Susan knew Julian would take the bait; no man could be indifferent to his beloved being with someone else. The deeper the love, the greater the pain, and the news of Aurora with another was like a knife to his heart.
Julian, proud as he was, would hate Aurora more if he discovered her unfaithfulness, as no one likes their self-esteem trampled upon. Aurora would be miserable then, and who knew how Julian would retaliate? Susan felt today’s humiliations were not in vain as she pondered this.
“Mr. Barnet, as expected, you are straightforward. Since you smeared my name on purpose, you should be the one to clear it. Consider the losses I’ve endured as an apology to Aurora. From now on, let’s consider our accounts settled. How do you find my proposal?”
Susan was somewhat self-aware and did not make excessive demands, knowing Julian was far more formidable than she had imagined.
If her terms angered him, Julian would certainly not let her off easily, and her fate would be more than just being ousted from the entertainment industry.
“Fine, send me the video,” Julian snorted coldly.
“I’ll send it right away. Uncle Julian, no offense, but with your status, you could have any woman. Why obsess over one so fickle?”
“Say one more word, and I’ll have the trolls tear you apart!”
Even so, Julian could not tolerate any disrespect towards Aurora. Susan ended the call and sent the video she had recorded that afternoon to Julian.
Seeing a message on his phone, Julian lacked the courage to open it. If Susan had sent this video, it meant the man in it was not Hayden. Asher wasn’t even in the country, so it couldn’t be him. If Susan had taken it earlier, she would have sent it sooner, not waiting until now.
Who could the man be? For the first time, the fearless Julian felt scared. The unknown was always the most terrifying. Could Little Bunny truly betray him? Remembering how the petite woman had clung to his waist earlier, she didn’t seem capable of betrayal.
He took a deep breath, resigned to his fate, and picked up the phone, which felt like a bomb at that moment. Julian unlocked the phone with mixed feelings and played the video, only to laugh when he saw its contents.
Was he laughing at Susan’s naivety or his own ignorance? The video was from the afternoon, showing Phil and Aurora playfully scuffling. Susan, unfamiliar with Phil, had misinterpreted their interaction and even thought to use it as leverage in negotiations.
Most importantly, she wanted to drive a wedge between him and Aurora, that scheming woman. Aurora looked sweetly happy in the video, a sight he hadn’t seen in a long time.
The sunlight haloed around the cheerful pair, both attractive and clearly enjoying each other’s company. But Julian could see clearly that it was nothing more than innocent play; there were no romantic feelings involved. Susan really thought she could deceive him with this video.
“Why aren’t you coming down?”
Aurora, noticing Julian’s delay, came up to check on him and found him absorbed in his phone.
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing, just got a message. Let’s go downstairs,” Julian said, tossing his phone aside and leading Aurora away.
“Are you sure it’s nothing? Your expression seemed odd just now,” Aurora voiced her suspicion.
“Really, it’s nothing. I’m starving. Let’s hurry up and eat,” Julian did not tell her the truth.
Unlike their bliss, Susan put down her phone, feeling a weight lift off her chest.
With just one word from Julian, the media would retract all stories, and public attention would soon shift to other news. Then, she could simply engage in more charity work to regain her popularity.
After putting down her phone, she realized she was alone in the vast wedding room, previously too distracted by the situation to notice anything else.
Now calmed, she found the big red wedding bed and the room decorated with flowers and balloons overwhelmingly festive, especially glaring when she was all alone.
She called him, but the noisy background indicated a lively setting.
A woman answered, “Hello, who is this?”
“Who are you? I’m his wife, give the phone to Hayden!”
Susan’s joy quickly plunged into despair.
Hayden, known for his propriety, never frequented such places unless it was for business.
“Mr. Alvarez, it’s your wife on the phone. I forgot, today’s your wedding night,” the woman laughed nearby.
Hayden, already sounding tipsy, took the phone.
“What is it?”
“Where are you? Don’t you know what today is?”
Susan roared.
“Mind your own business. I’ve already given you the title of Mrs. Alvarez, that’s all you get,” he said before hanging up.
“Come on, let’s keep drinking,” Hayden’s face began to redden, and he loosened his tie.
The usually genteel man unbuttoned three buttons of his shirt, adding a touch of recklessness.
Surrounded by women with plunging necklines and long legs, one daringly slid her hand into his chest. Everyone knew that Hayden was the president of Alvarez Holdings, and associating with him meant a shot at ascension.
Hayden pushed the woman beside him away.
“Drink.”
He just wanted to drown his sorrows, to forget that face, and not think of her flirting in someone else’s arms.
Aurora, Aurora.
Her name was etched in his heart countless times, yet she remained so distant, almost a luxury to even be near her.
“Alright, let’s continue drinking,” the other women, seeing his disinterest, resigned to just drinking with him.
Susan smashed everything in the wedding room before calling Hayden’s secretary to find out his whereabouts.
Without a second thought, she drove to the nightclub, her emotions turbulent. Among a crowd of seductive women, she spotted the man leaning on the couch.
“Come back with me!”
she demanded coldly as she stormed in.