"As compensation, I specifically went to consult a doctor. A vegetative patient needs stimulation to have any chance of waking up. How about that? Don't you think my method is excellent?"

Looking at his father being insulted like a plaything,

Julian’s teeth chattered from rage, and he roared until it seemed his eyes would burst.

"You like stimulation, right?"

"Then I’ll make sure you get a good dose of it!"

With that, he reached out and grabbed Lucas’s clothes, intending to tear them off.

But in the next second, a powerful force slammed into his shoulder, knocking him to the floor!

Bang!

He was shoved so hard that he crashed heavily into the two-meter-high human sculpture behind him!

Crack—

He clearly heard the sound of his own bones snapping, and he collapsed powerlessly to the floor, without even the strength to cry for help.

Vivian held Lucas with extreme tenderness, her eyes filled with an all-consuming heartache.

But when she looked at him, her face held only bone-chilling coldness.

"Julian, how many times has this been? Why must you be so disobedient?!"

Julian was about to explain, but when he saw the undisguised loathing and disappointment in her eyes, he felt a lump in his throat.

"Do whatever you want. If you have the ability, just kill me."

"Otherwise, I will never let go of Lucas, that bitch!"

"Enough!"

Vivian barked coldly, the murderous aura surging around her.

"Julian, you only behave this way because you rely on the fact that I can't bear to hurt you. Today, I must teach you a lesson you won't forget!"

Before Julian could react, she grabbed his wrist and forcefully tore the watch from it.

"This man has publicly stolen my property worth eight figures. I want to call the police."

Julian felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning, his mind going blank.

Everyone said that the heiress of the Lin family was ruthless and vicious.

Only when facing him would she rarely show a hint of gentleness.

Once, he had believed it deeply, thinking he was the eternal exception.

But until this moment, she had used those disgusting tactics she once reserved for enemies against him.

She had completely forgotten the oath of eternal loyalty she made when she personally fastened this custom-made watch onto his wrist.

The police car arrived quickly.

As the handcuffs were locked around his wrists, Vivian called out to stop him, her voice tinged with helpless indulgence.

"Julian, don't blame me. I’m doing this for your own good."

"When you get out, I will say nothing regardless of how you want to vent your anger."

Julian didn't answer; he only curled his lips in self-mockery.

He found this love—giving a slap and then a sweet date—utterly disgusting.

Late at night, he had just finished tidying his bedding and was preparing to sleep.

Suddenly, a slippery, icy sensation touched him from beneath!

Julian’s eyes snapped open, and he discovered that, at some point, several venomous snakes with flicking tongues had appeared in his bed!

Chapter 7

"Ah—"

He turned pale with fright and scrambled to stand up and escape.

But someone shoved him hard, pinning him to the floor, unable to move.

"Stay still!"

The leading woman spat on him, her tone mocking.

"We’re just hired help. Someone paid a high price for us to give you a good 'lesson.' We brothers have no choice either!"

Julian’s breath hitched. After a long while, a hoarse laugh spilled from his throat, and silent tears hammered onto the floor.

Vivian, oh Vivian, your heart is truly cruel...

For the next few days, those women tortured him in every way they could think of.

They forced him to eat their leftover rotten food, drink dirty water from the toilet, and kept him awake all night.

By the time he came out.

Julian was so thin he was barely recognizable, covered in injuries.

But he had no time to grieve, and even less time to hate; he only wanted to take his father and leave this place immediately.

He took a taxi and sprinted to the hospital.

But as soon as he entered the ward, he saw several medical staff preparing to wheel his father out.

"What are you doing?!"

Julian didn't care about anything else and rushed in immediately.

The nurse looked at him up and down with contempt, her tone mocking.

"You can't pay the medical fees and yet you want to discharge the patient? Do you think the hospital is your home? You’ve really got some nerve!"

Overdue fees...

Julian’s mind went blank; he didn't understand what had happened.

Just then, his father’s assistant walked in with a cold expression.

"Young Master, the video of you and Mr. Lucas arguing at the gallery has been posted online, and some of your past inappropriate remarks have been dug up. Now, the entire internet is saying that Mr. Lucas is a mistress."

"The Madam has given orders: the moment you clarify things is the moment your father’s medical fees will be paid."

"You're dreaming!"

Julian’s teeth chattered with rage, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"The Madam said you are free to refuse."

The assistant’s expression remained rigid, but her voice carried an undeniable threat.

"However, you are aware of your father’s condition. Without these machines, he won't last even five minutes."

"Whether to save him or not, that is for you to decide."

Julian stopped looking at her and pulled out his own card to hand to the nurse.

"I have money. I can still pay for my father’s treatment."

But after swiping over a dozen cards, the staff all looked at him with embarrassed expressions.

"Sorry, Mr. Julian, all the cards under your name have been frozen. You can't swipe a single cent now..."

Julian’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the cards.

The assistant raised her hand to call for the bodyguards.

"Do it!"

Seeing his father about to be thrown out like garbage.

Julian’s clenched fists loosened as if all strength had drained from them, and he took a deep breath.

"I agree."

Numbly, he walked to the press conference, his voice as hoarse as if it had been ground by sandpaper.

"Lucas is not a mistress. It was my jealousy, my greed for the family assets, that led me to deliberately concoct those rumors."

"It was all my fault..."

He mechanically and numbly kept bowing and knocking his head against the floor.

The crowd below was indignant; extremists among the crowd picked up rotten vegetables and foul eggs and hurled them at him.

Julian just stood there, straight, not dodging, not defending himself.

He kept telling himself in his mind.

Just a little longer. Just for a while, and all of this will be over for good.

But in the chaos, a drunk, bloated woman smiled with a lecherous expression.

"To deal with a cheap slut who uses any means necessary, we need something a little different!"

As she spoke, she reached out those greasy hands and reached toward Julian.

Julian’s pupils dilated; he had no time to dodge.

In a flash of lightning, a powerful force pulled him aside, shielding him behind a back.

Chapter 8

She locked eyes with Vivian, whose gaze was trembling with anxiety.

After carefully checking to confirm he was unhurt, she sighed in relief. She reached out to gently wipe the dampness from the corner of his eyes, her voice still laced with lingering fear.

"Julian, I’m here. Don't be afraid."

With that, she signaled the bodyguards to kick the fat woman flying to the ground, her eyes brimming with bloodthirsty malevolence.

"You dare to lay a hand on my husband? Are you tired of living?"

"Someone, take her back and make sure she sobers up properly!"

The crowd was so terrified by these words that they scattered in an instant.

Only he and Vivian remained in the hall.

Julian braced himself, intending to return to the hospital to see his father.

But from behind came a voice devoid of any warmth.

"Julian, actually, it was I who suggested to your mother-in-law that she threaten you with your father's medical expenses, and it was I who cut off your bank cards."

"Even that woman who just tried to molest you was someone I hired."

Julian froze mid-step, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. His entire body felt as though it had been filled with shards of ice, and even his bones ached with the cold.

It took a long time before he could hear his own voice, trembling and hoarse.

"Why?"

Vivian sighed, her voice tinged with a hint of helplessness.

"Although that kidnapping incident last time had nothing to do with you, your temper is too volatile. Who could guarantee that you wouldn't do something rash in the future? Lucas and the children can’t afford that risk, so I had no choice but to break your spirit a little—"