His mother looked at the Jiang family with a bitter smile.

"To be honest, I am doing this to save the Fu family. I don't want what I’ve worked a lifetime to build to be destroyed by him. Rather than having the two families clash and benefit others, it is better to call a truce here."

She knew clearly that the Jiang family’s thunderous fury had already caused massive losses for both sides in just a single day.

If this continued, it would be bad for both families.

That was why she had rushed over overnight, hoping to find a way to resolve the matter.

Elara’s parents didn't speak for a moment.

Jiang Ziyan spoke first:

"What about Julian?"

His mother said calmly:

"I will make Julian leave the company and find a suitable heir among the collateral branches."

Jiang Ziyan’s eyes were cold and dark:

"You should know how Julian treated our Elara, right? What the Jiang family wants is more than just this."

Before Julian’s mother came, she had gone to see Julian and told him about the decision to compensate the Jiang family.

She thought of Julian’s remorseful and painful appearance at that moment and gave a bitter smile:

"I know. How you treat him is not something I will interfere with; let it be his atonement."

Elara finally agreed to his mother’s proposal.

After all, from childhood to adulthood, before and after the marriage, his mother had always been very kind to her.

She hated Julian, but she didn't direct her anger at his mother.

In front of the Jiang family, Julian’s mother had the company release a statement, announcing the decision that Julian would no longer be the president of the Fu Corporation from that day on.

Elara left the matter to Jiang Ziyan to handle, while she planned to go abroad for a vacation for a while.

She was physically and mentally exhausted and didn't want to get entangled with Julian anymore.

However, before she could depart the next day, Julian had already rushed to the gates of the Jiang residence.

Accompanying him was Chloe.

In the past, when Julian visited the Jiang residence, it was as natural as entering his own home.

The Jiang family, from top to bottom, had been extremely close to him.

The old maid of the Jiang family had even watched him and Elara grow up.

Now, the moment he appeared, everyone looked at him with hostile eyes. Bodyguards walked out of the Jiang residence and guarded the gate tightly, refusing to let him take even half a step inside.

This earth-shattering change made Julian feel even more pain in his heart.

He looked up toward the direction of Elara’s room in the villa.

At this moment, Elara also heard the commotion downstairs, standing by the window looking out, and saw him at a glance.

The two locked eyes, and Julian felt as if he were remembering the past.

In the past, before the Fu family moved to another district, the two families lived right next door.

He often came to the Jiang residence to look for Elara.

Sometimes they would arrange to go out together, and Elara would be ready early, waiting for him by the window.

When he arrived at the door, she would be the first to see him, and the moment she saw him, her eyes would instantly sparkle.

Within three minutes, he would hear the sound of quick footsteps.

Before long, she would fly out of the house like a butterfly and land in his arms.

And now, the two of them were looking at each other from afar, just as they had in the past.

There was not a hint of joy in Elara’s eyes, only coldness and heartlessness.

She looked down at him from her height, her gaze more aloof and indifferent than if she were looking at a stranger.

Julian’s heart ached beyond measure, and he murmured her name: "Elara..."

Chapter 18

In just two short days, he no longer held the confident, composed demeanor he once possessed.

He hadn’t slept for two full days, and his eyes were now bloodshot and exhausted.

The moment he saw Elara, his eyes reddened.

Thinking of the suffering she had endured, thinking of her being sent into surgery to terminate their child…

Julian raised his hand abruptly and slapped himself hard across the face.

In the next second, he turned around and dragged Chloe out from the car.

Chloe’s hair was disheveled, her face bruised and swollen, appearing utterly wretched.

The moment Julian’s hand reached toward her, she shrieked in terror:

"No! Don't hit me! I was wrong! I truly know I was wrong! Please, don't hit me anymore! I beg you!"

She struggled frantically, no longer showing a shred of her former arrogance.

Before Julian could hold her back, she knelt directly on the ground and began kowtowing toward Julian and the Jiang residence.

With the force she used, her forehead was cut by the gravel within just a few knocks.

Yet, she dared not stop, kowtowing desperately.

At the thought of everything that happened in the hospital, Chloe’s eyes were filled with horror and fear.

She had been knocked unconscious by Julian just like that.

Her child had been kicked until it was forcibly aborted.

And that wasn't all; while she was on the operating table suffering a massive hemorrhage, Julian had ordered the doctor to remove her uterus.

She would never be able to conceive again in this lifetime!

Julian was a madman, a complete and utter lunatic!

Never had Chloe regretted provoking him more than at this moment.

Julian watched her kowtowing with cold eyes, ignoring her, and raised his voice toward the direction of the Jiang house:

"Elara, I already know everything Chloe did. Don't worry, for every time she hurt you, I will return that torment to her tenfold, even a hundredfold!"

"She drove you to despair and caused you to lose our child, so I have made her lose her child, and I had the doctor remove her uterus! She will never have the chance to use her womb to harm anyone else ever again!"

"Elara, tell me what else you want me to do to her so you can vent your anger, and I will definitely do it!"

Watching Chloe apologize like a maniac at the gate, Elara calmed down quickly after a brief moment of surprise.

She felt no pity for Chloe’s fate, nor did she feel a shred of satisfaction from Chloe’s misery.

She had only one thought: She deserves it!

She remembered clearly how Chloe used to make arrogant remarks and provoke her again and again.

Seeing Elara remained silent, Julian’s eyes grew even redder.

He looked up at her, his eyes filled with guilt, remorse, and lingering affection.

A myriad of complex emotions drowned him.

"Elara, I know, you don't actually hate Chloe; you hate me! The one who hurt you the most is me."

"I shouldn't have listened to her words, shouldn't have been stupid enough to hurt you for her sake… I truly regret it…"

"I really know I was wrong, Elara, please, forgive me one last time, won't you? I swear, this is the last time!"

"You can make me do anything; I really cannot live without you…"

Julian’s voice was hoarse and painful, filled with endless, humble begging.

Looking at his pained and pleading appearance, Elara vaguely remembered the past, and she raised a hand, pressing it gently against her heart.

Once, when she saw Julian begging for mercy, she would feel heart-wrenching pain and sadness.

But now, seeing him in such a humble state, she felt no trace of being moved.

When she loved him, she couldn't bear to see him suffer the slightest grievance.

Now that she no longer loved him, no matter how humbly he begged, she remained indifferent.

Julian had once said he would never beg for her forgiveness like a dog again.

Elara smiled slowly; now, even if he were truly begging for her forgiveness like a dog, she would never turn back.

In an instant, Elara’s gaze turned completely cold.

Without so much as a glance at Julian, who was still begging bitterly at the gate, she reached up and pulled the curtains shut, blocking him from her sight.

Julian felt a sharp pain in his heart, his voice shrill and desperate: "Elara!"

Just as Elara pulled the curtains closed, the gates of the Jiang residence opened, and Jiang Ziyan walked out slowly.

Chapter 19

He glanced at Chloe, who was kneeling on the ground, and shifted his gaze to Julian.

Jiang Ziyan gave the bodyguards a look:

"What are you standing there for? Take this 'Ms. Chloe' away and give her a proper reception."

"The Jiang family’s grudges must be settled by the Jiang family ourselves."

"My sister, Jiang Ziyan’s sister, I will spoil her myself!"

"Whatever this Chloe did to my sister, you return the favor well!"

The bodyguards nodded immediately, stepping forward to grab Chloe on both sides, dragging her toward another villa owned by the Jiang family.