Chapter 5

Elena glared at Julian with a gaze filled with both pleading and anger, signaling him to stop his death-defying stunt. However, Julian merely raised an eyebrow.

The corner of his lips tugged upward into a faint, sexy smirk, mysterious and triumphant, meant exclusively for Elena.

His leg beneath the table grew even bolder, pressing firmly against the girl's thigh, stroking her in a slow rhythm that caused Elena's breath to quicken and her face to turn completely crimson.

"Elena, why is your face suddenly so red? Are you hiding something from Daddy?" Victoria asked out of nowhere, noticing her stepsister's sudden shift in expression.

The accumulation of disgust, panic, and suffocating pressure in Elena's chest finally pushed her to her limit. She could not stand to be in this room for another second.

"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom for a moment," she murmured in a raw voice.

She stood up hurriedly, completely ignoring Beatrice's scornful glare and her father's disappointed grumble. Elena walked quickly out, half-running towards the restroom.

She stepped into the women's restroom, washing her trembling hands at the sink while staring at her reflection in the large mirror. Her face looked completely frazzled.

‘Being trapped between a family that hates me and a brother-in-law who has made me his secret kept woman is the absolute definition of hell!’ she lamented internally.

Just as Elena was about to turn around to step into one of the stalls, the main door to the women's restroom suddenly swung open.

She expected it to be a waitress or another guest, but her heart nearly leaped out of her chest when she saw the tall, imposing figure of Julian Vance walking in calmly. The man even locked the main restroom door from the inside.

"Julian! Are you insane? This is the women's restroom!" Elena whispered in a frantic panic. She scrambled backward until her hips hit the edge of the sink counter.

Julian didn't offer a verbal reply. With wide, authoritative strides, he eliminated the distance between them. He clamped his hands around Elena's waist and flung open the furthest toilet stall with a single yank of his arm.

Before she could scream, he dragged her petite body inside the narrow stall. Closing the door and locking it from the inside.

"Julian, let me go! Someone could walk in!" Elena pounded against Julian's broad chest in sheer frustration.

The tears she had been suppressing all evening finally broke free, streaming down her cheeks. "You have no sense of place! What if they get suspicious because both of us disappeared?!"

Julian paid absolutely no heed to her protests. Instead, he pinned Elena's body tightly between his massive frame and the stall wall.

His left hand moved swiftly to lock both of Elena's wrists above her head, while his right hand possessively gripped the back of her neck. Julian tilted his head down, silencing her lips with an intense, burning, and demanding kiss.

"Mmhh .…" Elena moaned against his mouth. She tried to fight back, but Julian's physical strength was far too immense for her to overcome.

He consumed her with the exact same wildness from last night at the hotel. Drinking in his sister-in-law's sweet lips as if the girl were an addiction he could never satisfy.

The mixture of slight ache and intoxicating pleasure caused Elena's knees to slowly go weak. Forcing her to lean her entire weight against Julian's solid frame.

After a few minutes, Julian slowly broke the kiss. His breath was heavy and rapid against the crook of Elena's neck, while his thumb gently wiped away the remnants of tears dampening her soft cheek.

She stared up at Julian with glassy eyes. Her chest heaving rapidly as she tried to catch her breath.

"Why are you doing this to me, Julian? You are playing with me right in front of them!"

The man looked down into Elena's eyes, which appeared so fragile and innocent in his embrace. His cold gaze suddenly softened with a dark, sensual glint. He brought his lips close to her ear, letting his warm breath sear the sensitive skin there.

"I am not playing with you, Elena," Julian whispered in a deep, sensual baritone that sent a shiver straight through her nervous system.

The man slowly lowered the hand that was pinning her fingers. Gently brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear with an uncharacteristic tenderness.

"I saw how they treated you out there. Your father, your stepmother, and even my ungrateful wife.” His jaw clenching for a brief second as he recalled how effortlessly Richard and Beatrice had insulted her.

Julian looked back down at the innocent face before him, a dangerous, faint smirk etched onto his handsome features. "Tell me. Do you want me to help you get even with them?"

Elena froze, the air trapping itself in her throat. She stared in utter disbelief at the man who still hovered over her inside the narrow confines of the toilet stall.

She had never once expected that Julian Vance, the man who had ignored her existence for years and always looked down at her with an icy detachment, would voluntarily offer to help her exact revenge.

"Why do you want to help me, Julian? Aren’t they your family too? Victoria is your wife," Elena whispered, her voice trembling. Her eyes searched his face, desperately hunting for any sign of a lie.

The man didn't answer right away. His jaw clenched tightly. Inside his mind, flashes of Victoria’s betrayal with another man replayed on a loop, fueling the wrath he had kept locked away while meticulously gathering evidence of her infidelity.

Of course, he had no intention of exposing his marital problems right now. It wasn't the time.

"You don't need to know the reason," Julian replied coldly, though his intense gaze remained locked onto Elena’s eyes.

He leaned down slightly, bringing his face so close that the tips of their noses practically brushed. "Let's say I'm bored and looking for a game to play."

‘A game?’ Elena swallowed hard. The man standing before her was truly unhinged, treating the destruction of a family as mere entertainment.

Yet, amidst her lingering dread, Julian's offer sounded incredibly tempting. The deep-seated resentment she had harbored for years from being relentlessly oppressed by Beatrice and Victoria finally seemed to find an escape route.

"How ..." Elena paused, trying to gather the remnants of her courage. "How exactly are you going to help me?"

Julian let out a faint, dangerous smirk. The expression was dark, mysterious, and lethal on his handsome features. "I have my ways, Elena. Just give me your consent, and I will make them pay for you. Whenever I see fit."

The silence inside the cramped stall suddenly grew heavy with tension. Elena stared at Julian, weighing the absolute biggest gamble of her life.

If she stepped into this arrangement, there would be no turning back. But remembering how her father had just humiliated and insulted her in front of everyone shattered whatever little respect she had left for the family.

"Fine," Elena said, her voice suddenly turning firm as her eyes flashed with defiance against Julian.

"I agree. Make Beatrice and Victoria pay for every ounce of pain they put me through! If you can do that, I swear, I will submit to you completely, Julian. I will do whatever you command."

The smirk on Julian's lips widened. He was thoroughly satisfied to hear the vow spilling from his stepsister-in-law's lush lips. "A smart choice, sweetheart. Good, just wait and see. But remember, I will hold you to your promise later."

Julian pressed a brief kiss to Elena's forehead before unlocking the stall door. The man smoothed down his suit jacket, effortlessly sliding his cold mask back into place, and stepped out of the women's restroom first with a flat expression, acting as though nothing had transpired.

However, after walking just a few paces down the deserted corridor, Victoria was already standing there. The woman in the red dress had her arms crossed over her chest, her brow furrowed in annoyance.

"Julian? Goodness, what took you so long in the restroom?" Victoria asked in a demanding, spoiled tone. "Mom and Dad are already waiting inside."

"I had to take an important call from a business associate," Julian replied shortly and coldly, not even bothering to look his wife in the eye.

At that exact moment, the women's restroom door opened again. Elena stepped out with her head lowered, smoothing down the hem of her slightly wrinkled dress. Her footsteps faltered the moment she realized the two of them were still standing in the hallway.

Victoria turned her head, her eyes narrowing sharply as she glared at Elena, then shifted her gaze back to her husband. A sudden flash of suspicion crossed the socialite's face.

"Wait a minute! Why did the two of you come out at almost the exact same time from the exact same direction?" Victoria questioned, her voice rising with heavy suspicion.

Julian turned around slowly, meeting Victoria's gaze with a relaxed, indifferent look. There wasn't a single trace of panic on his face.

"Why? Are you questioning me, Victoria?" Julian countered, his tone dripping with sheer condescension. The man let out a cynical chuckle, then cast a disparaging look toward Elena, a look he deliberately manufactured to deceive his wife.

"Do you honestly think I am the type of man who would be attracted to a shabby, tasteless girl like her?"

‘What did he just say? A shabby girl? It seems he's forgotten that this 'shabby girl' made him groan in bed last night!’ Elena fumed internally. She was highly irritated to hear the mockery coming from the man who had just stolen her innocence.

Hearing her husband's absolute, dismissive answer, the suspicion on Victoria's face instantly evaporated. She smiled with immense satisfaction, feeling triumphant because Julian had just thoroughly degraded Elena right in front of her.

She knew exactly how incredibly high Julian's standards were. To an arrogant woman like her, Elena would never be on the same level as her billionaire husband.

"Of course not, Darling. I know your taste is far above that," Victoria purred, wrapping her arms tightly around Julian's arm once more. "Let's go back inside."

The three of them finally returned to the private dining room. Elena sat back down in her chair, her mind in complete turmoil.

The moment she placed her napkin over her lap, Richard's booming. Deep voice echoed across the table, instantly shattering the quiet of the dinner that had just commenced.

"Listen to me, Elena," Richard stated, staring at his daughter with a cold, threatening glare.

"If you ever dare to misbehave again after tonight, staying out all night and bringing embarrassment upon this family, I will not be lenient with you."

Elena looked up. Her hands clenching into tight fists beneath the table as she stared back at her father.

"I have already spoken with Mr. Henderson, my business associate from the shipping company. He has been a widower for five years now and is looking for a new wife," Richard continued ruthlessly.

"The next time you pull a stunt, I will marry you off to him immediately. At the very least, you can be of some use to my corporate alliances."