Ch59 - Stop wasting time

Serena was at home getting her nails done, lounging back while two nail techs fussed over her hands.

Her assistant, Rose, walked up beside her. Serena lifted her eyes, lazy as ever.

“What is it?”

Rose leaned in and whispered a few lines. Serena blinked once in surprise, then let out a soft laugh.

“Well, that’s sudden. A family alliance wedding next week, and they just… cancel it. Cute.”

She looked pleased, almost amused. Whether Marcus got married or not meant nothing to her—no benefit, no loss—just gossip.

The only thing she cared about was whether she’d keep control of the shares in her hands.

“So,” she asked, “anything weird happen at Julian’s place the other night?”

“No.” Rose kept her voice respectful. “He had dinner with Lydia. After that, he went home like usual. A little later, Lydia went to his place, but she didn’t manage to get inside.”

Serena let out a short, cold laugh.

“I thought that girl had at least half a brain. Apparently she can’t even cheat properly. I literally told her what to do. And Julian—please—men like him, who sleep around like it’s a sport, are the easiest to handle. Right?”

Rose nodded. From all the intel she’d gathered on Julian, he was either with a woman or on his way to one.

“Shame she still screwed it up,” Serena added. “Not only did she fail to get him into bed, she was dumb enough to follow him home and try to get inside. What did she think would happen? His wife’s obviously not letting her in.”

She clicked her tongue.

“With a brain that runs on romance instead of logic, I’m not shocked her dad dragged her back to the company. Probably hoping she quits chasing men for five minutes.”

Serena had run into Lydia at a boutique recently and learned she still had feelings for Julian.

So Serena gave her a little ‘advice’—use seduction. The girl even went on the black market and got herself a high-dose aphrodisiac.

Serena honestly believed Lydia would pull it off.

She’d even metaphorically pulled up a chair, waiting to watch the chaos unfold: if Julian slept with Lydia, no way Violet would stay calm—she’d blow up, divorce him.

Serena would’ve considered that her debt to Marcus paid.

But Lydia failed spectacularly. Julian apparently held on until he could get home and crawl to his wife for a “cure.”

Serena glanced down at her perfectly polished nails and sighed.

A bit disappointing…but even if the whole thing blew up, none of it would fall on her.

She wasn’t the one who provided the drugs, and she didn’t hold a gun to Lydia’s head.  The idiot did it of her own free will.

“Hm… interesting mess, though,” Serena murmured, arching a brow. “Julian didn’t call a doctor that night?”

“No.” Rose replied. “The doctor only went the next evening, before Julian got home. So, from the looks of it, it was for Violet.”

“Oh? They’re closer than I thought. Guess he’s got stamina.”

Serena had once suspected their marriage was fake.

Apparently not.

When the nail techs finally packed up and left, Rose stepped close again and said quietly,

“The paintings you purchased earlier—they’ve arrived safely in Italy. The buyer’s ready. They’re just waiting for the paperwork.”

Serena sounded bored. “Good. Efficient.”

Rose smiled slightly.

“The valuation came back higher than expected. Funds will be transferred to your Swiss account like usual.”

“Perfect.” Serena nodded. “It’s a big batch this time. Keep an eye on everything. Make sure it’s clean.”

“Of course.” Rose answered firmly.

——

Julian had been coming home early for two days straight. Every night, he'd slow down outside Violet’s door without even realizing it.

A faint, annoying itch crawled under his skin—like something was still simmering in his veins.

Was the damn drug really not fully out of his system yet?

He lifted his hand, ready to knock—His phone buzzed in his pocket.

Felix.

Julian sighed, dropped his hand, and turned toward his own room as he picked up.

“Yeah?”

“Bro, where are you right now?”

“At home. Why? Something wrong with Medi AI? You said you finally got a line to the team in Switzerland—did you hear back?”

Felix hesitated. “No, it’s not… work. I, uh… kinda wanna come over.”

Julian froze for half a second. That tone was way too weird.

“If it’s not work, why the hell are you calling me? I’m hanging up.”

“HEY—wait! You heartless bastard!” Felix practically yelled. “You can’t even talk for a minute? Seriously?”

Julian pinched the bridge of his nose. “WHO’s next to you?”

A beat.

“Lydia, right? Tell her to STOP wasting her time. I’m not talking to her right now.”

The silence that followed told him everything.

Of course.

She’d been blowing up his messages for days, and getting ignored, so she went to Felix to beg for help.

Felix whispered something away from the receiver—clearly talking to her.

Then the line clicked, and a woman’s voice came through.

“Julian, please listen to me—what happened that night was a misunderstanding. I swear I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know the drinks were messed with.”

Lydia sounded frantic, like she was terrified he’d hit “end call” any second. This was probably the first time in two days she’d managed to get him on the phone.

Julian raised a brow. His voice was cold, steady.

“Oh yeah? Then what about the Munich you said you had?”

The hook she used to lure him upstairs.

She’d played the Munich card, knowing exactly how to hit him where it hurt—his father and brother’s accident, the pieces he’d been trying to put together for years.

And because she’d once been Victor’s fiancée, he never thought she’d stab him in the back. So he let his guard down. And she chose that moment to slip a knife between his ribs.

“Munich…” Lydia’s voice cracked. Something clogged her throat and all that came out were these broken, useless sounds.

“I have no idea why you did what you did,” Julian said, his words sharp as ice.

“It wasn’t me.” Lydia snapped back immediately. “And I did find new proof about Munich. If you still want it, meet me.”

Tension hit a wall.

Through the phone, Julian could vaguely hear Felix whisper-yelling, trying to talk her down.

Julian stared out the window at the skyline for a long moment before lowering his eyes.

“I’ll look into Munich myself. I don’t need you anymore. If you weren’t genuinely trying to help uncover what really happened to Victor, then forget it. And Lydia… I’m not trusting you again.”

It was like an invisible hand reached through the phone and crushed Lydia’s heart.

Her breath hitched. Pain spread through her chest like a punch she didn’t see coming.

Her grip on the phone trembled. 

“SO who the hell can you trust, then? That woman you’ve known for—what—three months? You know what I’ve done for you these ten years? How much I’ve risked? And you think you get to cut me off just like that?”

“Everything you did—I’m not denying it. If you want compensation, name it.”

“I want you. I want you to come here. RIGHT NOW.” Her voice was shaking, desperate, on the edge of exploding.

“NO.” He didn’t even hesitate. Just one calm syllable.

It hit her like someone dumped a bucket of ice water over her head.

Lydia’s jaw clenched so hard it hurt. “FINE. Then I’ll tell your stepmother. Serena deserves to know what you’re digging into.”

Felix’s reaction was instant—Julian heard him yell in the background, “Lydia, WHAT the hell?! You’ve lost it! Weren’t you the one who wanted justice for Victor? What are you even saying right now?!”

“I’m done,” Lydia burst out, holding the phone up like she expected Felix to snatch it any second. “I wasted ten years of my life for nothing. Now I’m just fighting for what I want. So what? He’s not gonna blame me.”

“JESUS, stop talking shit—Julian won’t go near you if you keep this up,” Felix tried again.

But Lydia wasn’t listening.

She was certain—so sure—that all she needed to do was mention his father and Victor and Julian would bend. He always had.

And if Serena ever found out he was investigating?

Game over.

She raised the phone back to her ear. “As long as you—”

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The call went dead.

For a second, Lydia just stared at the screen, stunned.

Then the realization hit—he hung up on her.

Heat flashed through her eyes, anger rising fast and violent.

He actually did it. Julian Ashford hung up on her!