Chapter 20%
The party hall descended into chaos and everyone’s gazes shifted from envious admiration to horrified disgust and mockery like a barrage of silent knives.
Madam Sterling’s face turned dark with rage. She ripped the engagement ring off her finger and threw it down on the spot.
“This wedding is off! Our Sterling Family will never marry a woman like her!”
“Ma’am, please! Let me explain!” Lilian panicked. Her tears flooded as she rushed forward, clutching desperately at Madam Sterling’s skirt like a mad woman.
“Please, listen to me! None of it’s true! They set me up. They’re jealous of me!“}
Still, the crowd only looked on coldly. Someone whispered under their breath.”
“I heard Francesca had a miserable life before she died. Lilian kept stepping on her to climb higher.”
The Jamesons scrambled to defend her, but Lilian couldn’t take it. She bolted from the room while everyone was caught up in the argument.
The moment she ran out, she crashed straight into Justin’s arms.”
Her eyes lit up instantly, like she’d just found a lifeline. She threw herself into his embrace and held on tight.”
“Justin, you’re here. You finally came!“}]
Sobbing, she looked up at him, her eyes filled with expectation and pleading.
“They’re slandering me. They’re jealous of me! You have to help me. The Sterlings are forcing me to marry them, but the only person in my heart is you, Justin!“}
“Let’s leave this place, okay?”
She leaned against him weakly, tears dampening the corner of his shirt.
Lilian had always believed he was her unwavering backup plan.
But Justin lowered his head, his gaze chillingly cold, almost icy.
“Did you even cry when she died?”
Lilian was taken aback. “You, who are you talking about?”
“Francesca.”
He spoke slowly, each word distinct. “Did you, even for a moment, shed a single tear for her?“}
The smile on Lilian’s face froze. Her heart skipped a beat, but she still forced a grin. “You’re just mad at me, right? Mad that I didn’t show up that day. I didn’t mean to. I had something going on. But she’s gone now, isn’t that a good thing? Nothing is stopping us from being together anymore.“}]
When those words left her mouth, Justin’s face turned completely dark.”
He yanked his arm from her grip and gave a cold laugh. “Do you think I’m your lapdog? Do you think I was that into you?”
Lilian stood there in shock, tears still clinging to her lashes. Her voice trembled. “What do you mean? Didn’t you always love me the most?“}
Justin stared straight at her. “I loved someone kind. That’s not you.”
That short sentence pierced Lilian’s heart like a knife.
She wanted to say more and continue her act of “fragile innocence,” but she realized that Justin’s patience had run out.
He was no longer gentle, silent, or even pretending.
He suddenly grabbed a handful of Lilian’s hair and ruthlessly dragged her up from the ground, pulling her along as he walked out.”
“What are you doing? Justin, where are you taking me?”
Lilian cried out, kicking and flailing, her makeup smeared by tears.
Justin chuckled coldly as he looked down at her, his eyes like ice. “Taking you somewhere.”
The car sped towards the outskirts of the city to a horse ranch.
This was Francesca’s favorite place when she was alive.
Years ago, she’d been thrown from a horse there when one of them went wild. She’d been injured and had to rest for months. Lilian claimed it was an accident. No one looked too deeply into it.”
Until later.
The ranch manager had called Justin one day. “We checked the feeding trough from when the horse got spooked and found a few worn–down iron nails inside. And the one who came to clean the stables that day was Lilian. She brought the people herself.“}
Thinking back to that call, Justin turned to look at Lilian again. His eyes were full of poison.
Me Scars, His Brother Gave Me a Ring
