Chapter 17
Julian grabbed onto Stella’s hand again when he noticed she was trying to leave. He said sternly, “You can’t leave! Come home with me!”
Stella struggled to pull her hand away. She shouted, “Julian, you’re a lunatic!”
Julian appeared completely unruffled. Instead, his face broke into a smile. “That’s right. I’m a lunatic. I’m a lunatic who’s lost it because of how much I love you!”
Just as Stella was about to give up, someone placed their hand on Julian’s shoulder. Julian glanced over his shoulder impatiently and was struck by a heavy punch the next instant.
“Let go of her!”
Julian was knocked off his feet and fell to the floor with a loud thud.
Meanwhile, Anthony pulled Stella toward him. He quickly checked if she had sustained any injuries on her body.
Perhaps it was because she had just escaped from a harrowing situation. It could have also been because she was under the influence of alcohol or that she was missing Ethan. Stella clung to Anthony, buried her face in his chest, and sobbed quietly.
Anthony froze for a moment. As his heart pounded loudly, Anthony hugged Stella back as well. He was afraid he might not get to hold her like this again if he missed the opportunity this time.
Julian struggled to push himself up. He was burning with rage the moment he saw how intimate those two were. He shouted furiously, “Who the heck are you? You…”
When Anthony turned around and allowed Julian a clear view of his face, the latter went pale. Julian’s hand was shaking as he pointed at Anthony. “Ethan Lane? That’s impossible! You’re dead! I still have your corneas!”
Anthony smirked. He walked up to Julian and kicked him forcefully in the chest.
The immense pain got Julian clutching his chest and panting for breath helplessly on the floor.
“You didn’t deserve to receive my brother’s corneas. I found out about everything you did to Stella over the past three years. I wanted nothing but to gouge your eyes out to get revenge for my brother and Stella, if that were possible.”
“What? You’re Ethan Lane’s younger brother?”
It finally dawned on Julian. Stella went looking for Ethan’s younger brother after leaving him. He could not help but wonder if Stella was that deeply in love with Ethan.
“Ha! No wonder you refused to come with me. Stella, was it nice fooling around with your fiancé’s brother?”
Julian was so overcome with anger and jealousy that he lost his sense of reason. Stella’s rejection got him blurting out demeaning remarks about her.
In the end, Anthony started kicking Julian violently over and over again to the point that Julian coughed up blood, and Stella hurried to stop Anthony. By then, a small crowd had gathered around the spot after hearing the commotion, Someone let out a gasp when they recognized Julian, who was in a pathetic state.
“Isn’t that Julian Chapman, the Chapman Group’s CEO? Why is he getting beaten up so badly? I never imagined anyone would dare treat him like this.” “Haven’t you heard about it? Julian’s fiancée–Ariana Fairwood’s explicit videos were confirmed to be real. On top of that, Julian was caught with the offence of tax evasion and had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines. Even his business is going downhill. Tsk tsk! He’s in a tough spot.” “It’s hilarious. He’s probably the only CEO who’s in such a tight spot because of his fiancée. It’s quite a pitiful sight watching him get beaten up like this.” “You can’t just judge a book by its cover. I heard that he had lied about and claimed that the lady in one of the videos was his employee. He’s getting punished by karma now…”
Various comments rang in Julian’s ears. The once prideful and dignified Julian, who stood at the top of the food chain, had fallen from grace and become an object of ridicule.
Julian shouted hysterically at the people around him to drive them away. Yet, no one listened to him. His anger and indignation were pointless.
He could taste blood in his mouth. Some of his ribs might be broken as well. His face twisted into a grimace since he was in a lot of pain.
Julian slowly lifted his head and directed his gaze to Stella, whom Anthony had stuck closely to. He was hoping she would show him a little sympathy. Yet, Stella had an icy look in her eyes. She turned around and left while holding Anthony’s hand. She did not spare Julian another glance.
As he lost his final hope, Julian felt as though his heart was sinking into pitch–black darkness. He felt so cold as he coughed up another mouthful of
Blood.
‘Stella, you’ve never loved me for even a second? Was it all for the money? How is that possible? After all, I’ve unknowingly fallen in love with you after all this time,” Julian thought.
While he was staring at Stella’s receding figure, Julian’s vision went black. He lost consciousness the next instant.
ME
