My Touch-Starved Ex Begs for Mercy

Three years of marriage, and no matter what I did, I could never get Julian to touch me—even though he suffered from severe touch starvation. All because his first love, Yvonne, supposedly died in a car crash after an argument over our arranged marriage. He pinned the entire blame on me, harboring a venomous hatred toward me ever since. During a family dinner at the Sterling estate, the elders spiked both our drinks and locked us in a suite together. Consuming with heat, I begged him to hold me. Instead, he coldly shoved me into a tub of ice-cold water, locked the door from the outside, and walked away. The winter chill soaked down to my bones, freezing my heart along with it. When the drug finally wore off, I wrapped myself in a blanket and confronted him. He merely glanced at me with utter indifference: "Someone as callous about human life as you has no right to question me." Yet the very next day at the gynecology clinic, Yvonne appeared before my eyes, back from the dead. She arched an eyebrow and sneered: "Julian took the drug too. But he endured hours of agony just to come find me instead of laying a finger on you. You're quite the failure as Mrs. Sterling, aren't you?" ... I froze, staring at her in sheer disbelief. "Yvonne? Aren't you..." Yvonne crossed her arms, looking down at me like I was dirt. "Dead? Is that what you were going to say?" "Sorry to disappoint you. I was lucky enough to be saved, and I've been living just fine. Julian and I have been together for quite some time now." My hands clenched into tight fists, a suffocating bitterness rising in my throat. I choked out the words: "When... when did Julian find out?" A mocking smirk spread across Yvonne's lips, dripping with triumph. "Julian found out two years ago." "Surprised? Every single night you spent alone in that cold bed, Julian was with me." "The man you could never tempt, no matter how hard you tried, has been clinging to me day and night. Tell me, Chloe, how does that feel?" It felt like a boulder was crushing my chest. I let out a dry, self-deprecating laugh. So I was the only fool kept in the dark. I couldn't bear to imagine how Julian must have viewed me over the past two years, watching me desperately bend over backward to please him. I couldn't bear to imagine how he must have laughed about it with Yvonne behind closed doors. Fighting back the trembling in my body, I forced down the tears of humiliation. Just then, a nurse stepped over. "Mrs. Sterling, the doctor is ready for you." Like someone fleeing a disaster, I grabbed my bag and followed the nurse. Before I took more than a few steps, Yvonne's voice drifted from behind: "Chloe, enjoy your last days as Mrs. Sterling. After all, if I decide to take my spot back, how much longer do you think you can last?" I turned back and saw the venomous, gloating smile on her face. My heart tightened. Turning around, I quickened my pace. After the examination, the doctor informed me that an old condition, compounded by being soaked in freezing water all night, had caused severe pelvic inflammation and hypothermic shock to my body. Not only would it be extremely difficult for me to conceive, but it would also take years of recovery just to restore my health. A bitter smile touched my lips. Julian had never touched me anyway. What difference did my fertility make? When I returned home, I put a pot of restorative soup on the stove. Just as I took out a bowl, my phone buzzed with a text from Julian. [Bring two orders of beef ravioli and corn cakes from Four Seasons Deli to my office.] Julian often demanded that I deliver food to his office—sometimes dessert from the west side, sometimes pastries from the east. There were plenty of delivery services, yet he always insisted I bring it myself. And Four Seasons Deli was all the way on the north end of the city, completely opposite from the Sterling Group headquarters in the south. My heart sank, but I wrapped myself in a thick winter coat and drove out anyway. The deli was packed, and the evening rush hour traffic was brutal. By the time I arrived at his company, the food was already lukewarm. I dropped the bag off at the assistant's desk to have her take it in, exactly as Julian had strictly ordered. Back in my car, however, I realized I had left the box of corn cakes behind. I had to run back up. This time, the front desk was empty. Fearing the food would get too cold to eat, I pushed open his office door myself.The scene inside froze me in my tracks. Yvonne was lounging with her legs draped across Julian's lap, letting him feed her one bite at a time. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief, hoping it was just a hallucination. Julian's freezing voice instantly shattered that illusion. "Who told you to come in? Get out." Yvonne patted Julian's hand to soothe him, then sauntered over to take the box from my hands. Her tone was mockingly patronizing: "Thanks for running the errand, Chloe! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the famous Four Seasons Deli tonight. I've got the food now, so you should leave before Julian gets angry." Memories flashed through my mind—all the sweet treats, the delicate pastries, the desserts he had ordered me to pick up over the years. They were all things young women loved. I had wondered back then why Julian had suddenly developed a sweet tooth. I hadn't dared to dig deeper. I just obeyed. Now I knew. Every single trip was for Yvonne. A suffocating wave of humiliation and ache washed over me. Seeing that I was still standing there, Julian's voice turned even sharper. "Didn't you hear me? Get out." Swallowing the lump in my throat, I forced back my tears, turned around, and walked out. All that rushing, all that frantic worry about him missing his dinner, had been for nothing. I pulled my lips into a hollow, self-mocking smile. If three years couldn't thaw a block of ice, it was time to let go. The next morning. I had my lawyer, David, draft a divorce agreement, and I took it straight to Julian's office. After waiting in the lobby for a long time, his assistant finally ushered me in. I walked up to his desk and quietly set the folder down. "Look it over. If you have no objections, sign it." Julian glanced at the bold words "Divorce Agreement" on the cover and casually tossed it aside. He spoke coolly: "Don't bring up divorce until you deal with the family elders. I don't need them causing another scene." I kept my voice steady, pressing forward: "Since you want this divorce just as much as I do, why won't you come with me to tell them?" Julian finally looked up, his lips parting into a sneer: "I'm not like you. I don't have endless free time to waste on nonsense." My breath caught in my throat. Free time? I had put my own career at Vance Enterprises on hold just to stay home and care for his ailing mother, attending to every detail with meticulous care. In Julian's eyes, that was just "endless free time"? A bone-deep chill settled over my heart. Just as I was about to speak, the office door flew open. Yvonne swept past me like a gust of wind, throwing herself straight into Julian's arms. She waved a medical report in front of his face, her voice chirping with excitement: "Julian! We're having a baby!" Julian froze for a split second, and then an expression of genuine, unbridled joy broke across his face. He pulled Yvonne tightly against him and pressed a deep kiss to her lips. They lost themselves in each other, treating me as if I were nothing more than thin air. Watching them wrapped together, my chest ached so violently it felt like my organs were tearing apart. That was an intimacy he had never once offered me. Despite his touch starvation, whenever I had tried to comfort him or initiate physical contact, he had pushed me away with disgust. I lowered my gaze, breathing through the stinging pain in my nose. Moments later, they finally broke apart. Yvonne looked over at me as if she had just noticed my presence, putting on an innocent, startled expression. "Oh, Chloe, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you were here. You're not mad, are you?" Julian answered without hesitation, "Why would she be mad?" Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he reached for the divorce papers, flipped to the last page, and grabbed his pen to sign. "I signed it. Once you add your signature, we'll head to the courthouse tomorrow to file the petition." The chill in my veins ran ice-cold. Just moments ago, he refused to even look at the papers. Yet the second he heard Yvonne was pregnant, he signed without a shred of hesitation.In the end, Yvonne was the only person who ever mattered to him. Burying the grief deep down, I picked up the folder and stumbled out of his office. The moment I stepped out into the hallway, a sudden wave of hypoglycemia hit me, and the world went black. I was unconscious for an entire day. When I opened my eyes, Julian's assistant was sitting beside the hospital bed. Seeing me awake, she immediately dialed Julian to report. Through the phone, Julian's cold voice came through loud and clear: "Since she's awake, tell her to go home, grab her ID, and meet me at the courthouse. I'll wait at the entrance in two hours. You get back to work." After hanging up, the assistant avoided my gaze, clearly embarrassed. I pushed myself up, gave her a weak, polite smile, thanked her for staying, and told her she could head back to the office. Once she left, I dragged my weak body into a cab, went home to get my documents, and drove straight to the courthouse. Even so, I arrived one minute late. Julian stood by the entrance, his brow furrowed with impatience. "What took you so long? Don't tell me you're having second thoughts about the divorce." I didn't answer. I just offered a faint, tired smile and walked ahead of him through the doors. We submitted the paperwork. The clerk informed us that due to the mandatory thirty-day cooling-off period, we would have to return in a month to finalize the decree. As we walked out of the courthouse, Julian said plainly: "Pack your things and move out of the penthouse. Yvonne is moving in." Thinking of his sick mother, Eleanor, I couldn't help but say: "Eleanor's health is delicate right now. A shock like this might worsen her condition. Let's keep the divorce from her for now." Julian hesitated for a moment, then replied: "Fine. You keep taking care of her for this month so the family doesn't cause trouble during the cooling-off period. We'll handle everything else once the thirty days are up." I nodded, drove back to the penthouse, packed my bags, and headed to the Sterling estate. When Eleanor saw the luggage in my hands, a wide smile spread across her face. "Chloe, are you moving in to keep me company?" "I don't need you fussing over an old woman. You should be spending time with Julian, working on your marriage." A bitter knot tightened in my chest. Fighting through the ache, I linked my arm through hers affectionately. "Mom, I just wanted to spend more time with you." Eleanor smiled helplessly, patting my hand gently. "Julian might seem distant, but deep down, he's a good boy. Once he comes to his senses, he'll treat you the way you deserve. Chloe, be patient with him." I kept a steady smile on my face, but my heart was weeping. Julian would never change. And I wasn't going to wait for him anymore. The next day. Somehow, Yvonne found out that I had moved into the Sterling estate, and she demanded to meet me. The moment I sat down across from her at the café, she sneered: "Chloe, have you no shame at all? You're practically divorced from Julian, yet you still run to the family estate to suck up to my future mother-in-law?" I looked at her, finding the whole thing ridiculous. "First of all, our divorce isn't finalized yet. Eleanor is still legally my mother-in-law. Even after the divorce, the Sterling and Vance families have been close for generations. Our families will always be connected. By what right are you lecturing me?" Yvonne paused, then let out a dark, grating laugh. "Thanks for the reminder. If you keep lingering around them, his parents will always compare me to you, and they'll never accept me." My stomach dropped, an uneasy sensation creeping up my spine. A second later, Yvonne's voice turned sinister: "It would be much better if you disappeared for good." Before I could react, she hurled her glass of water straight into my face. The liquid splashed across my eyes, burning with a sharp sting. Within seconds, dizziness overtook me. My vision blurred, and the world faded into darkness.