The Chicken Soup 9

Julia’s POV 

“You said I smelled because I was breastfeeding, so I moved into the study to sleep,” I reminded him softly, folding my arms across my chest. “Adrian, maybe you were never worthy of all the love I gave you.” 

Rafael hovered nearby, watching the tension. 

Then Adrian dropped to his knees in front of me. 

“Come back with me. I’m begging you,” he said, his voice raw and humbled. 

His expression, desperate and broken, was the last thing I ever wanted to see. 

I looked down at him steadily. 

“You broke your arm protecting me from my father. Since then, I’ve never let you carry anything heavy. So don’t bother begging now. Love isn’t something you plead for.” 

I let out a heavy sigh and carried on, “Let’s end this with dignity, Adrian. I’ll take the cash equivalent of my shares in Callahan Group, and you keep the stock. Rafael will arrange for you to sign the transfer documents. After that, don’t come back to the firm again.” 

As I stepped out of the guest room, I recalled something strange I had noticed in the documents earlier. 

I paused in the hallway and met his eyes. 

“If 

you still trust me, go back to the company after signing and check the files. Especially the batch Camille signed on your behalf.” 

Then I exited the room, leaving him alone. 

Adrian’s POV 

Just as Julia walked away, my phone lit up with a flood of notifications, having just finished signing the share transfer. 

“Sir Adrian, we’re not sure when it happened, but a massive batch of documents went through. It looks like a partnership with Quinn Industries. Do you remember anything about this? Their supply chain has been a disaster lately, and clients are demanding answers.” 

Quinn Industries… 

My stomach dropped. 

I grabbed my coat and rushed out of the office. 

A flashback hit me. 

Camille once mentioned that her cousin was starting a company and asked if I could help. Back then, I decided that Quinn Industries was too small, with production that was too unstable. 

I turned her down politely. She didn’t argue and didn’t seem bothered. However, I made a mistake and left my signature stamp with her. 

Realizing this, a chill crawled up my spine. My grip tightened on the coat, turning my knuckles 

She Got the Chicken Soup (Served the 

2:04 pm D D D 

white. 

The moment I stepped back into the building, chaos hit like a wave. 

All the reporters, employees, and business partners were shouting for answers. 

“Where is Camille?!” I roared as I stormed into my office. 

Nora stepped inside, her voice trembling. “You told me yesterday to terminate her. She wrapped up her paperwork this morning and took everything, Sir. She’s gone!” 

And in that instant, it clicked. 

I walked right into a trap–a perfect one. 

In just one day, news of Callahan Group’s collapse was everywhere. 

I sat at my desk, stunned, staring at the pile of documents spread out in front of me. Each one was stamped with my seal. My temples pulsed with pressure as I reached for the phone to call an emergency meeting with the legal team. 

That’s when it hit me. There was no one left to call. 

After Julia walked away, we never hired anyone qualified to replace her. I felt like I was suffocating, like something had its hand wrapped tight around my throat. 

The company’s credibility had taken a nosedive overnight. Every law firm in the city was backing. off, too afraid to get their hands dirty. 

Spineless cowards! 

They didn’t even pretend to care. 

And me? I was sitting in the middle of it, watching everything I’d built crash down around me. 

Then the phone rang. 

I grabbed it like a lifeline as I spoke, “Hello…” 

Rafael’s voice came through. “For Julia’s sake, I’ll help you one last time.” 

His words gave me the first sliver of hope I’d had in days. 

The contracts I signed myself? Legally binding. 

But the ones Camille pushed through with just my seal? 

Maybe there was still something to fight for. 

The investigation moved fast. Camille was summoned and charged. 

Under pressure, she cracked almost immediately. She admitted to everything, even setting up the online smear campaign against herself to win sympathy. She was just a fresh grad, emotionally unstable. 

It didn’t take much to get the truth out of her. 

But none of it was sufficient to save the company. Callahan Group was already too far gone. 

The compensation claims exhausted almost all my remaining funds. 

Staying out of prison was the only positive news I clung to. 

2:04 pm D 

D 

Julia’s POV 

On the day Adrian left the capital, I brought Lila to the airport to see him off. 

It had been less than a month, and already he looked thinner, tired, and unkempt. 

The guy who used to feel bulletproof? 

He wasn’t standing there anymore.