Chapter 5

“Isn’t that Julian Sterling, the wastrel who only knows how to party? I heard he’s gained a lot of power in the Sterling family recently, even Lucas can’t stand against him.”

“He was just hiding his true strength. They say he has a ton of private businesses. The Sterlings are practically begging him to come back and inherit the family fortune.”

Listening to the whispers around me, I increasingly felt like I’d gotten involved with someone incredibly powerful.

Julian drove with one hand on the steering wheel, the other gripping mine. “Are you scared of me?”

I shook my head.

“You’re helping me. Why would I be scared of you?”

In fact, I started to wonder if I was just a burden to him.

Without me, he might find someone better.

Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt.

I looked up and saw Lucas standing in front of the car, arms outstretched.

I rolled down the window.

“Are you crazy? Get out of the way.”

“Eleanor, you can’t go with him! Don’t you love me most of all?”

I rolled my eyes, feeling a sense of helplessness, like I was stuck with a bad record.

“Well, I don’t love you anymore. You can marry someone else, so why can’t I?”

Something I said must have hit a nerve because his eyes suddenly widened.

“You won’t be happy with a monster like him.”

Just as I thought he was about to lose it completely, Chloe appeared from somewhere and hugged him.

“Lucas, aren’t you supposed to be with me for my birthday? What are you doing here? Have you forgotten that you only get the inheritance if you marry me?”

Lucas slowly calmed down.

“Eleanor, I’m giving you one last chance. Come back to me.”

I signaled Julian to drive away. I wasn’t coming back to him.

Julian booked flights for tomorrow.

From Julian, I learned that Mr. Sterling Sr. had declared that only married heirs would be eligible to inherit the family fortune.

“But that’s not why I asked you to marry me,” Julian added afterward.

The smile on my face froze, like a blurry, out-of-focus photograph, indistinct and panicked.

Julian, however, wasn’t about to let me off the hook.

“I’m serious. My reputation wasn’t the best before, but now I can give you everything you want. We’ll have our wedding after your surgery.”

I didn't answer him, my mind still reeling.

Meanwhile, Lucas, though Chloe had dragged him back to her party, remained distracted.

He still couldn't believe Julian and I were married.

He went to my father again, seeking clarification.

“You have the nerve to come to me? You abandoned my daughter to marry someone else. What more do you have to say?”

Lucas anxiously grabbed my father’s arm.

“Did Julian tell you that? I was just repaying a debt. I didn’t have much money when I started my company, and Chloe anonymously donated to me.”

My dad looked confused.

“What are you talking about? That money was Eleanor’s own secret savings. She even told me not to tell you, afraid you wouldn’t accept it.”

Lucas stood frozen, as if struck by lightning. His throat tightened, and he could only manage short, ragged breaths.

All the innocent, warm memories from college flooded his mind.

Only then did he realize he had been deceived all along.

He thought I would always love him, so he’d shamelessly squandered my affection.

“Where’s Eleanor now? I need to find her.”

“Eleanor has already gone abroad for surgery. You won’t find her.”

Lucas’s temples throbbed.

“She’s sick?”

My dad looked at him with disdain.

“You say you care so much about Eleanor, yet you didn’t even know she had heart valve disease! While you were on your honeymoon, Eleanor was in the hospital!”

Lucas’s knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, repeatedly muttering,

“Impossible…”