He walked over to the bed, offering the bowl to her in a tone that carried a rare hint of softness.

Serena didn't even raise her eyelids. With a violent swing of her arm, the porcelain bowl crashed onto the floor, the scalding porridge splashing everywhere and soaking Julian's trousers.

"Take it away! I will never eat anything belonging to a creature like you!"

Her voice was cuttingly cold.

Julian looked at the absolute mess on the floor, a dark shadow crossing his eyes as he gritted his teeth.

He leaned down, violently grabbing Serena by her wrist to forcefully pull her up against the headboard.

"Since you refuse to eat, let's find something else to do."

He began to rip off his own tie.

Panic seized Serena's heart, and she struggled frantically. "Let go of me! Julian, let go!"

Julian turned an entirely deaf ear to her cries, clamping his hand around the back of her head to force his lips onto hers.

Amid the violent struggle, her fingers brushed against the vase on the nightstand. She grabbed it wildly and smashed it hard against the floor.

Shards of glass flew in all directions. She bent down, snatching a razor-sharp piece and pressing it directly against her own throat, a bead of fresh blood instantly seeping through her skin.

"Take another step, and I will die right in front of you!"

Julian froze instantly, his pupils constricting violently.

He backed away step by step, his expression turning entirely hollow.

"Do you loathe me to this extent?" A chaotic mix of agony and resentment flared in his eyes. "You would rather throw away your own life than marry me?"

Serena offered no answer, merely gripping the glass shard firmly as the blood on her neck became increasingly prominent.

Looking at the absolute finality of her stance, Julian’s throat tightened, a bitter smile breaking across his features. "But no matter how much you despise me, we are still getting married. The engagement takes place tomorrow, and I have already notified everyone."

He pulled out his phone and held the screen before her.

Displayed on the interface was Sean's call log—a dense list of missed calls, the latest one timestamped only ten minutes ago.

"Look, he has been looking for you for a very long time."

"But don't you worry, I will live-stream our engagement. I’ll ensure he watches the entire thing with his own eyes, so he can abandon all hope completely."

Chapter 20

The engagement banquet was hosted in the most luxurious grand ballroom in the city.

Julian wore a flawlessly tailored black suit, making his silhouette appear even more striking.

He wrapped his arm around Serena before the flashing lenses of the reporters.

Serena had been drugged in advance, her entire body completely paralyzed and devoid of any strength to resist.

The moment the news broke regarding the engagement of the city's most prominent elite family, the live-stream room erupted into an absolute frenzy, the viewer count rapidly ascending into the millions.

"Julian looks incredibly handsome! That suit is lethal!"

"There were rumors claiming he was just a reckless playboy, but looking at this, he is clearly deeply devoted."

"I'm crying tears of envy. The way he looks at her is filled with nothing but pure affection, this is absolute goals!"

The comments scrolled past relentlessly, filled with admiration and praise.

Serena’s expression remained entirely detached.

Arthur, keeping his voice low at an angle hidden from the camera lenses, hissed, "Put a smile on your face, stop embarrassing the family!"

Serena turned an entirely deaf ear to his command, remaining completely indifferent to the surrounding noise and the focus of the cameras.

Sensing her resistance, Julian turned his head to look at her, a complicated emotion flashing through his eyes before he curved his lips into a warm smile for the cameras, his voice dripping with sweetness.

"Thank you all for arriving to witness the engagement between Serena and myself."

"To be able to make her my wife is the absolute greatest privilege of my life. For the remainder of my days, I will expend every resource to shield her, treating her with total devotion for the rest of our lives, never failing her."

The chat section was instantly flooded with messages celebrating their affection.

Right at that moment, a violent commotion erupted at the ballroom entrance.

The crowd was forcefully parted as a middle-aged woman with tangled hair and a manic expression charged inside, a fruit knife gripped firmly in her hand.

"Serena! I am going to kill you!"

The woman’s shriek pierced through the celebratory noise, freezing everyone in their tracks.

Julian’s pupils constricted violently. Driven entirely by instinct, he grabbed Serena and pulled her behind his back, using his own body to shield her completely.

Puff.

The sharp blade plunged directly into Julian’s chest without a single warning. Fresh blood immediately saturated his black suit, dripping down the fabric to splash against the white carpet in a horrific stain.

"Ah!"

The room erupted into sharp screams as the guests scattered in a frantic panic.

Serena was sprayed directly across her face with warm, sticky blood, the thick sensation causing her entire body to lock up.

She stared at the man who had thrown himself in front of her, her mind going completely blank, leaving nothing but the thunderous hammering of her own heart in her ears.

The middle-aged woman glared fixedly at Serena. "You bitch! You ruined my daughter! You destroyed everything I had! I am going to exact vengeance for Mandy!"

The daughter she spoke of was indeed Mandy.

This woman was Mandy’s mother, Vivienne.

Vivienne paid no heed to Julian, who had collapsed onto the floor, lunging directly at Serena once more.

Serena possessed no strength to evade the attack, pinned down as she crashed heavily onto the marble floor, the back of her head striking the stone.

Before she could recover her breath, a pair of hands clamped firmly around her throat.

Vivienne’s eyes were completely bloodshot, her face twisted with a lethal mania as she put all her weight into crushing Serena's neck.

"Die! Go to hell and answer for my daughter's life!"

A suffocating darkness swamped her senses, her hands and feet thralling weakly in a futile struggle.

The scene before her began to rapidly lose its color, the brilliant crystal chandeliers blurring into distorted halos until she plunged entirely into a vast, borderless void.

Why could she no longer see anything?

Just as she believed she was about to be strangled to death, a frantic sequence of footsteps approached, followed by a heavy impact and a woman's agonizing shriek.

The crushing weight around her throat vanished instantly. Fresh air flooded her lungs, causing Serena to break into a violent fit of coughing.

A pair of warm, solid arms gently gathered her up, a familiar scent enveloping her senses.

"Serena! Serena, look at me!"

Sean's voice was packed with terror as his fingers gently brushed against her blood-stained cheek. "Don't be scared, I'm here. It's over."

Amid the dark, she could clearly detect a frantic dragging sound, accompanied by heavy, ragged breathing, the friction of fabric against the stone, and the distinct sound of liquid dripping.

It was blood.

"Serena..."

Julian’s voice came through incredibly weak, completely broken. "Where are you? Are you alright?"

The wound in his chest was still spilling blood, every single crawl dragging him through agonizing pain, yet he didn't dare let himself lose consciousness.

Sean wanted to stop him, but Julian used the absolute last of his strength to shove him aside.

He crawled all the way to Serena’s side, his blood-soaked hand trembling violently as he reached out, wanting to touch her yet terrified of causing her pain, leaving his palm suspended helplessly in the air.

"Serena?"

Serena’s body began to shiver violently, tears spilling uncontrollably down her face.

She opened her mouth, her voice cracking. "I... I can't see... I can't see anything at all..."

Chapter 21

Those words were like a massive hammer smashing squarely into Julian’s heart.

His entire body went completely rigid, every drop of color draining from his face.

The sounds of screaming and colliding furniture blurred together, and after an unknown amount of time, the paramedics finally arrived on scene.

Sean held the completely limp Serena, his voice shaking as he bellowed at the medical team, "Hurry! She can't see anything, and she struck her head!"

On the other side, the wound in Julian’s chest was still pouring blood.

As he was lifted onto a separate stretcher, he gripped the paramedic's hand with a white-knuckled intensity. "Serena... how is she? Ensure nothing happens to her..."

Vivienne had long since been pinned to the floor by the security guards, the fruit knife stripped from her hand, yet she continued to screech maniacally.

"I am going to kill her! Exact vengeance for Mandy!"

Several officers stepped forward quickly, snapping handcuffs around her wrists and forcefully dragging her into the police cruiser.