chapter 3

The room went completely silent. Everyone just kind of froze.

I walked over to Julian and patted him on the shoulder. "Your brother's obviously into Ashley, and I'm not gonna stand in their way. So I guess that means you're stuck with me."

"Don't worry," I told Julian. "I've got plenty of money, and I'll take good care of you."

I reached out and patted his head gently.

Julian nodded and caught my hand in his, holding it tight. "Okay. From now on, I'm yours."

I just stood there, completely thrown. This wasn't what everyone said about him. He was supposed to be some violent psycho, wasn't he?

Damien stared at our joined hands, and then his eyes snapped to Ashley. "Eloise, how can you pick him? You should choose me. You need to help me restore the Ashford Group.

"Julian's just a bastard son. If you really choose him, I'll have him killed. It won't take me five minutes to find someone."

That piece of shit. In my last life, he took everything I gave him and then murdered me, and now he had the nerve to threaten my husband. Absolute garbage.

Ashley wasn't happy either. She pointed at me accusingly. "Eloise, I saw Julian first! You're supposed to take the cripple!"

But Dad had clearly made up his mind. He didn't care what anyone else thought, and he wasn't going to discuss it further.

Ashley never dared to go against Dad, so she had no choice but to shut up.

After the decision was final, we each went and got our marriage certificates.

I brought Julian back to my room. He'd been under control for who knew how long, and it showed. He looked exhausted and his clothes were a mess.

I told him to take a shower first.

When he came out of the bathroom, he wasn't wearing a shirt. I could see several scars on his body.

"What happened?" I asked. "How'd you get these?"

Julian didn't answer. He wouldn't even look at me.

I reached up and brushed his hair back from his face so I could see his eyes.

Huh. He was actually pretty good-looking. He had some resemblance to Damien, but his features were sharper and more defined.

Ashley must've been blind. Last time around, she kept saying Julian looked creepy and depressing.

He was obviously handsome.

Since Julian still wasn't talking about the injuries, I didn't push it.

I grabbed some ointment and started gently applying it to his wounds. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But from now on, I've got your back."

Julian's eyes were hard to read, but he kept staring at me the whole time.

After I finished treating his wounds, he suddenly took my hand and kissed it. Then he looked at me with this complicated expression.

"It's really good to see you again," he said quietly.

I didn't understand what he meant at first. My face went hot without me meaning it to.

I didn't think too hard about what his words actually meant.

I scratched my head, stumbling over my words a little. "Yeah. It's... it's good to meet you too.

"Are you hungry? I'll go downstairs and find you something to eat."

I opened the door to leave, but Julian followed right behind me.

"You can just wait here. You don't need to come with me," I said.

Julian had just gotten out of the shower. His hair was still wet, and his eyes looked damp too as he stared at me.

It made me kind of shy.

"Why... why are you staring at me like that?" I stammered.

There was only one small nightlight on in the hallway, so everything around us was pretty dark.

But Julian's eyes were bright. "You picked me, so now I'm with you for life."

I backed up a little, feeling flustered, but Julian just stepped closer.

"Are you not letting me follow you because you regret choosing me?"