Chapter 41
After chatting for a bit, Juliana had Paul take Matthew back to do his homework. Before he left, she reached out and pinched his cheek affectionately.
That small gesture completely smoothed away Matthew's anxiety about the identity switch. "Mommy, when can you come home? I only get to come back two days a week, and I still can't see you."
Juliana's heart ached. He was right—while she was stuck here recovering, what was her child supposed to do?
"Mommy will be better very soon."
Not long after Matthew left, a man in a white casual suit walked in, carrying an elegant thermal container.
"Julie, the doctor told me you woke up."
"Josh?" Juliana looked surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"How could I not come after what happened to you?" Joshua set the thermal container on the nightstand and naturally reached out to feel her forehead. "Good, no fever."
"I know you just woke up and probably don't have much appetite, so I had our family chef make you matsutake chicken soup. Drink some while it's hot."
Juliana really didn't have much appetite, but seeing the concern in his eyes, she couldn't refuse. She reached for the container, but Joshua pulled it back first.
"You're still on an IV. Don't move around." He ladled up a spoonful, blew on it gently, and held it to her lips.
Juliana felt a bit awkward but didn't think much of it. She opened her mouth and took a sip.
Right at that moment—
"Looks like Dr. Wells is recovering quite well. Still has energy for romantic interludes."
A flat, emotionless voice came from the doorway.
Lucas was standing there, though no one knew for how long. He watched Joshua feeding Juliana soup, his deep eyes frosting over like they'd been coated in a thin layer of ice.
David stood behind him, and the moment he saw the scene, his mind started screaming trouble. Oh no, oh no, this is gonna be a bloodbath!
Joshua set down the soup bowl. "Mr. Sharp, if you don't like what you see, you can leave."
"Who gave you permission to have visitors?"
Lucas ignored him completely.
Juliana's brow furrowed. "Mr. Sharp, I believe I have the right to choose who I see, who I talk to, and what I do."
Lucas's lips curved in something that wasn't quite a smile, the gesture sharp and cold. "Juliana, don't forget our agreement. Until you've fulfilled all your obligations, your time and your person belong to me."
The smile finally disappeared from Joshua's face. He stepped forward, positioning himself protectively in front of Juliana. "Mr. Sharp, Julie is a person, not your property. I don't know what kind of agreement you two have, but speaking to her like this is completely disrespectful."
"Respect? She nearly got herself killed, almost flushed all my investment down the drain, and you expect me to show her respect?"
His words were like knives—cold and sharp.
Juliana's chest heaved with anger. She pushed aside Joshua's protective arm and met Lucas's gaze head-on.
"Lucas, what I signed was a cooperation agreement, not an indenture contract! You have no right to speak to me this way!"
"No right? I pulled you back from death's door, and you're telling me I have no right?"
Lucas turned to David. "Help her pack her things."
Juliana froze. "What?"
"Starting today, you're moving into the Sharp estate." Lucas's tone was casual. "More convenient for care, and you can monitor my mother's condition at any time. Fulfill your agreement."
"I don't agree!" Juliana rejected the idea without hesitation.
"You don't have a choice." Lucas's patience had clearly run out. "Or would you prefer I terminate the agreement right now?"
He was threatening her.
Juliana bit her lip hard. She knew that if Lucas said it, he'd do it. Moving to the Sharp estate meant she'd completely lose her freedom, be completely controlled by this man.
But...
An image of Damian's cool little face suddenly flashed through her mind.
Joshua saw her struggle and said quietly, "Julie, don't be afraid of him. I'm here."
Lucas heard that and let out a cold laugh.
In that tense moment, Juliana made her decision.
"Fine. I'll go with you."
She lifted her head, looking directly at Lucas. "But I have conditions. First, at the Sharp estate, I'm only responsible for your mother's medical care. Everything else has nothing to do with me. Second, I want absolute freedom. You can't interfere with my private life."
Lucas looked at the stubborn light in her eyes, and the inexplicable irritation in his chest eased somewhat. He glanced at Joshua's sour expression and felt considerably better.
"Fine." He agreed readily enough.
Once she was on his turf, he'd be the one making the rules anyway.
The next morning, Lucas personally came to the hospital to pick her up. Seeing her simple, packed luggage, the satisfaction he'd felt from beating out his rival was quickly replaced by fresh annoyance.
"Remember to break up with that Joshua."
Juliana's hands paused while organizing her medical kit. "Mr. Sharp, aren't you being a bit too controlling?"
"I don't want to see my business partner carrying on with another man under my roof." Lucas's reasoning sounded perfectly justified.
Juliana laughed in exasperation.
"First of all, he's my cousin. Second, even if he wasn't, who I'm with is none of your business."
Cousin?
The smoldering anger that had been lodged in his chest since yesterday instantly extinguished. So he was her cousin.
He looked at Juliana's face, slightly flushed with anger, and his mood inexplicably lifted. Even she seemed more pleasant to look at now.
Not that he'd let that satisfaction show.
He cleared his throat. "Cousin or not, same rule applies."
Juliana frowned.
Lucas stepped forward and took the suitcase from her hands, his tone still maddeningly cocky. "Bottom line—while you're living in my house, keep your distance from him."
The car pulled up in front of a mansion as grand as a castle. Juliana pushed open her own door and had just gotten her footing when a figure came bursting out from the entrance.
It was Damian.
The boy ran halfway, then seemed to remember something. His footsteps came to an abrupt halt, his eyes a complex swirl of emotions—longing, hurt, and a trace of something like wariness.
Juliana's heart clenched tight.
"Dami."
She walked toward him on her own initiative, a gentle smile on her face that she didn't even realize was there. From her bag, she pulled out a wrapped paper box and held it out to him.
"I promised to bring you a gift yesterday. See if you like it. I made it myself."
Damian looked down at the box. A faint, sweet baking scent drifted up to his nose. Not the sickly artificial kind—this smelled of butter and flour, warm and homey.
He remembered how Bianca had brought him cakes too. Always from the fanciest shops with the most elaborate packaging and the highest prices. And always in strawberry flavor—his least favorite.
But this woman in front of him, even though she was still recovering from being sick, had made him a cake with her own hands.