Chapter 3

"Mrs. Gable, please arrange for the guests to leave shortly."

I removed my veil, tapping on my phone to send a message to Marcus, but it vanished into thin air.

This sight, to Blair Sterling, only solidified her belief that I was putting on an act. She spoke, her voice laced with saccharine sweetness and thinly veiled digs.

"Ms. Vance, this is a Thorne family event. I don't think you have the authority to order the staff around, do you?"

"I get that you're angry, but how could you debase yourself like this just to spite Julian? Mr. Thorne is nearly fifty, Aurora. Don't throw away your dignity over spite, getting involved with a man like that..."

Blair batted her eyelashes, her words dripping with fake sympathy. Julian's knuckles were white as he swallowed a pill.

Once he composed himself, he stared at me like a predator locking onto its prey.

"Blair Sterling, I've already cleared the path. What's wrong? You still haven't managed to marry Julian?"

The air instantly congealed, like a frozen glacier.

It was utterly silent.

Blair's face contorted with rage, yet she couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

The incident where she almost *killed* someone back then, though Julian had suppressed it, meant the Thorne family, with their long-standing legacy in pharmaceuticals, would *never* accept someone like her into their ranks.

I let out a soft laugh and confidently strode towards Marcus's study, knowing the way intimately.

As I walked away, Julian kept his gaze fixed on me, afraid to confirm the suspicion forming in his mind.

Soon, the guests began to leave. Just then, I received a call from the hospital: Leo was having an episode!

"I'll be there as fast as I can!"

I hung up, barely thinking as I sprinted to the garage.

Just as I opened the car door, Blair blocked it, her eyes red and swollen.

"Ms. Vance, I know you hate me and think I stole Julian away."

"But have you ever considered that the person in Julian's memories was always me? The eight years of happiness you had with him—weren't they just stolen years that belonged to me?"

I frowned, pushing her hand away. I didn't have time for her melodrama right now.

But she wouldn't let go, grabbing my wrist and suddenly dropping to her knees in front of me.

"Aurora, I'm begging you."

"Please stop bothering Julian. We've already missed eight years; can't you just let him go...?"

"Are you done or not!"

I pushed her away coldly and quickly slipped into the car.

"Aurora Vance!"

Blair crumpled precisely into the arms of Julian, who had just arrived. He glared at me, then froze when he saw the familiar license plate.

He asked, his voice hoarse, "This car... why is it with you?"

I scoffed, a humorless laugh escaping me.

"I'm Marcus's wife. Where else would his car be?"

With that, I pressed the ignition.

As I prepared to rush to the hospital, Blair suddenly shrieked, her entire body trembling violently.

She backed away, then knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

"Aurora, I'm sorry, I won't fight you for Julian anymore, please don't hurt me..."

Classic trauma response. Julian instantly flew into a rage.

He yanked me out of the car, pulled me violently, and shoved me to the ground.

"Julian Thorne, Leo's having an episode! I need to get to the hospital *now*!"

He remained unmoved.

I took a deep breath and called Mrs. Gable.

"Mrs. Gable, Julian is blocking me, not letting me leave. Marcus said that if anyone tries to stop me, the bodyguards are to intervene immediately!"

Mrs. Gable hesitated for a long time, not saying a word.

Suddenly, a strange noise echoed from the garage. All the bodyguards from inside the mansion stood in orderly rows behind Julian.

He pinched my chin, sneering.

"Aurora Vance, that bastard Marcus married the heiress of the renowned Vance medical dynasty, not some stray Phoenix like you!"

"There's a limit to how much you can lie. Looks like the punishment I gave you back then was still too light."

Soon, the bodyguards blocked all my exits.

Thinking of Leo's pale face, I grabbed Julian's hand and pleaded.

"Leo really needs me. Please let me go to the hospital, okay?"

"I'm begging you, Julian Thorne..."

Our eyes met. He laughed softly, lifted my chin, and in my hopeful gaze, his voice was as cold as ice.

"Aurora Vance, you make a mistake, you pay the price."

"Hurting Blair crosses my line!"