CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 35: SO THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE WHEN YOUR HEART IS TRULY DEAD

Juliana felt a sudden sinking feeling in her heart, a sense of foreboding rushing over her.

She saw Stella squatting beside the sewer cover, tightly pressing a small crumpled transparent bag against the circular openings of the cover.

"If you harm my brother again, I’ll throw this in!" Her voice was laced with sobs.

"No, don’t!"

Juliana tried to rush forward but was forcefully held back by someone.

In the scuffle, Stella let go of her hand.

The transparent bag silently fell into the pitch-black sewer, disappearing instantly without a trace.

Juliana’s eyes widened, too shocked to speak.

The three men in black, having achieved their goal, turned to run.

Evan reacted swiftly, immediately subduing two of them, but unfortunately let one escape.

"You fool!"

Juliana stomped her foot angrily.

Stella was so frightened by the angry shout that she trembled all over, her lips turning an unnatural shade of blue.

"I... I was just scared..." Her breathing became rapid, "I couldn’t let them harm you and my brother..."

"Don’t be harsh on her!"

Evan quickly took out his phone from the car, and seeing the situation, immediately embraced Stella to protect her.

"Are you okay?"

He smoothly switched between gentleness and fierceness in a heartbeat.

Juliana watched his worried expression and suddenly smiled.

So this is what it feels like when the heart is completely numb.

Stella clutched Evan’s lapel, collapsing into his embrace and sobbing, "Brother, I’m really scared... scared you’ll get hurt, scared for your wife..."

"Say no more, I understand, just calm down."

Evan gently patted her back, comforting her while sending messages.

Once Stella had calmed down, he finally looked at Juliana.

Juliana was squatting by the sewer cover, her fingers futilely picking at the small holes, her thin silhouette curled into a small ball.

Evan suddenly remembered, she was actually the most timid one.

The woman who used to cling to his arm and whisper "let’s go quickly" whenever they saw dogs fighting during their walks, was now keeping her distance from him...

Soon, Ethan arrived with reinforcements.

The two men in black were taken away.

Stella couldn’t part from Evan; she would tremble all over if she left him.

Helplessly, Evan looked at Juliana, "We’ll talk when we get home."

Juliana ignored him, stood up, and was about to leave.

"Juliana, stop being sulky."

Evan was slightly annoyed.

Juliana’s gaze at him was indifferent, devoid of warmth.

"The evidence is gone, I’m perfectly safe now, going home at this point won’t it disturb you?"

Having said that, she turned and left.

Evan wanted to go after her but Stella clung to his clothes, and he could only watch her silhouette disappear into the alley.

Juliana went to the mall restroom, washed her face, and tidied her clothes. A cleaning lady hurried in, took a small transparent bag from her pocket.

"Here, for you."

Juliana turned with a smile and took it.

"Thank you, ma’am."

She handed her five banknotes.

The cleaning lady grinned from ear to ear, "No problem, just let me know if you need help next time."

Just sending a text earned her five hundred, keeping something safe for a while was another five hundred; more jobs like this the better.

Juliana drove out of the underground parking lot and went to Aetherflame Dynamics.

Summer hadn’t finished work yet, and was a bit surprised to see her return at this time.

"I texted Evan an hour after you left, didn’t he come looking for you?"

"He did, came with his sister, then flaunted their affection in front of me."

Summer clicked her tongue, but Juliana’s reaction was very calm.

She handed over the transparent bag containing the battery fragments, "Nearly lost my life for this tonight, keep it safe for me."

Summer took it, "Is it that person from the studio who tried to kill you last time?"

Juliana shook her head, "I’m sure the one who ran me off the pier and tried to throw me out the window at the studio is the same person, but none of the three tonight matched him."

That person should have left a scar on the back of his hand.

"If you divorce Evan, you won’t have to be the target drawing fire anymore?" Summer asked.

Juliana nodded.

"Then it’s almost done."

Summer was eager to see what big gift Juliana would give to that scumbag Evan on their four-year wedding anniversary.

...

When Juliana returned to Platinum Bay, Evan was waiting for her in the living room.

Unexpectedly, Stella was nowhere in sight, which was unusual.

When Evan saw her enter, he was about to speak, but she bypassed him and went to the kitchen.

The man’s Adam’s apple moved, suppressing the thought of calling her back, and he followed her.

Juliana opened the refrigerator, poured out a box of ice cubes, and wrapped them in a towel to apply to her face.

"Are you hurt?"

Evan reached out to check her face, but Juliana turned three meters away from him.

Evan dropped his hand and sighed, "Tonight I was supposed to take Stella to see the therapist, but then I got a message from your friend, I couldn’t just leave her."

With the ice on her face, Juliana’s lashes didn’t even flutter, nor did she deign to give him a glance.

Evan was provoked by her lack of emotion.

"She is ill, can’t you be understanding of her?"

Juliana was amused by his words and slowly lifted her eyelids.

"I’m just the scapegoat you use to draw fire, I bear all the danger for her, isn’t that enough, now you want me to smile while watching you two hugging, believing in your ridiculous explanations..."

Juliana’s hand on the towel grew pale from her grip.

"... Evan Grant, what do I owe you?"

Evan was stabbed by her words, his brow furrowing, "Who said you’re a scapegoat?"

A faint chill spread from the corner of Juliana’s eyes, "Four times I’ve walked the edge of death, tell me, were those all accidents?"

Evan opened his mouth, but his throat felt blocked, unable to voice anything.

For the first time, Juliana saw a powerless expression on his handsome face, her heart stirring with a hundred sentiments.

"Evan Grant, no matter what you think of me, I did love you, and I don’t want that love to turn into hate. Let’s not quarrel, let me go, let’s be peaceful..."

Before Juliana could finish, Evan pulled her into his arms.

He clasped the back of her head, pressing her face into his chest, letting her hear his deafening heartbeat.

"Juliana, if I didn’t love you, could we have gone through four years together? Just hold on a bit longer, Stella will move out tomorrow, and Lily is about to have surgery. After her surgery, I’ll send Stella away, everything will be over, we..."

He struggled to keep his voice steady, but Juliana suddenly retched, raising her hand to push against his chest, forcing him away.

Once the nausea passed, she raised her face, her eyes holding nothing but icy detachment.

"Sorry, I can’t stand the orange scent on you, and you can’t get rid of it, between us..."

It’s over.

She shook her head, turned to leave.

Just as a hint of realization dawned in Evan’s eyes, his phone rang.

It was George calling.

After answering, Evan took her hand.

"Go wake Stella, we’re going to the hospital."

Juliana paused, guessing that Lily’s condition had changed.

Though they were still husband and wife, whether or not it was some old witch’s spell, this trip had to be made.

But going to that woman’s room, she found it disgusting.

So Juliana gave a light laugh, "You’ve already embraced, do you still need to avoid suspicion going to her room?"