Standing before such a seductively attractive woman, Aurora couldn’t help but recall how Julian emphasized that the owner here was his friend, which inevitably led to some suspicious thoughts.
The woman had a tall figure, with long, slender legs fully displayed. Everything that should be long was long, everything that should protrude did so. What man wouldn’t like such a temptress?
Today, Aurora was still wearing the white dress she had hurriedly put on the night before, her hair tied back in a ponytail. Looking at herself, she seemed nothing more than an innocent schoolgirl, especially when compared to the glamorous woman before her.
However, one must not lose in spirit even if outmatched in appearance. Pretending not to hear the woman call Julian “Jules”, Aurora sweetly asked, “Julian, who is this lady?”
Julian, hearing Aurora’s cheerful tone, a stark contrast to how she usually spoke around him, felt a chill down his spine without her saying anything further.
“Jules, is this the girl you fell hard for?” With that, the woman assessed Aurora from head to toe.
Aurora felt uncomfortable. Given Julian’s status and position, the woman’s familiarity in calling him “Jules” suggested a close relationship.
From her words, Aurora realized Julian must have shared details about her. They must be very close if he discussed such personal matters with her. This realization made Aurora even more upset.
She had thought those memories were a sweet secret shared between just the two of them. Now, to have a flirtatious bar owner come out of nowhere and know about them naturally upset her.
“Irene, stop teasing Aurora, lest she might kill me.” Julian sensed the tension rising between the two women. If he didn’t intervene soon, they might actually come to blows.
“Am I as vicious as you, you sneaky man? Aurora, don’t look at me like that. I’m not your rival in love. Just call me Irene, like Jules does,” Irene said, pulling Aurora out of Julian’s arms.
This woman was strong! Aurora nearly fell to the ground from such an abrupt pull, thankful she was wearing flat shoes.
Irene then hugged her close. Aurora, standing at 168 cm, wasn’t short, but Irene, likely over 170 cm and in heels, towered over her, making Aurora feel somewhat petite in her embrace. Somewhat helplessly, she said, “Irene, let me go first.”
“Alright, you really are a shy girl. No wonder Jules likes you so much,” the woman chuckled as she released Aurora.
Only then did Aurora slowly realize that perhaps her relationship with Julian wasn’t as she had imagined.
“Julian, aren’t you going to introduce us?” Aurora thought about her initially hostile attitude toward the woman and felt somewhat embarrassed.
“Alright, this is Irene, someone very important to me. Without her, there would be no me today. She’s both a friend and a mentor,” Julian declared with a hint of pride and awe, as he always carried an air of arrogance around others.
He had always shown such respect only in front of Irene. Aurora reined in her previous thoughts and began to take things seriously.
“Hello, Irene, I’m Aurora. I apologize if I was a bit rude earlier.”
“You don’t have to. I’m not that petty. I’ve wanted to meet you for a while, and finally seeing you in person today makes all those times he drowned his sorrows in alcohol not a waste,” Irene said, easier to talk to than Aurora had imagined.
“Drowning his sorrows in alcohol?” It seemed Aurora had stumbled upon some incredible secret.
“It’s just that back when you and Hayden were all lovey-dovey, some couldn’t handle it…”
“Irene, we’re here today about Zachary. Let’s not dredge up the past,” Julian said, a flush of embarrassment sweeping across his face.
Seeing Julian’s embarrassment, Aurora was stunned. Was Julian actually capable of feeling shy?
“Wow, Jules is getting embarrassed. Well, I’ll tell you quietly some other time.”
Irene’s teasing clearly showed that she regarded Julian as nothing more than a junior.
“Alright.” Aurora let her guard down, finding herself quite fond of Irene’s personality.
“Where’s Zachary?” Julian quickly changed the subject. He was not a machine. The thought of Aurora and Hayden together had often filled him with envy. He could have tried to split them up, but what joy was there in love obtained by force? Besides, it would likely backfire and make Aurora despise him.
He could have forgotten her, vanished from her life entirely, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Watching her had become a habit.
Unbeknownst to Aurora, he loved to sit in his car at the intersection she crossed on her way to school, watching her. Several times, he had dealt with thugs who followed her, all without her knowledge.
Sometimes, seeing her with Hayden pained him immensely. The hand she held should have been his, yet he was not there with her.
His heartache found no outlet but in the bottles he drowned himself in here, almost driving Irene mad.
“He’s still asleep, Jules. Look at this mess I’ve made, all for you. How are you going to repay me?” Irene said teasingly.
“Irene, surely Zachary didn’t do all this?” Aurora was amazed. Julian had offered to help her last night, but she hadn’t expected his help to result in such chaos.
“Of course he did. I only slipped a little something into his drink, and he personally trashed the place. Look at all this good wine. What a waste! I’m really heartbroken. I just had someone photograph the scene and price everything out. We’ll let him get a good look when he wakes up.”
Irene covered her mouth and giggled. Seeing her like that, Aurora thought of an animal, the most cunning and enchanting fox among a pack, both scheming and beautiful.
Last night must have been quite the spectacle. Aurora’s lips curled into a smile, “Zachary has really landed himself in big trouble now.”
“The cost of all this is nothing to him. After all, he has the Montgomery family as his backbone, right?” Irene laughed enchantingly.