And she’s gone. Every time.” 

I took the private elevator down to the parking 

garage. 

I spotted the black Aston Martin right away.l spotted the black Aston Martin right away. 

Julian was leaning against the door in a tailored 

suit, waiting. 

There was a steadiness to him now, still quiet, still 

reserved, but he didn’t feel walled off anymore. 

When he saw me, his whole face softened. 

“Clara.” 

He took my bag without asking and opened the 

door for me. 

“Are you tired today?” 

I slid into the passenger seat, grinning. 

“Not even a little. Silas has a really nice couch.” 

Julian climbed in and leaned across to buckle my 

seatbelt. 

He was close, close enough that I caught the 

warm, woody scent of his cologne. 

“What do you want to eat tonight?” he asked. 

“Hmm… I want Arthur to fire up the grill and make his famous ribs.“Hmm… I want Arthur to fire up the grill and make his famous ribs.” 

“Done. Let’s head to Arthur’s.” 

The car pulled out of the garage and slipped into Highcrest traffic. 

I watched the city blur past the window, and my mind drifted back to Bayport. 

That banquet changed everything. 

Chloe fell apart in the psych ward. Arthur made sure she never got comfortable there, keeping her on a brutal treatment schedule, day after day. 

He wouldn’t stop until the lesson stuck. 

By the end, she was just a shell, muttering the same words on a loop: I was wrong, she’s not the other woman, I was wrong, she’s not the other woman. By the end, she was just a shell, muttering the same words on a loop: I was wrong, she’s not 

the other woman, I was wrong, she’s not the other 

woman. 

Felix got life without parole. He made enemies on the inside fast, and from what I heard, every day 

behind those walls was its own private hell.Felix 

got life without parole. He made enemies on the inside fast, and from what I heard, every day behind those walls was its own private hell. 

Julian and I were still the couple everyone in 

Highcrest talked about. 

Only now, I was the only freeloader left. Only now, I 

was the only freeloader left. 

“What are you thinking about?” 

Julian’s voice pulled me back. 

We were stopped at a red light. He turned to look 

at me. 

“Nothing.” 

I reached over and laced my fingers through his 

resting on the center console. I reached over and 

laced my fingers through his resting on the center 

console. 

“I was just thinking, now that Mr. Sterling is such a 

big deal, does that mean I get to do whatever I 

want in Highcrest?” 

Julian’s fingers tightened around mine. 

“You can.” 

He looked me dead in the eye. 

“Wherever you want to go, you can.” 

“I’ll protect you.” 

“Deal.”