The 4 AM Call Chapter 1

In the dead of night, I caught Julian whispering on the phone, his voice dripping with tenderness.

"Sleep tight, darling. Don't cry. I'll come see you as soon as I'm done with work."

He refuses to divorce me, yet he cheats on me just to torture me? What's the point?

I decided to turn up the heat.

So, I hired a senior from my university to play the role of my affair partner.

We paraded around right under Julian's nose, making sure he saw everything.

I figured with both of us cheating, this marriage would be so rotten he'd finally agree to a divorce.

* * *

At 4 AM, I went downstairs for a glass of water and heard Julian on the balcony, keeping his voice low.

In the darkness, his deep, affectionate tone cut right through the silence.

"Sleep tight, darling. Don't cry. I'll come see you as soon as I'm done with work."

My heart seized, and all sleepiness vanished instantly.

I quickly crouched down, using the stair railing to hide myself.

Hearing him lock his phone screen, return to his room, and close the door...

Only then did I let out a breath and reach a conclusion—

He was cheating.

They say when a man cheats, the wife always has a sixth sense, stumbling upon the truth through inevitable coincidences.

Look at me: thirsty at this exact ungodly hour, out of water in the bedroom, forced downstairs to catch him on the phone.

If that's not divine intervention, what is?

Julian is nine years older than me.

Back when my dad's company was facing bankruptcy and desperately needed funds, Julian generously invested three hundred million, saving my dad from disaster.

My dad knew Julian didn't do charity. He asked what Julian wanted in return.

Julian leaned back on the leather sofa, just smiling at my dad.

After several repayment plans were rejected, my dad thought of selling his daughter.

"My daughter, Dream, is gentle and pretty. A fortune teller said she brings luck to a household. Does Mr. Sterling need a wife?"

Julian stopped smiling and said solemnly, "Then I'll follow my father-in-law's arrangement."

I was a freshman in college, only nineteen.

My dad persuaded me: "Mr. Sterling is handsome, steady, and experienced. Marrying him isn't a loss for you."

A year later, I married Julian.

On our wedding day, I overheard his subordinates gossiping.

They said he had a "white moonlight"—the one that got away—but since he had to marry, he just found someone to make do.

After the wedding, I moved into Julian's villa in the Riverside District.

For three years, I lived upstairs, he lived downstairs.

We were like neighbors, like roommates, but not like husband and wife.

Year-round, he was always busy. The number of times we ate together could be counted on one hand.

In the business world, he was a renaissance man: calm, decisive, with a unique vision and precise decision-making.

Headlines were full of photos of his gentle, restrained smile.

To promote a new menswear line, he even modeled himself, taking a set of photos under the green trees of Southern University.

Approaching thirty, he stood quietly under the tree, blending maturity and youth perfectly, balancing introversion and flamboyance.

It caused a sensation at Southern University.

Those photos moved my heart too.

But so what?

He didn't love me. He hadn't touched me in three years.

I was in the prime of my youth. Seeing classmates cuddling with their boyfriends...

I felt a sense of loss, like my youth was being strangled in the cradle.

The culprit behind all this was Julian.

Because of his ridiculous "return on investment," he gambled with my life.

I brought up divorce with him, two or three times a year.

The first year, he replied: "Your father's company is still in crisis. Divesting now, have you thought it through?"

The second year, my dad's company started making steady profits. I brought up divorce again.

He replied: "Mrs. Sterling, a marriage contract isn't child's play, but a lifelong commitment. Think about it again."

The third year, he replied: "It seems you haven't thought it through yet. Keep thinking."

Always the cold "thinking," mixed with considerations of family interests.

True, my reasons weren't strong enough, and he did help my family.

But now it's different. He cheated.

I was a little sad, but also vaguely excited.