I Stopped Loving Him

At 20, I became known for two things. First, I weighed over 200 pounds, yet I still ended up dating Christian Fairmont, the coldest and most unattainable man in our circle. Second, I turned down Christian's proposal, changed my name, left the country, and became the one woman no one dared mention around him—the forbidden, unattainable love he could never let go. For the next five years, Christian shut himself away in a church and refused to see anyone. Just when everyone thought he was about to become a priest, he suddenly announced his engagement. He made such a spectacle of it that even I heard about it all the way in Goldridge. That alone showed how much he valued his bride-to-be. I booked the first flight home that same night. Everyone who saw me reacted the same way. First, they stared at how completely I had changed, how much weight I had lost, how I looked like a different person. Then they sighed. "Juliana, you came back too late." Even Christian looked at me with cold, distant eyes. "When you walked away and left me behind, did you ever think that five years later, you'd regret it?" Regret? I shook my head. "I don't regret it." I was already married and had a child. Chapter 1 I did not return to Imperius for Christian Fairmont. When newspapers in Goldridge began flooding the headlines with news of his engagement, my father called. "We finally got a lead on your mother's belongings." That was why I booked a flight that same night. By the time I landed in Sothoris, rain was pouring down. I dragged my suitcase toward the underground parking garage and quickly located the car my father had arranged, matching the license plate he had given me. The moment I opened the door, my breathing halted. Christian sat in the back seat. He wore a perfectly tailored suit, and five years had done nothing to soften his distant, untouchable air. He looked exactly as I remembered: cold, restrained, and untouchable. I thought I had the wrong car and began to close the door, but he spoke first. "Wrong car? No. I came to pick up Jessie for Mr. Winslow. I just happened to be picking you up as well." The name caught me off guard. Jessica Winslow was my father's affair child, only six months younger than me. I stared at Christian's profile. A moment later, the truth settled into place. His fiancée and Jessica were the same person. He noticed my reaction and lifted a brow. "My engagement was announced, and you rushed back almost immediately. You obviously care a great deal, yet you pretend not to know who I'm marrying. Juliana Winslow, do you ever get tired of acting?" The mockery in his voice was unmistakable. I took the front passenger seat. My hand paused on the seat belt. "I came back to deal with something personal. Not because of you." He let out a quiet scoff, as if I had told him a joke. "If you're going to make excuses, at least make them convincing." "It's true. And while I was abroad, I already—" I never finished. Before I could say that I had gotten married and had a child, a woman's voice called from nearby, "Chris, come help me with my suitcase. I can't push it." Christian stepped out. In the rearview mirror, I watched him take Jessica's suitcase, then pull her into his arms with easy familiarity. She said something in a spoiled, sugary tone. Her gaze drifted toward the car, met mine in the mirror, then slid away at once. They got back in. Jessica gave Christian an exaggerated kiss, then turned to me as though she had only just noticed me. "Julie, Dad said you might be coming back soon. I didn't believe him. I can't believe it's really you." She looked me up and down. "You've lost so much weight. I almost didn't recognize you. Were things that hard for you overseas? Since you're back this time, maybe you should stay. Chris and I are getting married soon. You can come to the wedding…" Her voice trailed off. Then the color drained from her face. "Julie… you didn't come back to steal the groom, did you?" I almost laughed in disbelief. I had just opened my mouth when Christian spoke first. "Don't worry. I won't let anyone disrupt our wedding." He reached over and ruffled her hair with surprising gentleness. Jessica still looked uneasy. "But everyone says she was your unattainable love. Now that she's back, am I supposed to step aside?" "There was never any unattainable love. That was all made up. Stop overthinking it. You're the only one in my heart," Christian answered without hesitation. As he spoke, he flicked a glance at me. I had already closed my eyes. After more than 10 hours in the air, every part of me ached. The atmosphere between them made it clear there was no place for me in that car. Since that was the case, I might as well rest. The air inside the car seemed to tighten for a moment. Then Christian said, his voice hard, "Drive." The car pulled into the rain. I listened to it drum against the windows. My mind had just begun to drift when Jessica woke me again. "Julie, the designer just called. My wedding dress is ready, and I'm going to try it on now. Do you want to come with us?" I opened my eyes. The exhaustion had not lifted. "No. I want to go back to the old estate first." Something in Christian's expression shifted, as though he had seen through me. Jessica said it for him. "So you don't want to come because you can't stand seeing me in a wedding dress next to Chris?" They both seemed utterly convinced that I had come back for him. A headache began to build behind my eyes. I pressed two fingers to my temple and explained again, "I came back because I have something to handle. It has nothing to do with your marriage." The next second, the car slammed to a stop at the side of the road. Chapter 2 Christian's voice turned sharp. "If this has nothing to do with us, then get out. We are not going the same way from here." Jessica handed me an umbrella at just the right moment with a faint smile. I said nothing. I opened the door and stepped out. By the time I grabbed my luggage, the car was already gone. It sped off, splashing roadside water all over me. Meanwhile, the umbrella was broken. I struggled with it for a long time, but it would not open. Within minutes, I was soaked through. The rain fell too hard to catch a cab. I finally found a spot with a little cover, then called my best friend, Rachel Tanner, and asked her to pick me up. While I waited, I checked my phone and saw a voice message from my husband, Virgil Carrington. He had sent it an hour earlier. I tapped it open, and my daughter's voice came through at once. "Mommy, Daddy said my visa should be ready soon. Just 10 more days, and I can come back to Imperius with Daddy to find Mommy!" Her soft voice brought a smile to my face before I realized it. It was already late at night in Goldridge. Virgil and Anna were probably asleep, so I did not start a video call. I sent back a gentle voice reply instead. After I closed my chat with Virgil, I saw a new post from Jessica. [My sister's back in the country. It should be a happy thing, but for some reason, I feel a little sad.] The attached photo showed my side profile as I slept in the car. The comments had already exploded. [Oh my God, Juliana is back? She actually got this skinny? Why did she come back now? Is she trying to steal the groom?] [She can try all she wants. Chris has moved on. It doesn't matter how much she changed. She came back too late.] [Sending hugs, Jessie. You treated Juliana like a sister, and she comes back just to steal your man. Shameless.] At the very bottom was Christian's reply. [Don't be upset. Only you will ever be my Mrs. Fairmont.] Jessica replied with a heart. My temple throbbed. I locked my phone and put it away. It was better not to look. Before long, Rachel arrived and picked me up. She had obviously seen Jessica's post, because she spent the entire drive complaining on my behalf. "I seriously don't know if Jessica ever gets tired of putting on that act. 'Your sister is back and I am so happy'? Did she forget that she and her mother drove you out of the Winslow family and stole your engagement?" She rolled her eyes so hard I almost laughed. "Good thing the Carringtons weren't blind. The second they found out your father had swapped the engagement to Jessica, they annulled it outright. But Christian really is blind. I thought after living in a church for five years, he must have been deeply devoted to you. Who knew he would end up engaged to Jessica of all people." I smiled faintly. "Christian was never devoted to me. The one he always wanted to marry was Jessica." Rachel's eyes flew open. "How is that possible? He treated you so well back then." Did he? The answer stirred inside me and brought back the old pain, sharp enough to scorch my lungs. I was 13 when my mother found out my father was cheating. She could not accept it. She walked into the sea and killed herself. Not even a body was recovered. From that day on, my life felt like a nightmare I couldn't escape. After my mother's funeral, my father brought Jessica and her mother home. They took my room, sold my mother's belongings whenever they pleased, and framed me more than once. In the end, they pushed my father into throwing me out of the house. I had no choice but to move into Nazerm, the old district, into damp rooms that smelled of mildew. Not long after, a doctor diagnosed me with severe psychological issues. The medication caused my weight to climb until I reached 200 pounds. My father found me embarrassing, so he stopped caring about what happened to me. Then Christian appeared and pulled me out of that nightmare. He was the heir to the Fairmont family, the untouchable prize no one could reach. Yet he moved into the old district just to live next door to me. When people mocked my size, he stood in front of me and shut them down. He accompanied me to see my psychiatrist. When he learned that part of my illness came from growing up without love, he opened his arms without hesitation. "Juliana, be with me. I will love you." That was the only warmth I touched in the seven years after my mother died. I fell for Christian so completely that I never tried to resist. When my father demanded that I give up my engagement to the Carrington heir and hand it to Jessica, I agreed without hesitation. It did not matter. As long as I had Christian, I thought I had enough. That day, I returned to the old district feeling lighter than I had in years, only to find Christian dead drunk. He caught my hand, pulled a ring from his pocket, and slurred, "Juliana, marry me." Sweetness flooded my chest. I didn't even answer before he passed out. I tried to help him back to his room, but then his phone lit up. A message from his friend, Jason Moore, appeared on the screen. Jason: [Chris, are you seriously proposing to Pigliana? Even if you can't marry Jessica, you don't need to ruin the rest of your life on her.] I froze. A second later, I realized Pigliana meant me. My whole body went rigid. My hands shook as I picked up his phone and scrolled through his earlier messages with Jason. Christian: [Jessie thinks being an illegitimate daughter makes her too tainted for me. She thinks she is beneath me. So I will find a woman even more beneath her and prove I don't care about any of that.] Christian: [I found one. Her name is Juliana. She is fat and poor. She is low enough. Jessie is 10,000 times better than her.] Christian: [I might have overdone the act. That fatty is so in love with me now I'm honestly worried she will cling to me when I dump her.] Christian: [Turns out Juliana is Jessie's sister. She has been bullying Jessie for years, and she even shoved the engagement she didn't want onto Jessie.] Christian: [I want to tear Juliana apart, but Jessie doesn't want me to hurt her. She says that is still her sister, so she asked me to treat her well.] Christian: [Treat her well? Fine. I might as well marry her. That way, even if I can't marry Jessie, Jessie and I will still end up as family.] I felt as if I had been dropped into an ice pit. That was the truth. Christian had never loved me, not once. Every bit of tenderness, every moment he protected me, every soft word he had given me had been false. I was a tool he used to prove a point. A backup choice he reached for in his own despair. The image of my mother walking into the sea after learning she had been betrayed flashed before my eyes. I clutched my aching chest as tears streamed down my face. That same night, I booked a flight out of the country and changed my name. From that moment on, Christian and I had nothing to do with each other. Chapter 3 "Julie." Rachel's voice pulled me back to the present. "We're here." I turned my head and saw the familiar estate. A dozen emotions hit me at once. Ever since they threw me out at 13, I had not returned in 12 years. When I walked in, my father sat on the living room sofa. The moment he saw me, his expression changed. "You've lost weight." I nodded. I had no interest in small talk. "You were so mysterious on the phone. Can you tell me about my mother's things now?" "No rush. Go sleep off the jet lag first," he said. I was exhausted enough that I did not argue. I followed the housekeeper to a guest room. When I woke, it was already noon the next day. I headed downstairs for something to eat, but the moment I reached the landing, I heard laughter spilling from the living room. "Things moved fast, but every proper step will still be followed. Jessie will not be slighted." It was Christian's mother. Smiling, she slid a jade bracelet onto Jessica's wrist, the kind the Fairmont family gave its daughters-in-law. Jessica looked down at it, delighted and shy at once. She lifted her hand to show Christian, but he only gave it a bland glance. I looked across the room. The Winslows and Fairmonts sat together on the sofas. I was about to circle around and head for the kitchen when Jessica called out to me, "Jessie, you're awake. We're talking about the wedding. Do you want to listen too? Actually, I still need a bridesmaid. Why don't you help me out?" I stopped. I turned and looked at her. The hand with the bracelet remained raised, as if she were afraid I might miss it. Christian sat beside her. His face looked as cold as ever, yet I still had the strange feeling he was waiting for my answer. I looked away and spoke evenly. "I'm married. I have a child. I can't be your bridesmaid." Christian's eyes snapped up to me. The room froze for a few seconds. Then Jessica laughed. "Julie, even if you don't want to be my bridesmaid, you don't have to lie like that. If you were really married with a child, why didn't your husband and child come back with you?" My father, Robert Winslow, finally came out of his daze. "You can lie about marriage and children so casually now? These years abroad have taught you fewer and fewer manners." "I'm not lying. They will be back in a few days." I took out my phone, planning to pull up photos of Virgil and Anna. Before I could, Christian let out a soft, mocking laugh. "Juliana, play your part long enough and you might actually fool yourself." Then he stood and strode out. Jessica gave me a strange look and hurried after him. Everyone in the room followed them with their eyes. No one paid attention to me again. It was fine by me. I put my phone away without opening the album and went to the kitchen to get something to eat. There was a 16-hour time difference between Sothoris and Goldridge. I drifted through the afternoon with nothing to do. Around 2:00 a.m., I finally finished a video call with Virgil. After that, I fell into a deep sleep. I woke to a burst of noise. When I got up to check, I found Christian and Jessica in the garden, taking wedding photos. The photographer directed them. Christian wrapped his arms around Jessica from behind and rested his chin on her head. Smiling, she turned and kissed his cheek. The housekeeper noticed where I was looking and stepped over to explain. "Mr. Fairmont suggested taking the wedding photos here at the house. He said Miss Jessica grew up here, so it would be more meaningful." I nodded without much reaction. They were making too much noise for me to get back to sleep, so I found a place to sit and opened a book instead. I asked my father about my mother's belongings several more times after that. He still would not tell me anything directly. He only sighed and asked, "Julie, if I tell you now, will you move out of the house right away?" I would. After all, this had stopped being my home a long time ago. My father knew me well enough. That was why he refused to tell me anything. As long as he kept quiet, I had no choice but to stay in the Wen house. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Christian and Jessica change locations again and again. Maybe I imagined it, but in a villa this large, they always seemed to be shooting right in front of me. I did not care. I kept reading. Not far away, the photographer called out, "Mr. Fairmont, watch your expressions. Don't look so grim. Smile a little..." A moment later, another direction followed. "Mr. Fairmont, keep your eyes on Miss Jessica's face. Don't look elsewhere." I glanced up without thinking, and my eyes met Christian's. He looked away at once, his face turning cool again. His fingers pressed lightly against the back of Jessica's hand. "Jessie, let's take ten." Jessica pressed her lips together. She did not speak, but when she looked at me again, her eyes flashed with pure venom. I had no idea what her problem was. After a moment, I decided to head back to my room. As I passed their shooting area, Jessica chose her moment and kicked one of the octagonal fill lights. The metal stand scraped across the ground with a sharp screech, then tipped straight toward us both. Chapter 4 Christian moved quickly and yanked Jessica out of the way. The heavy metal stand slammed into my head instead. Heat spread across my forehead at once, and the smell of blood filled my nose. I hit the ground and shoved the light stand off me with both hands. Pain flared through my body. I had not even caught my breath when Jessica's voice echoed, already thick with tears. "Julie, why did you push the light stand? If Chris hadn't reacted in time, it would have hit me in the face. If I got disfigured, we would have to postpone the wedding." Christian's expression hardened with cold understanding. He turned to me, his face chilly. "Juliana. No wonder you looked so calm watching Jessie and me take wedding photos. You had already planned how to ruin them." He stared down at me, his voice hard. "You think if you stop our shoot, you'll get another chance with me? Keep dreaming." He did not wait for a response. He turned and walked away with Jessica in his arms. Through my blurred vision, I saw Jessica curve her red lips into a small, vicious smile. The housekeeper arranged a car and sent me to the hospital. After the doctor cleaned and bandaged the wound, I did not go home. I took the injury report straight to the police station and filed a report. I did not expect it to be dismissed so quickly. I was still on my way back when I received a call. "Ms. Winslow, your case was just withdrawn. This is considered a family matter, so it isn't something we can interfere with much. You should discuss it with your family and handle it privately." The officer kept it vague, but I understood at once. Someone had buried my report. There were not many people in Sothoris with that kind of power, and even fewer who would use it to protect Jessica. The answer was obvious. It was Christian. My hand clenched around the phone until the edge bit into my palm. The moment I pushed open the door to the Winslow house, Christian's icy voice cut across the room. "Jessie and I already let the light stand incident go. How do you still have the nerve to pretend you're the victim and call the police?" Jessica shrank into his arms, her face full of grievance. "Exactly, Julie. You deliberately ruined our wedding shoot, and I didn't even make a fuss because you're my sister. But I never thought you would file a police report." I looked at them, and a surge of anger slammed through my chest so hard my voice shook. "I'm pretending to be the victim? I deliberately ruined your shoot? Do you dare pull up the security footage and say that again?" Christian looked completely fed up. "I don't need security footage. I just need you to remember this. Don't try any tricks to sabotage my wedding to Jessie. Juliana, the moment you walked away from me five years ago, you lost any right to regret it." The whole thing was so absurd I almost laughed. I looked straight at him and spoke one word at a time. "I have never regretted leaving you." I held his gaze. "And let me say this again. I didn't come back for you. I already have a husband and a child." His face darkened at once. I did not stay to watch. I turned and went back to my room. I was afraid Virgil and Anna would see the cut on my forehead and worry, so I stopped our nightly video calls and switched to voice messages. Virgil noticed something was off. He asked twice, but I gave vague answers both times and let it drop. Once the wound had begun to heal, my father finally told me what he knew. "At tomorrow's auction, there will be a pendant your mother used to love." I froze. My heart pounded against my ribs. After my mother died at sea, most of her belongings had been thrown out by Jessica's mother or sold off piece by piece. In 12 years, this was the first real lead I had found on anything that had belonged to her. I looked up at my father, but there was little gratitude in my eyes. "I understand." … The auction was held at one of the largest hotels downtown. I arrived half an hour early on purpose. I had just found my seat when Christian and Jessica walked in. They wore matching colors. Their bodies leaned toward each other without thought. They looked every bit like a perfect couple. When Jessica saw me, her eyes lit up at once. She caught Christian by the arm and hurried over, her voice bright with surprise. "Julie, you actually came to the auction? Did Dad tell you we'd be here, so you followed us? You never used to come to events like this." Chapter 5 I let out a cold laugh. Back then, I never came to places like this. I had been abandoned in the old district and left to fend for myself, and survival alone took everything I had. Jessica knew the truth. She was pretending otherwise on purpose, twisting my reasons into something ugly. Right on cue, Christian let out a faint, mocking scoff. He clearly thought I had come here for him again. I had no interest in explaining myself anymore. I turned my attention to the auction stage. Jessica continued chatting beside me as if nothing unpleasant had happened between us over the past two days. "Julie, what are you planning to bid on tonight? Chris wants to buy me some jewelry for my wedding gifts." Her voice sounded sweet and playful, but the underlying bragging was impossible to miss. Fortunately, the auctioneer announced the start of the sale and cut off the one-sided conversation. The first item was a bracelet. I had no interest in it, but I looked at it a moment longer than usual. The next instant, Christian lifted his paddle. "200,000." His tone remained flat, but the number overwhelmed every other bid in the room. The bracelet went to him. He had his assistant pass it to Jessica, and she smiled so widely her eyes nearly disappeared. "Chris, you're the best." After that, the pattern became obvious. Anything I looked at for more than a moment, Christian bid on. Each time a lot closed, Jessica shot me a smug glance. It did not take long for the people around us to notice. I could feel their eyes on me as they waited for the spectacle, their voices dropping to whispers. "Is Mr. Fairmont backing up his fiancée? He keeps crushing Juliana on purpose." "Backing her up? He's getting revenge. Back then, Juliana weighed over 200 pounds, and Mr. Fairmont was the only one who didn't mind. He was practically ready to propose, and then she disappeared overseas without a word. Now she hears he's getting married and suddenly comes running back. She has no shame at all." "So she came back to steal the groom? Then what does that make her? A mistress? Disgusting." Their words pricked at my ears like needles. I bit the inside of my lip and forced myself to stay calm. My mother's pendant was the only thing that mattered. At last, the auctioneer lifted a brocade box. "Our next item is a Victorian-era pendant in excellent condition. Opening bid, 240,000 dollars." The moment the box opened, I stopped breathing. The gemstones lay inside, warm and translucent under the lights. It was my mother's. The pendant she used to wear. I raised my paddle at once. "400,000." Christian's voice followed immediately. "600,000" I turned to look at him, but he was not looking at me. His gaze rested on Jessica, as if asking whether to continue. She smiled and nodded. He raised his paddle again. "1,000,000." I gripped my paddle so tightly my fingertips turned white. This was the only thing my mother had left behind. I could not let it go. "1,200,000." "1,600,000." His voice remained light, but the force behind it left no room for doubt. The auction hall stirred. Someone nearby whispered, "Is Mr. Fairmont trying to take the whole room tonight?" I stared at him, my throat tightening. "Christian, that was my mother's. Could you just..." "Your mother's keepsake?" He finally looked at me, a cold smile tugging at his mouth. "Juliana, if you want it, then win it. If you can't, then stop standing here acting pathetic." He lifted a hand and addressed the auctioneer. "I'm setting a ceiling bid." The room fell silent. Once someone called that, it meant no matter what anyone else offered, he would take the item. The auctioneer paused, then broke into a smile. "Mr. Fairmont has placed a ceiling bid. The pendant goes to Mr. Fairmont." Jessica's eyes lit up. She grabbed Christian's hand and leaned against him with a grin. "Chris, you're amazing. This pendant is so beautiful. I want to put it in our new home." I stared at their joined hands. Cold spread through my body. It felt as if someone had hollowed out my chest. After the auction ended, Christian went to settle the payment. I stepped in front of Jessica. She held the brocade box in her arms and smiled, pleased with herself. "Do you need something, Julie?" "Sell me the pendant." My voice shook. "Name your price. I'll pay double. No, triple." Jessica arched a brow, then slowly opened the box to show me the pendant inside. "You want it that badly?" Her smile widened. "Fine. Kneel and beg me. Then maybe I'll consider it." People nearby turned to look, their faces lighting up with eager curiosity. I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms. My mother's keepsake was right in front of me. I could not give up. I bent my knees and knelt. Chapter 6 "Please." I looked up at Jessica. "Give me the pendant." Her smile only brightened. She reached into the brocade box and took out the pendant. For a moment, it seemed she would hand it to me. Then she released it. The pendant struck the floor and shattered with a sharp crack. "Oh no, Julie. Why didn't you catch it?" She spread her hands and adopted an innocent expression. "I guess there's nothing we can do now." I stared at the broken pendant. Pain punched through my chest so hard I could barely breathe. "Jessica!" I surged to my feet and grabbed her by the collar. A second earlier, her face had been full of provocation. Now it shifted instantly, turning fragile and frightened. "Juliana, what are you doing?" Christian's furious voice cut through the air. He rushed over and shoved me hard enough to knock me to the floor. Then he looked Jessica over from head to toe and asked, his voice tight with concern, "Are you hurt?" Jessica nodded, then quickly shook her head. "Chris, don't blame my sister. She probably didn't get what she wanted and felt upset, so she tried to take the wedding gift you bought for me. This is my fault. I didn't hold onto the pendant tightly enough..." Christian turned to me, rage blazing in his eyes. "Juliana, you're the one who kept saying you never regretted leaving me. Then what's this? Stealing the wedding gift I bought for Jessie? You should be ashamed of yourself. Apologize to her." I pushed myself up from the floor. The skin on my knees was scraped raw. The sting burned, but I clenched my teeth and made no sound. "I didn't steal anything. And I won't apologize." Christian let out a cold laugh. "You'd better keep that attitude all the way through." He took Jessica in his arms and left. My hands shook as I crouched to gather the broken pieces of the gemstone. The sharp edges sliced my fingers. Blood smeared across the pale stone, but I barely felt it. "Mom, I'm sorry. I couldn't protect the one thing you left behind." I knelt on the floor, tears spilling out before I could stop them. It felt as though something inside me had broken for good. After I cried myself empty, I booked a hotel room and decided to move out of the Winslow residence. That place was not my home. Home was wherever Virgil and Anna were, but they needed five more days before they could return to Imperius. … I went back to the Winslow residence to pack. I was halfway through when the guest room door flew open with a violent kick. Christian stood in the doorway, his expression dark, a whip in his hand. The leather gleamed coldly under the light. My heart sank. "Juliana, what you did today made the Winslows a laughingstock," he said. "Your father decided that since you refuse to behave, someone needs to teach you a lesson. I'll do it for him. If you have any sense of shame, then stop entertaining thoughts you should never have had in the first place." He lifted his hand. A moment later, bodyguards rushed in and pinned me down before I could fight them off. I met Christian's eyes, saw the certainty there, and almost laughed. I had explained myself over and over. No matter what I said, he still believed I had come back because of his engagement. At that point, I did not know whether I had failed to make myself clear or whether he simply refused to believe the truth. To me, he no longer mattered. The whip cracked across my back. Hot, brutal pain exploded. A muffled sound escaped me, but I did not cry. Then came another lash and another. My back felt as if it had been set on fire. Even the bodyguards looked away. Christian's breathing grew heavier, as if he were holding something back, but the force of his blows never lessened. Only when my knees finally gave out and I collapsed to the floor did he stop. He dropped the whip. It struck the ground with a sharp snap. "Remember this lesson." He looked down at me. "Don't try to stand in the way of my marriage to Jessie again." Chapter 7 Pain shook through my entire body, but I still laughed. "Christian, do you really think the world revolves around you?" Christian's expression darkened at once. He shot me a cold look, then turned and walked out. By the time the maids helped me back onto the bed, I could barely stand. Blood had seeped from the wounds on my back and soaked through my clothes. As I drifted in and out of sleep, I felt someone spreading cold ointment over my injuries. It stung. Half-conscious, I thought it was Virgil. The words slipped out before I could stop them. "Babe... it hurts..." The hand applying the ointment stilled. I forced my eyes open and saw Christian standing beside the bed, a tube of medicine still in his hand. He stared at me, his expression dark. "Looks like you're not hurt that badly after all. Even now, you're still acting." His voice was cold enough to freeze. He tossed the ointment at me and turned to leave. I let out a weak laugh and sank back into sleep. Because of the whip wounds, I had no choice but to remain at the Winslow residence. I stayed in my room, yet I could still hear the Winslows and Fairmonts downstairs, discussing wedding arrangements day after day. Lately, they seemed to be choosing a venue for the engagement party. I heard Jessica ask, surprise in her voice, "Even if my sister always picks on me, is this really okay?" "Why wouldn't it be?" Christian replied gently. "Think of it as getting even for you." I assumed "getting even" meant he would keep making things difficult for me. I was wrong. I had never imagined he would lay a hand on my mother's grave. My mother had gone into the sea and never returned. There had been no body to bury. When I was still with Christian, he had told me he felt sorry for me. He had personally set up a memorial grave for my mother on the back hill behind the Fairmont family's suburban estate. He had even had a headstone made. It was the only place I had left to visit her. The moment my injuries healed enough for me to leave the Winslow residence, I went straight up the mountain. I had wanted to bring my mother's keepsake with me. Now all I had was a bouquet of flowers. But when I arrived, I saw several workers prying at my mother's headstone with crowbars. Jessica stood nearby with a set of design drawings in her hand, directing them as if she owned the place. "Once this is cleared out, level the ground and sow grass seed over it." My vision went red. I dropped the flowers and rushed over, shoving the workers aside."Stop! That's my mother's grave. Who gave you permission to tear it down?" Jessica looked at me without a trace of urgency. "Obviously Chris did. He said the view here was nice, perfect for the engagement venue, and told me I could change whatever I wanted. Julie, your mother's grave is taking up space." Then she signaled for the workers to drag me away. I wrapped both arms around my mother's headstone and refused to let go. The standoff lasted less than a minute before Christian arrived. He took one look at the scene and frowned. "What's going on?" Jessica hurried over, looped her arm through his, and spoke in a wounded tone. "Chris, my sister keeps interrupting our wedding plans. I'm really worried she'll cause trouble at the engagement party in two days." Christian's brows drew together, but his eyes showed he believed he understood everything. He shot me a cold glance, then said to the bodyguards behind him, "Lock her in the storage room at the estate. You lot, keep tearing it down." Two bodyguards stepped forward, seized my arms, and dragged me downhill. I struggled and shouted for them to stop, but no one listened. The storage room was pitch-black. I curled into a corner, bitterness filling my chest. By then, my mother's memorial grave had probably already been destroyed. Tears slid down my face. "I'm sorry, Mom. I couldn't protect your keepsake. And now I couldn't even protect your grave…" I didn't know how much time had passed before I heard Christian on the second-floor balcony, speaking on the phone. Chapter 8 Jason's voice came through the phone. "Chris, why have you been going after Pigliana so hard lately? You care this much... Don't tell me you actually fell for her. Weren't those five years in the church supposed to convince your family to let you marry Jessica?" "Fall for her? Impossible." Christian's tone dripped with mockery. "Juliana turned down my proposal and left without a word. Then she comes back whenever she feels like it and says she regrets it. What does she take me for? If I don't do something, how does that make up for the whole year I forced myself to date her through sheer disgust..." I almost laughed. "So that's the truth behind his five years in the church. How ridiculous." Everyone had assumed he had shut himself away because I had broken his heart. Everyone believed I had come back to steal the groom and win him back. Even Christian believed it so completely that he kept punishing me for it. But I had already told him the truth. I was married and had a child. The thought of Virgil and Anna warmed me. By my count, they would return in three days. I had expected them to keep me locked up until the engagement party was over. Instead, they let me out on the morning of the party. Christian stood in front of me, his expression cold. "Jessie wants your blessing. That's the only reason I let you out. Behave yourself. Don't try anything again." I said nothing. My gaze drifted to where my mother's memorial grave had once stood. It was gone. They had torn it down and replaced it with a sea of flowers. The party buzzed with life. Perfume and champagne filled the air. Guests clustered in small groups, admiring the scale of the event. "I heard Mr. Fairmont spent tens of millions on this engagement party." "No kidding. He even invited Virgil Carrington. Mr. Carrington lives in Goldridge now and almost never returns to Imperius. If Mr. Fairmont managed to bring him here, it shows how much he values Jessica." Virgil Carrington? My heart jumped. I took out my phone to message him, but before I could open the chat, a hand closed over mine. "Juliana, what are you trying to do now?" Christian looked at me with open suspicion. "I just told you. Don't pull anything." "I'm not." I met his gaze. "I've said this so many times. I didn't come back for you, and I'm not going to do anything to stop your engagement." Something shifted in his expression as he looked into my eyes. For the first time, a flicker of unease crossed his face. Could it be true? Could Juliana really have come back for reasons that had nothing to do with him? His breathing deepened. Then the entire venue erupted. We both looked up at the same time. A slideshow played on the giant screen at the front of the venue. It was filled with intimate photos from when Christian and I were dating. In every picture, I weighed over 200 pounds, dressed in loose clothes, leaning against him with a naive, trusting smile. The guests burst into chatter. "Oh my God, that's Juliana? She used to be that fat?" "I already heard she came back to steal the groom, but this is shameless even for her. Playing these photos at someone else's engagement party?" "No manners at all. Figures. A girl like that was obviously not raised right." Their mockery cut into me like blades. My body locked in place. I had not even managed to speak in my defense when Jessica's sobs rang out nearby. "Julie, I know you still haven't let Chris go, but you shouldn't humiliate me like this at my engagement party. If you had just told me, I would have given Chris back to you!" Crying, she gathered her skirt and ran out. "Jessie!" Christian shouted. He started after her, then stopped when he saw me still standing there. In the next instant, his hand struck my face. Pain flared across my cheek. Christian's eyes were bloodshot with fury, yet for one strange moment, I had the sense he felt relieved. "Juliana, so this is what you meant when you said you wouldn't do anything to stop my engagement? You planned this from the start." He glared at me as if he wanted to burn straight through me. "I'm telling you now, this engagement will go on. You won't get your way." He shoved past me and ran after Jessica. Then a small, childish voice rang out across the venue. "Don't bully my mommy!"