登入Julian had been injured, though not as severely as expected.The Voss' first floor was silent, the interwoven breaths of everyone present forming a suffocating net. Vanessa felt breathless as she stepped inside, her eyes immediately drawn to Julian sitting on the sofa, blood still trickling from the back of his hand. Blood also smeared his face, his pupils dark, as if harboring an unvented hatred.Cameron's blood pressure surged with rage, his face a mask of fury. The moment Vanessa entered, he abruptly stood, glaring at her not like a father at his daughter, but like a judge at an unpardonable criminal. "Get this person out of here right now! I haven't called the police this time, all for your sake.""Then you should just call the police. I don't want that consideration," Vanessa retorted. She glanced at the Voss' reception hall, which remained untouched, unlike the living room she'd passed on her way in, now a complete wreck.Cameron, still fuming from Julian's earlier antics, now h
Vanessa was at the piano store when she received a call from the Voss family. After a moment of hesitation, she picked it up.She walked aside, away from Cameron, and Cameron's voice came through the receiver, "Vanessa, come home immediately and take your husband away.""Julian?" Vanessa didn't understand Cameron's words. "Why is Julian at the Voss family home?""He's here for Ivy. You married him, yet you can't even keep an eye on your own husband. And even now, he's still coming to me for another woman, isn't he?" Cameron found the mere thought absurd, let alone the fact that it was actually happening, Julian right before his eyes, undeniably real.Vanessa still didn't understand, but she caught the note of reprimand in Cameron's voice. She no longer called him 'Dad'; he had no right to lecture her."So what if we're married? Didn't Aunt Evelyn fail to keep an eye on you?" Vanessa was not fragile. Her previous demeanor was a result of being terrified of life, having endured enough b
As they stepped out of the private room together, Adrian, unable to hold back any longer, shoved Julian hard, deliberately keeping his voice low."What exactly are you trying to do? Are you only satisfied when everyone knows about this?"Julian patted the collar of his shirt, his downcast eyes slowly lifting. "It's not me making things this way. It's you hiding secrets, and of course, I'll stop at nothing to figure them out.""Why should I tell you my business?" Adrian scoffed dismissively, as if looking down on Julian. They had once been united on the matter of Ivy, wronging and humiliating Vanessa because of it.But not anymore.Julian had married Vanessa, and asking about this now was simply wrong of him."Is that your business? That's Ivy's business," Julian declared with righteous indignation, as if he'd forgotten that Vanessa was his wife."You're going to such lengths to find out about Ivy, but have you ever cared about Vanessa's feelings?"Vanessa didn't care, so what could Ju
With a single sentence, Adrian successfully sowed discord.As they went upstairs, Julian walked behind Vanessa, holding both their coats. The material was soft, so even if crumpled, it wouldn't wrinkle.“Vanessa?”Julian's voice was faint as he called out.Vanessa paused on the stairs and looked back. “What is it?”His wife showed no reaction whatsoever to his nervousness over his ex-girlfriend. This wasn't what Julian wanted. He longed to see Vanessa as she used to be, flustered and jealous over his affairs.But it wasn't like before, not anymore.“I'm just curious, trying to understand what happened. It has nothing to do with Ivy.” Julian knew how hollow his explanation sounded. “Those things are in the past.”“I know they're in the past. Your explanation, however, seems a little forced.”Her words clearly displeased Julian, but he didn't show any sign of embarrassment. He simply offered a nonchalant smile. “Then what if I told you that I genuinely still have feelings for Ivy? After
Seeing Adrian's knees hit the ground, Vanessa felt no particular satisfaction. Only an overwhelming sense of weariness from the constant entanglement. the Voss family's persistent meddling was truly suffocating.Vanessa's gaze was icy, fixed coldly on the man kneeling before her. When she'd returned to the Voss family all those years ago, all she'd wanted was to survive. Instead, she'd been ridiculed and bullied by Adrian, treated like refuse.Now, it was his turn to kneel."Must I really go?" Vanessa asked, utterly bewildered. "Where were you all those years before? Why didn't you come looking for me then?"Just how much was expected of her before they would finally let her go?Adrian had considered kneeling his absolute bottom line. Yet Vanessa remained so stone-hearted, leaving him truly at a loss. "Vanessa, you clearly know we were all misled. You suffered for three years, yes, but tell me, who among us had an easy time?"This, again, was insufferable.Vanessa couldn't help but le
Stepping into the study, Cameron closed the door behind him, his face a canvas of mixed emotions. Sighing, he extended a hand. “Adrian, give me the photo.”“This isn’t just one person in this photo, is it?” Adrian’s fingers crumpled a corner of the picture. “Vanessa is in this too. Why did you cut her out? And who really planned that kidnapping back then? Was it you?”“What nonsense are you spouting?” Cameron felt utterly lost, yet a pang of regret pierced him for the photo – the last one he had of Ivy. “Just put the photo down, alright?”“This photo is that important to you?”If seeing the photo hadn't confirmed the relationship between Ivy and Cameron, his reaction certainly did. Adrian could now clearly see it: Ivy had been playing him and Julian for fools, all while trying to replace Evelyn as the mistress of this house. That's why she'd tried so hard to get close to Vanessa. The once pure ‘white moonlight’ had now fallen into the mud, becoming something dirty and sickening to eve
Julian was born arrogant, with high expectations for the women by his side – family background, personality, looks, all had to be satisfactory. These women were clearly not, but Vanessa…She was, after all, somewhat different.But she was no longer the Voss family's eldest daughter. Although his fe
But without a trace of extra emotion, she turned slightly, avoiding the glaring and ambiguous scene. Facing the sunlight, she continued to carefully wipe the body of the violin. That profile was more indifferent than a hundred rejections and evasions.Julian suppressed his anger and went downstairs
A blur flashed before her, and Vanessa raised her hand, delivering a sharp slap to Julian’s face. He lowered his eyes, hesitantly raising a hand to touch his cheek, a dark and brutal ferocity instantly surfacing in his pupils.That slap nearly cost Vanessa her life.If it hadn’t been for the call f
Looking up at Vanessa, she felt only endless sorrow.“…Miss, I almost didn’t see you again.”Vanessa forced herself to suppress the violently surging emotions. “How did it become like this?”“It’s nothing, just had some conflicts with others inside.”Julian had clearly promised to only detain him,







