Ch15 - Step Mother

Violet froze at the sudden shift in topic. Kids? Julian hadn’t given her the slightest heads-up. She glanced sideways at him, waiting for his answer.

He lounged back on the couch, all casual. “C’mon, Aunt Nora, you know I don’t like kids.”

Nora tilted her head toward Violet. “And you? You not a fan either?”

Violet blinked. “Honestly, I haven’t thought about it. We just got married. I’d rather enjoy a little time as just the two of us first.”

The second the words left her mouth, she swore she heard someone breathe a little easier.

She still had no idea why Julian had pulled her into this marriage—only guessed it was something he could only get by being married. But kids? That was never part of their deal. And she wasn’t about to treat a baby like some bargaining chip.

Nora chuckled. “Fair enough… besides, you’re still young. No rush.”

After a bit more small talk, Nora finally let them head out. Serena had gone quiet ever since Julian had thrown her little jab back at dinner. She just sat there with this serene smile, like the picture of a doting mom.

At the door, before everyone went their separate ways, Serena reached out and fussed with Julian’s collar. “It’s getting chilly lately. Make sure you don’t catch cold, alright?”

Julian grinned politely. “You too.”

The moment the car door shut behind him, his face hardened. He yanked off the jacket Serena’d touched and tossed it onto the floor in disgust.

No way he’d wear that again.

When had things gotten this ugly between them? There was a time—he’d really believed—that even without blood ties, Serena had cared for him like a real mom.

She’d stepped into his life as his stepmother when he was five. Up until he was seventeen, they’d actually gotten along. Or so he thought.

Whenever his dad scolded him for screwing around, Serena would defend him. When his grades tanked and he got obsessed with hockey, she backed him, even suggested hiring a pro coach.

Julian had felt like his childhood was carefree. He had Victor, his older brother by seven years, who was flawless at everything. With Victor around, he figured he’d never have to worry about the company. He could just enjoy life. He never imagined his safe harbor could vanish overnight.

Just before his eighteenth birthday, Victor and their father, Philip, died in a plane crash. Julian had been overseas at the time, only making it back the day of the funeral. Ever since, people branded him the asshole who kept partying while his dad was dead.

But the truth of why he didn’t make it back sooner? Serena knew better than anyone.

He still remembered that day ten years ago like a scar. Pushing through the packed crowd, the two coffins up ahead burned into his brain. Just days earlier, Victor had promised him a sports car for his birthday. His father—tough but loving—was suddenly gone too. Both now cold, lifeless bodies.

He hadn’t even seen them one last time.

While he stood there stunned, the whispers started. People pointing, judging. 

Serena, tears streaking her face, clutched a handkerchief and wailed at him: “Why did you come back so late? Your brother and father waited for you in the rain. How could they leave in peace without you?”

Julian froze, frowning hard. “But I only found out yesterday—”

Her sobs cut him off. “It’s my fault for spoiling you. You don’t even know what matters most.”

His pupils blew wide. “WHAT the hell are you talking about? You know I—”

A voice nearby sighed. “YOUR mother’s devastated and you’re standing here making excuses?”

Serena shook her head, still crying prettily. “Everyone says stepmothers have it hard. I pitied you, growing up without your real mom. I treated you like my own, gave you whatever you wanted, covered for every mistake. But today… today you’ve let me down more than ever.”

Seventeen years old. One minute he was living carefree, the next he was yanked out of it—forced to face the brutal world on his own. And for the first time, he tasted what betrayal really felt like.

A chill crawled down Julian’s back. His mind went blank. Why hadn’t Serena explained to anyone that he’d been off in the Alps on a wilderness trek with friends? No reception up there—he only saw the news once he got back to camp and turned his phone on.

SHE KNEW. She was the one who’d talked his dad into letting him go, after all. His father had objected, but Serena had backed him to the hilt, told Philip to let the boy go have his adventure. Nobody knew better than she where he’d been. Yet now she was spinning it like he’d been off partying, ignoring his family.

No one comforted him for losing his father and brother. All he got was blame, sneers, people saying he didn’t deserve to be an Ashford. And leading that chorus—his so-called “mother.”

His fists shook at his sides. His eyes burned, desperate to defend himself. But it hit him: almost everyone in that room stood with Serena. Nobody wanted to hear him.

The next few months he spiraled—drinking, drifting, wasting away. He even spent his eighteenth birthday half-conscious in a pile of empty bottles. Until one day, someone dropped a bombshell. Maybe his father and brother’s deaths weren’t just an accident.

His best friend Felix barged in, shook him hard. “HOW long are you gonna rot like this? You seriously don’t give a shit? What about your dad’s company—what happens to all of that?”

Julian just slumped deeper into the couch like dead weight, reaching blindly for another bottle.

Felix snapped, yanking it out of his hands. “YOU really want your dad and brother to die without answers? That’s it?”

Julian froze. His eyes were glazed. “What the hell are you talking about… I don’t get it.”

Felix shoved down next to him, practically in his face. “Haven’t you thought about who stands to gain the most from that crash?”

“You mean… Uncle Richard?” The idea flickered, then Julian shook it off almost instantly. “No way. He’d just had major surgery, his health was shit. Losing my dad would’ve been the worst thing for him.”

“I’m not talking about Richard.” Felix smacked his thigh.

“I’m talking about your stepmother, Serena. You realize your dad’s shares and assets all fell straight into her lap, right? The board signed off on her holding them ‘temporarily.’ She had the path laid out long before. The crash happened right before your eighteenth birthday—perfect timing. Then she paints you as a spoiled, useless brat so you’d never inherit a damn thing.”

Felix gripped his shoulder. “If you keep wasting away like this, you’re playing right into her hands.”

For a second, fury flashed in Julian’s eyes. Then it dimmed just as fast. “Even if you’re right, so what? No one’s gonna believe me. She’s the one in power now. I’ve got nothing to fight her with.”

Felix’s jaw tightened. He pulled out his phone. “Fine. Then listen to this. Lydia’s been wanting to talk to you.” He shoved the phone at Julian’s ear.

On the other end came Lydia’s voice, raw with grief. “Julian, you have to get justice for Victor. Please. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, all I think about is him. Don’t let them get away with it.”

Lydia. Victor’s fiancée.

Julian’s chest burned with anger—and helplessness.

Later that night, he got home to find a delivery waiting out front. A car. A McLaren P1. One of only three hundred in the world. Turns out Victor had ordered it months earlier. It wasn’t just a joke about getting him a car for his birthday. Victor had actually meant it.

Julian clutched the steering wheel and broke down, sobbing until his throat was raw.

That was the night he made his choice.

He’d wear a mask. Pretend to be reckless, spoiled, careless. Let Serena think she’d broken him. Let her drop her guard. And all the while, he’d bide his time—until the day he could rip the truth out into the light.