Chapter 58
In Bianca's private apartment, she gripped her phone so tightly her nails nearly pierced her palm. The voice on the other end was polite but distant.
"Ms. Hale, Mrs. Sharp's position is that she's done what she can. No one can change Mr. Sharp's decision."
"Done what she can?" Bianca's voice rose sharply, nearly breaking. "She's just going to stand by and watch that woman waltz in and become the mistress of the Sharp family?!"
"Ms. Hale, please calm down."
"How am I supposed to calm down!"
The line went dead.
Bianca hurled her phone across the room, her chest heaving violently. She refused to believe it. She couldn't accept that Ashley would give up so easily. That old woman valued the Sharp family's reputation more than anyone—how could she possibly tolerate someone like Juliana, with her questionable background?
She grabbed her car keys and stormed out.
The Sharp Estate.
Ashley sat in the conservatory, leisurely pruning a potted plant. When Bianca rushed in with red-rimmed eyes, she didn't even look up.
"Mrs. Sharp!" Bianca's voice carried both tears and accusation. "You can't just let this go! That Juliana—"
"Stop making a scene." Ashley snipped off a yellow leaf, her tone indifferent. "I told you to stop her. You failed. What good does crying to me now do?"
Bianca choked, the words lodging in her throat. "I... I didn't expect Lucas to protect her so fiercely. Mrs. Sharp, we can't let her win. She'll destroy Lucas, destroy the Sharp family!"
She fell at Ashley's feet, clutching at her pant leg, her posture humiliatingly desperate. "Mrs. Sharp, please help me. I'll do anything to get rid of her!"
Ashley finally set down her pruning shears.
She looked down at the woman crying at her feet. There was no pity in her eyes, only impatience and contempt.
"Murder and arson are for idiots." Her voice was cold. "Not only does it dirty my hands, it gives Lucas evidence to trace. Bianca, you've been by my side for years. Why haven't you learned anything?"
Bianca's crying stopped. She stared up at her, stunned.
Ashley picked up a manila envelope from the side table and tossed it in front of Bianca.
"If you want to destroy her permanently, use this. It's much cleaner than having her killed."
With trembling hands, Bianca opened the envelope.
Inside was a stack of documents. The first page showed Juliana's photo—from seven years ago, young and fresh-faced.
She flipped through quickly. Biographical information, family background, nothing special. Until she reached the middle section. A printed screenshot of a chat log made her pause.
Then her eyes locked onto a name.
—Logan Sharp.
The document stated that Juliana's first love was Lucas's brother, Logan.
Bianca's mind buzzed.
Blood rushed to her head in an instant, then froze to ice the next second.
She understood now.
She finally understood what Ashley meant.
Lucas hated deception and betrayal above all else. If he discovered that the woman he treasured, the woman whose heart held a "first love," that first love was his good-for-nothing half-brother...
What a spectacular scene that would be.
Jealousy, suspicion, brothers turning against each other... She wouldn't need to do anything more. They'd tear each other apart on their own.
Bianca slowly lifted her head, tear stains still fresh on her face. "Thank you, Mrs. Sharp. I know what to do now."
……
The engagement party.
Juliana wore a custom-made silver-white mermaid gown, the train studded with tiny diamonds that flowed like a river of stars under the shifting lights.
"The zipper seems stuck." She turned sideways, speaking to the man adjusting her train behind her.
Lucas stepped forward. His warm fingertips touched her bare back, sending a subtle tremor through her.
His movements were gentle, slowly pulling the zipper upward.
Suddenly, his fingers stopped.
Just below her left shoulder blade, his fingertip had found a slightly raised scar.
"What's this?"
Juliana's body went rigid.
It was an old scar, faded almost invisible, but still detectable to the touch.
She didn't want to answer.
It was a past she never wanted to revisit.
But in her mind flashed those obsessive, crazed eyes on the bridge, and those words: "Let me make you happy. Please?"
She'd already hidden too much from him. The truth about the children, the transaction from seven years ago... these heavy secrets were suffocating her. Perhaps she should try being honest with him about something, even just a little.
"From before."
"How did you get it?" He pressed.
She was silent for a moment before finally speaking.
"I was injured by rebar while saving someone."
"Who?"
Juliana closed her eyes.
"My first love."
Lucas's fingers went rigid.
That small scar suddenly burned under his fingertip.
His expression didn't change. He silently continued pulling the zipper to the top.
"Done."
He stepped back, looking at the radiant woman in the mirror.
"Come down when you're ready. All the guests have arrived."
With that, he turned and walked straight out of the dressing room.
The door closed softly behind him.
Alone in the dressing room, Juliana looked at herself in the mirror, at the exquisitely beautiful gown. Her heart felt inexplicably hollow.
The ballroom glittered with light. Crystal chandeliers refracted brilliant beams as a waltz floated through the air.
As the music ended, Lucas held Juliana's waist, stopping at the center of the dance floor.
Every light and every gaze in the room focused on them.
He took the velvet box from a server's tray and opened it.
The same ring.
After that unpleasant moment in the dressing room, she'd thought he might change his mind.
But he hadn't.
The man's elegant fingers held the diamond ring and, before everyone's eyes, slowly slid it onto her ring finger. The fit was perfect, as if made for her.
Thunderous applause erupted throughout the hall.
Just then, the ballroom's heavy double doors were shoved open from outside.
The sudden commotion drew everyone's attention. All heads turned.
Backlit in the doorway stood a young man, tall and lean, wearing a flashy white suit, a roguish smile playing at his lips.
"Lucas, such a big occasion and you didn't tell me? I thought I'd been disowned by the Sharp family."
That face, that tone...
Juliana's blood froze instantly.
It was him.
Logan.
Her mind went blank. Her body reacted faster than thought. She took an uncontrolled step backward, her heel coming down hard on Lucas's polished dress shoe.
A soft intake of breath came from above.
Juliana snapped back to reality, realizing what she'd done. She looked up at him in panic.
Lucas was looking down at her, his expression unreadable.
His gaze moved past her to the uninvited guest at the door, then slowly returned to her ashen face.
He understood everything now.
That scar. That "first love." The person who could make her lose composure like this.
It was his worthless bastard half-brother.