The vast bedroom was utterly silent.
Niamh stood quietly, while Julian lay so still he might as well have been dead.
When Julian saw her enter, his eyes flickered with a brief light, but the deep hollows in his face only made his gaze seem unsettling.
Niamh poured him a glass of water and gently helped him drink.
The relief to his parched throat finally loosened his tongue.
“They sent you to talk sense into me, didn’t they?”
“Yes,” Niamh admitted without hesitation.
There was no reason to lie to Julian.
A bitter laugh escaped from deep in his chest.
“So, you’re here to convince me to marry Susy as well?”
His gaunt face twisted, dark and frightening.
“I’d rather starve myself than marry her. Why? Why can’t my devotion to you move you?”
“Because I don’t love you.”
Hearing Niamh’s answer again, so blunt and final, Julian’s anger boiled over; he swept his arm across the table, sending everything crashing to the floor. The clatter startled neither of them; the objects missed Niamh entirely and landed at Julian’s own feet.
“You’re cruel, Niamh… Why can’t you love me?”
“Because you’ll never beat Jonathan.”
At her words, Julian’s face went pale.
“So it’s Jonathan, isn’t it? You still love him?”
His voice was hoarse, almost pleading.
Niamh didn’t answer.
She stood before him, meeting his gaze.
Julian looked up at her, frail and desperate.
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17)
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* 4 +
In his eyes, Niamh looked icy, almost like a stranger.
“Jonathan is the real power behind The Thomas Group. He makes the
decisions–he calls the shots. And you? What do you have? Neville Corporation isn’t in your hands. No one in your family listens to you. Now, you’re barely hanging onto life itself. Tell me, what woman would choose a weak, powerless man like you?”
As soon as she finished, Julian began to cough violently, spots of blood staining his lips.
But Niamh’s expression remained cold, unmoved.
“Julian, this hunger strike of yours–it isn’t some grand gesture of love. It’s just you, indulging in your own self–pity. If you truly cared about me, you’d take control of Neville Corporation. You’d crush The Thomas Group, leave Jonathan with nothing. Only then would you have any right to replace Jonathan in my heart.”
With those words, Niamh turned and walked out of the bedroom
as a backward glance.
so much
Maybe, she thought, that would finally get through to him. Give him something to fight for, a reason to keep living.
As for whether Julian would ever really take down The Thomas Group…
Niamh slowed her steps, shrugged, and smiled to herself.
That would be Jonathan’s problem to worry about.
No sooner had she returned to the living room than Cassidy rushed over and grabbed her arm.
“How is Julian? Did you convince him to eat?”
“I’m not sure…” Niamh shook her head.
“What do you mean, you’re not sure?”
12
”
*
Before Cassidy could get angry, a maid hurried in, breathless with excitement.
“Ma’am! The young master says he wants to eat. He even asked me to make him some ginseng broth to help him recover!”
Cassidy didn’t waste a/second–she pulled the maid off to the kitchen.
Niamh realized there was nothing more she could do for Julian. She’d done all she could.
213
Outside, the night was pitch black.
If she drove back to the city now, she wouldn’t arrive until after midnight.
Without saying goodbye to anyone, Niamh quietly slipped out of the Neville estate.
Back in the living room, Susy, sitting on the sofa, pulled out her phone and sent off a secret message.
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