Chapter 135
Juliana listened, her heart pounding. She'd never known that beneath the glamorous surface of these wealthy families lay such bloody history.
Lucas looked at her pale face and reached out to stroke her hair.
"That was the hardest time for me. Threats from inside and out—every day felt like walking a tightrope." He rarely exposed his vulnerability like this, his voice low and resonant like a cello string. "Back then, if it wasn't for someone I talked to online, I might not have made it through."
Someone online?
Juliana's heart skipped a beat without warning.
An absurd yet intense premonition shot through her like an electric current.
Her throat went dry, her voice coming out strained. "That person... what was their name?"
Lucas seemed to fall into the memory, a rare warmth appearing in his eyes.
"Don't remember the name. But the username was distinctive."
"'Freesia.'"
Freesia.
Juliana's mind exploded with fireworks.
The world stood still in that moment.
All sound disappeared except the drumbeat of her own heart.
It was her.
She'd picked that username randomly in college because she loved how freesias were both pure white and passionate.
That person who, late at night across an internet connection, had shared confidences, offered encouragement, exchanged their most private thoughts and distant dreams...
Was Lucas?
Then what about Logan?
Back then, she'd been the one to work up the courage to suggest meeting in person.
But Logan was who showed up.
Logan told her he was that person, just that his personality was different online versus in real life.
She'd believed him.
And then that person who'd been so gentle and wise online, who'd connected with her soul, became in reality the flashy, flippant Logan.
She'd wondered how someone could be so different online versus offline.
So it turned out...
It had been two different people all along.
"What's wrong?" Lucas noticed something was off. He reached out to touch her forehead. "You look awful."
Juliana lifted her head and stared at him, looking into those deep eyes, at that face that had appeared in her dreams countless times.
She opened her mouth. A thousand words clogged her throat, finally condensing into one sentence.
"That's my username."
She looked into his eyes, speaking each word clearly.
The warmth on Lucas's face froze instantly.
Freesia.
Like a key unlocking seven years of misaligned time.
Lucas's Adam's apple bobbed.
"So it was him."
His voice was quiet, but it landed like a boulder dropped into deep water.
Not a question. A statement.
He remembered so much.
Seven years ago, overwhelmed by family infighting, his only emotional outlet had been that online friend called "Freesia." They'd talked about music, about the future, about pressures and dreams they could never voice aloud.
He remembered the last time he'd chatted with her, saying he wanted to meet.
She hadn't replied.
After that, her icon never lit up again.
He'd thought she'd rejected him.
Later, at a reception, he'd overheard Logan bragging about his new girlfriend named Juliana.
His heart had ached inexplicably then, though he couldn't understand why.
So every coincidence had been a calculated scheme.
Logan, from the very beginning, had stolen everything from him.
Juliana looked at him, watched the churning in his eyes—something she'd never seen before, a mix of regret and rage like a dark current.
She suddenly felt her own anger at being deceived didn't matter anymore.
What she'd lost was a falsified first love.
What Lucas had lost was the only light in his darkest time.
"He didn't just impersonate you. He made me delete all your contact information."
So she hadn't ghosted him.
Logan had personally severed their last thread of connection.
Lucas closed his eyes. He said nothing, just reached out and pulled Juliana tightly, so tightly into his arms.
Hard enough to embed her into his bones.
Just then, his phone on the desk buzzed at the worst possible moment.
It was the estate's butler.
Lucas released Juliana and answered the phone, his brow furrowing instantly.
"What?"
"Mrs. Sharp collapsed again. Just got to the hospital. The doctor says... her condition relapsed."
……
In the hospital VIP room, the smell of antiseptic hung thick in the air.
Ashley lay in the bed. In just a few days, it was like someone had drained her life force.
The door opened quietly.
Ashley didn't even lift her eyelids, speaking impatiently. "Didn't I say I don't want anyone bothering me?"
"Grandma."
A clear child's voice rang out.
Ashley's body went rigid.
At the door stood Juliana, with Damian and Matthew holding her hands on either side.
The two adorable little boys blinked with identical big eyes.
Seeing her grandsons, the softest part of her heart was touched.
"What are you doing here?"
"Mommy said Grandma's sick and wanted us to keep you company." Damian spoke first. He let go of Juliana's hand and ran to the bedside on his short legs. Like a little adult, he reached out to touch Ashley's forehead. "Not hot. Grandma, did the doctor give you a shot?"
Looking at that little face so identical to Lucas as a child, Ashley's heart ached and her eyes grew hot.
Matthew obediently walked to the other side and pulled out the biggest, reddest apple from the fruit basket Juliana was carrying.
"Grandma, eat an apple. It'll help you get better fast."
Ashley looked into those crystal-clear eyes, then at Juliana's calm face, her emotions a complicated tangle.
She'd been strong-willed her whole life, scheming her whole life. In the end, her family was hollowed out by her son, she was sick, and the ones who came to care for her were the woman she'd looked down on most and the grandsons she least wanted to acknowledge.
How ironic.
"You..." She opened her mouth to say something, but her throat was too tight.
Juliana set down the fruit basket and said gently to the two children, "You stay and talk with Grandma. Mommy's going to get you something to drink."
Making an excuse, she left the room, giving them space.