Back then, Julian was only twelve years old-a mere boy in many households, naive and ignorant. Yet, he bore such pain. He personally handed over his mother’s ashes to her family. When she left her hometown in pursuit of freedom, how could she have imagined that she would never return? Her death came too early, and the grief that overwhelmed her family was beyond words. Aurora held him close, his body trembling slightly.
“What happened then?”
“Afterwards, my grandfather was furious, vowing for a blood-for-blood revenge. He could hardly stand to scold his daughter, yet she had been so brutally wronged. Even my gentle grandmother couldn’t bear it, and my aunts were eager to avenge their sister immediately, but I stopped them.
This whole tragedy started because of me. No matter how much my mother loved me, I also carry the blood of that man. It was because of me that she could not bear to leave, yet she couldn’t stand to be anywhere near him. She loved to paint, loved cleanliness, and felt unclean herself.
Her spirit was trapped, tied down by me, and so she ended her short yet vibrant life. I know my mother loved me deeply, but every time she looked at me, she was reminded of that despicable man. I decided to end it all myself and avenge her, and my grandfather agreed not to intervene. No one else knew about this, and I continued to stay with the Alvarez family.
Later, my older brother planned to take his wife out to sea, and they took me along as well. I knew their intentions-they planned to kill me at sea, so no one would compete with them for the shares. I acted first, destroying the boat to make them pay for what they did to my mother.”
Aurora was shocked by their cruelty but admired his courage; he was only twelve at the time.
“You destroyed the boat, but what about you? Weren’t you afraid of dying at sea?”
“Did you think I acted without thinking? I had noticed your boat before. Our routes were the same. I timed everything so that shortly after our boat sank, you would arrive. Everything went as planned, except for two things I hadn’t foreseen.”
“What were those two things?”
“First, I didn’t expect that a foolish rabbit would fall off the boat; second, they were lucky enough to encounter a sea rescue team and survived unscathed,” Julian said, his tone tinged with regret.
“I wasn’t holding on tightly enough; did you really think I’d jump into the sea on purpose?” Aurora said, a bit embarrassed.
“No matter the reason, I should thank fate for bringing us together, otherwise how could I have ever met you?” Julian gently teased, touching her nose.
“True, I don’t regret making that choice. But why didn’t you come find me afterwards? You knew who I was.”
Julian hugged her tighter.
“At that time, even though he favored me the most, willing to give me most of his fortune and the company, I, like my mother, never cared for those things and didn’t want to acknowledge him as my father. I was still considered illegitimate. I was afraid you would look down on me, and that your parents would too. I often watched you from afar as you grew up.”
“I only hope that one day I can appear rightfully under a new identity, to stand by you and shield you from the storms until I formally sever ties with the Alvarez family,” he said. At that time, he froze all my cards, trying to force me back. He does not like anyone defying him, which is what I hate most about him. Thankfully, Irene and Nick helped me back then. Do you know why Irene and I are so close?” Julian asked.
Aurora shook her head, “I just thought Irene had a great personality, probably a very loyal person.”
“No, she’s my cousin; her last name is Barnet.”
“What? You guys are family!” Aurora was stunned; she had thought Julian met a kind-hearted big sister during his downfall, but that wasn’t the case-they were actually cousins.
“My cousin’s past is also like a melodramatic soap opera. She’s only a few months older than me, the daughter of one of my aunts. Her mother searched the entire country for my mom and fell in love with a man. They got pregnant before marriage, planning to have the child first and then return home for the wedding. During childbirth, something happened that you’d only see in TV dramas-Irene was stolen!
I didn’t even know she was my cousin when we first met. It was only a coincidence a few years ago that revealed this to us, so fate is truly amazing. In such a big city, we met and became confidants and friends, and later found out we were relatives.”
“Exactly, if not for such marvelous fate, how would you and I have met? If you had let go earlier, we might not be together now.”
“Little Bunny, do you know how thrilled I was when I thought I could finally appear before you with honor because I had achieved a little in my career? I drove the first Bentley I bought to pick you up from school, only to see you holding hands with Hayden. Do you know how I felt then?”
“You fool, if I loved you, it would be just you, irrelevant of your family. You should have come out and told me sooner, then we wouldn’t have wasted six years!” Aurora poked his chest.
Julian grabbed her hand, “Yes, I was too cowardly to tell you.”
“But fortunately, all that is past us now. We’ve been through a lot to be together, and we understand even more the value of our feelings. Those who hurt us will definitely not end well!”
“Yes, over the years I’ve meticulously planned, knowing the Alvarez family inside out, ready to take them down easily, those so-called relatives who once saw me as a thorn in their side. I wonder what their faces will look like after the fall of the Alvarez family?” Julian said coldly, his resentment towards Hayden aside, there was also his disdain for all the members of the Alvarez family.
“I also want to see Genevieve and her illegitimate children driven out of the Montgomery family, stripped of all their glory and crowns, turned into ordinary people.”
“We share the same childhood, the same enemies, so Little Bunny, we are truly meant for each other.”
“Yes, Julian, you’re not alone anymore. I will be with you to eradicate those scum.”
She tiptoed up and kissed away the tear at the corner of his eye.
“Yo, yo, yo, how sweet! Do you guys really need to do this in front of a single guy?” Phil jumped out just as they were in their most affectionate moment.