Chapter 4 Lies It was the first time Id ever seen Elizabeth so panicked .
She looked like she was about to cry , and it was because of me .
For a second , I was dazed because it almost felt like she still loved me .
But the next moment , Gideons wailing broke through the noise .
Mom ! Dad is bleeding too .
Im scared … Elizabeth turned and saw Callum clutching his arm , his face twisted in pain .
The glass shards had left two gashes on his forearm , and blood was running down like a faucet .
Ill take you to the hospital , Callum , she said .
Then , without a seconds hesitation , she left me behind , grabbed Callum , and headed for the door .
Callum stopped her and said , Bring Mr.
Thornton with us , Elizabeth .
His injuries are worse .
But Gideons cry followed right after .
No , Dad , I dont like blood .
Dont bring him ! Gideons face was full of fear and disgust as he looked at me , and that was enough to make Callum stop pushing the issue .
Instead , he turned to Elizabeth .
She only hesitated for a few seconds before making the call .
No.
Gideon gets queasy around blood .
Julian cant come .
Hes a firefighter anyway .
He can take care of himself .
Lets go ! Chapter 4 Lies And with that , Elizabeth scooped Gideon into her arms , held onto Callums hand , and rushed out of the restaurant without looking back .
By then , my vision was completely blurred by blood .
It mixed with tears and streamed down my face in hot , sticky waves .
2/7 Eventually , it was the restaurant owner who had someone rush .
me to the ER.
Thankfully , it wasnt anything serious just some scrapes and cuts .
Once they bandaged me up , they left me to rest .
But truth be told , the cuts didnt hurt half as much as what was going on inside .
My heart had already gone completely numb .
The moment Elizabeth chose to leave me behind without a second thought , it felt like a thousand knives slicing straight through my chest , leaving nothing but a hollow , bleeding mess .

I lay in the hospital bed , numb , no longer holding out any hope for her .
All I could think about was making sure these injuries didnt stop me from deploying to the wildfire zone tomorrow .
That night , I drifted in and out of sleep , stuck somewhere between the sharp throbs of pain and sudden jolts of waking up .
My phone stayed dead silent the whole time not a single message from Elizabeth .
It was as if Callum and Gideon were her whole world now , and I was just some stranger to her .
The next morning , just as the sun was barely up , Kennedys call Chapter 4 Lies 3/7 pulled me out of whatever sleep Id managed to get .
I picked up and mumbled , Yeah , Mr.
Adams ? Julian , are you ready ? he asked .
I replied , Yeah , I can rejoin the team now .
My head didnt hurt as much as it did the night before , and I managed to get out of bed without much trouble .
As for Elizabeth ? Im done chasing someone whos already halfway to sainthood .
She lives by rules Ill never understand , and honestly , Im just tired .
Kennedy said , Alright .
You dont have to rush .
The wildfire is serious , but the team is still waiting on a shipment of firefighting equipment .
Once the gear gets here , we head out .
For now , it looks like the deployment will be in the afternoon .
Ill update you when its confirmed .
When the call ended , I just stood there , stunned .
I suddenly had half a day free , but no place to go .
Go home ? Yeah , no .
I dont want to spend what little time Ive got left being humiliated again .
That was when Elizabeth called .
As soon as I picked up , she got straight to the point , saying , Dont come home for now , Julian .
Gideon doesnt like you .
He said every time you show up , something bad happens to his dad or he ends up upset .
Hes still a kid .
Let him adjust for a while , okay? Chapter 4 Lies That said , Ive booked a hotel room for 4/7 .
Ill have the butler send your things over .
And Callum is going to be living here for the time being .
Hell be sleeping in your room , but theres nothing going on between us .
You dont need to worry about .
that .

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Elizabeth was still just informing me .
Once she finished saying all that , she added , Thats all .
I have a meeting to go to .
Im hanging up now .
Then , the line went dead before I could even get a word in .
The busy tone kicked in , and something twisted painfully in my chest .
Youve really outdone yourself , Elizabeth .
First, I caught you red handed .
After that , you adopted the kid .
Not long after , Callum somehow ended up living under our roof .
And now ? Youre kicking me out entirely .
You might as well just admit the truth about you and Callum .
But no .
Youre too far up on that pedestal of yours to give someone like me the truth .
Doesnt matter anymore .
Lets just pretend the last five years were a waste .
Im about to be deployed to the frontlines anyway .
No point clinging to some picture perfect dream of home and love .
After I got discharged , I went to the hotel and picked up my luggage .
What I didnt expect was for the butler to include Elizabeths laptop .
I guessed the butler assumed it was mine .
That laptop was the anniversary gift I gave Elizabeth .
Id accidentally bought the Chapter 4 Lies black one instead of the white one , but she didnt mind , and shed been using it ever since .
5/7 It was her work laptop , so I hadnt planned on touching it .
But then I remembered all the pictures and videos from when we were dating .
That was before she got so devoted to her beliefs .
Wed had some good times then .
I figured that since I was leaving anyway , I might as well erase every trace of myself , sparing Elizabeth the eyesore .
So , I opened her laptop , intending to wipe everything clean .
What I didnt expect was for it to auto log into her WhatsApp .
The top pinned chat jumped out at me it was Callum .
Not only had Elizabeth pinned him , but shed also given him a special nickname Cal .
Just one simple name , yet it reeked of something more .

And me ? I texted her dozens of times a day , but there wasnt a single sign of me in sight .
With that in mind , a sharp pang shot through my chest .
I couldnt stop myself from scrolling .
Callum was the only one Elizabeth pinned to the top .
Below him were the companys group chats , a few VPs , and some clients .
Further down were chats with her Buddhist groups , fellow practitioners , and even the abbot from the temple .
And me ? I didnt even make the top hundred .
When I made it to my chat box , all I saw was my username .
Chapter 4 Lies 6/7 After five years of marriage , I hadnt even earned the dignity of a proper contact name .
What gutted me even more was that I was the only one shed muted .
No wonder she barely replied , no matter how many messages I sent .
One word answers every few days were all I ever got .
Turns out , from the very beginning , she never once saw me as someone who mattered .
So , this was the marriage I thought made me happy .
What a joke .
The irony of it all hit me like a punch to the gut .
That innocent nickname of Callums turned into something monstrous , like a predator sinking its teeth in and dragging my heart straight to the bottom of the sea .
The pain was brutal , the cold unbearable .
I was drowning in it .
I wanted to stop looking , but just then , Elizabeths WhatsApp pinged again .
It was from Callum .
Hed sent a dozen photos of him and Elizabeth at school with Gideon , participating in some fun family day event .
The first photo showed Elizabeth , Callum , and Gideon in matching family outfits , holding hands and smiling like the perfect picture of happiness .
The second one had her and Callum standing shoulder to shoulder , their bodies pressed close as they lifted Gideon up together to pop a balloon .
In the third photo , Gideon held out a little cookie , and both Elizabeth and Callum leaned in to take a bite lips barely a Chapter 4 Lies breath apart .
7/7 Each new photo was more intimate than the last , and by the end of it , my chest ached so badly I could barely breathe .
I had never seen Elizabeth , usually so cold and aloof , look so carefree , so alive .
I looked closer and noticed that there was a timestamp watermarked on the bottom right corner those pictures were taken just ten minutes ago .
I laughed , but it came out cracked and hollow .
So thats why she wouldnt let me come home .
She was afraid Id find out .
Elizabeth , you told me you were stuck in a meeting at work .
Didnt you say that those who walk the spiritual path dont lie ? Then why is our marriage built on nothing but lies ?