The couple looked at each other in confusion.

"Julian, the Sterlings immigrated to Spain a month ago. Didn't you know? I thought Selina had already told you."

The word "immigrated" felt like a bomb going off in Julian’s head.

He never imagined the Sterlings would actually move away!

And that it happened a whole month ago!

Mr. and Mrs. Thorne weren't sure what was happening, but seeing him in a daze, they tried to push him toward the front hall, nagging incessantly.

"The ceremony is starting any second. What are you staring at? Nothing is more important than the wedding right now. We can talk about this when we get back."

Julian’s face turned several shades paler; he couldn't hear a word they said.

He held up his phone blindly, hearing Mr. Sterling’s voice still saying "Hello? Hello?" through the receiver. He latched onto it like a final hope.

"Uncle, is Selina there? Can you give her the phone? I have something to say."

After a flurry of background noise, Julian heard Selina’s voice—cold to the extreme.

"If you have something to say, say it quickly. Otherwise, I’m hanging up."

At the same time, the officiant’s voice drifted through the large doors.

"And now, please welcome our groom to the stage!"

Julian was oblivious to it.

His entire world was reduced to the voice in his ear.

"I’m getting married today."

"Congratulations. Is there anything else?"

Her frost-like attitude ignited Julian’s temper. His volume rose significantly.

"I said I'm getting married! Are you deaf?"

The officiant announced the entrance a second time, and his parents were urging him on.

Julian didn't budge an inch. He heard Selina let out a cold scoff.

"What does that have to do with me? Julian Thorne, from this day forward, our paths go separate ways. We are dead to each other."

Chapter 12

With a click, the call was disconnected.

Every guest in the hall looked over with an expression of bewilderment.

Mr. and Mrs. Thorne were as frantic as ants on a hot skillet, trying to talk sense into him.

"The ceremony has started! Julian, what are you doing? Selina and her parents aren't coming to the wedding, and they aren't coming back to the country. Why are you making things difficult? Get in there!"

"On the day they left, we called you dozens of times to come back for a farewell dinner, and you didn't pick up once! What's the point of being frantic now? Finish the wedding first. In a while, we can all go to Spain together, and you can explain things to your Uncle Sterling then."

Every word felt like hot oil being poured onto Julian’s heart.

The realization that the possibility of seeing Selina again was now infinitesimal made even his hands shake.

The officiant prompted for the third time, but Julian made no move to enter. Instead, he began redialing the number.

A recorded message informing him the phone was powered off made him even more irritable. He started calling Selina’s number.

This time it wasn't powered off, but a busy signal informed him that he had been added to her blacklist.

As the realization hit him, the veins on his forehead throbbed. He opened WeChat and sent several messages.

A string of "Message failed to send" notifications and a screen full of red exclamation marks became the scythe that cut down Julian’s last shred of hope.

He turned to walk out, only to run into Nina, dressed in her wedding gown, at the exit.

She stared at him, her eyes filled with confusion and urgency.

"The officiant has called for you three times already. Julian, why haven't you come out?"

Facing her questioning, Julian’s speech became incoherent.

"I... I have something I need to take care of first. Can we... can we postpone the wedding for a few days?"

Nina’s face darkened instantly.

She let go of her skirt, her gaze turning icy.

"Without any reason? Why postpone it? Is it that you don't want to marry me?"

Before Julian could speak, Mr. Thorne rushed to answer for him.

"No, Nina. Julian just heard the news of Selina immigrating and is having a hard time accepting it. Give him a moment to recover, and he'll be fine."

Hearing this, Nina understood exactly what he wanted to "take care of."

The rage that had been building in her heart erupted, and she lost her composure, screaming at him.

"You want to postpone our wedding for Selina Sterling? Julian Thorne, have you lost your mind? I’m telling you now—if you dare take one step out of this hotel today, we are finished!"

Chapter 13

Julian finally regained a shred of sanity and hurriedly tried to explain.

"Nina, I just wanted to ask her why she suddenly immigrated. Just give me a moment..."

But Nina had completely lost control of her emotions.

She couldn't stop herself from raising her hand and slapping him across the face, her eyes rimmed with red.

"You were the one who said you’d loved me for eight years, yet you’re the one running away from our wedding! You told me you only saw Selina as a sister, but you’ve been sleeping with her for all these years! Julian Thorne, is there a single word of truth in your mouth?"

In an instant, the room fell into a heavy silence.

Mr. and Mrs. Thorne stared at their son in utter disbelief.

Nina’s father, standing nearby, was red-faced with fury. He delivered another harsh slap to Julian’s face before leading his daughter away.

This time, no one moved to stop them.

Julian was knocked to the ground by the force of the blow. His face swelled, his head spun, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Yet, as if he couldn't feel the physical pain, he stared blankly at the retreating backs of the Nina’s family.

Until they vanished completely behind the doors, he didn't utter a single word to ask them to stay.

Was he unable to speak, or did he simply not want to?

Even he didn't know the answer.

The wedding had ended before it even had a chance to begin.

That same evening, the Nina’s family returned all the dowry gifts and announced the formal severance of ties between the two families.

The Thorne’s living room, still adorned with "Double Happiness" decorations, looked festive, yet it was filled with a deathly silence.

Julian sat alone on the sofa, gazing out the window at the pitch-black villa next door.

Flashbacks filled his mind, and without exception, every single one involved Selina.

Holding hands while swinging in the garden at age five or six; acting as her model in their early teens, watching her hand-draw his likeness; and the countless kisses and embraces after they reached adulthood...

They had been intimate best friends for eighteen years, only to become secret lovers overnight.

"Lovers"—what an ill-fitting word.

Yet Julian could only use that term to describe these past five years.

She wasn't his girlfriend, yet everything they did went far beyond the boundaries of friendship.

The sweet nothings and declarations of love he had casually tossed out in bed to set the mood had, unbeknownst to him, long since etched themselves into his heart.

When a lie is told often enough, one slowly begins to believe it.

It was just that he had never realized it until now.

It was only after losing her completely that Julian finally understood his own heart.

He did like Nina.

But during the years she was gone, that "like" had slowly mutated into an obsession.

The obsession with what he couldn't have blinded him, leading him to believe he remained steadfast in his devotion.

But under the slow immersion of time, he had actually fallen for Selina.

That was why he felt rage when she grew distant, why his soul shook when he heard her admit her feelings, and why he panicked when he realized she had left.

Compared to winning Nina, the prospect of losing Selina forever was something Julian could never accept.

If he had to choose between the two, there would only be one answer.

He wanted Selina to stay by his side.

He couldn't imagine what his life would become without her.

Good wine would have no one to share it with; strange thoughts would find no resonance; and the hundreds of things he said over and over again would have no one left to understand them.

The only person who truly knew him was thousands of miles away across the ocean, and all contact had been severed.

The mere thought made Julian shiver.

So, upon hearing that the Nina’s family wanted to call off the engagement, his first reaction was, surprisingly, a sense of relief.

Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Thorne were still reeling from the shock. They stared at him for a long time before finally gathering the courage to ask.

"Nina said that you and Selina..."

The secret he had kept hidden for so long was finally out in the open. Julian didn't know how to face his parents.