5
When Julian woke up, he sat on the bed in a daze for a long time, I asked Mr. Thome, “What is he even thinking? He looks like he has early–onset dementia,
“Mr. Thorne stroked his chin. “He’s probably so confused he can’t distinguish reality from illusion. He probably thinks he’s still dreaming.”
I was speechless, wanting to slap Julian awake. That day, after Julian tossed the red envelope into my lap, my obsession unexpectedly vanished.
Of course, it wasn’t that I accepted Julian would only choose Chloe over me. It was that I finally realized I didn’t need to be obsessed with Julian,
My love for Julian had always been tainted with deep guilt.
Even though my mother took the $50,000, and I knew nothing about it, the money was indeed used for my mother. My mother and I both genuinely benefited from that money.
It also turned Julian from a pampered young master into a penniless nobody.
So, I worked hard, doing my utmost to give Julian a better life.
When Julian needed capital to start his business, and he refused my help, I could only anonymously transfer my savings to him to support his venture.
I always thought that if I could one day pay back the $50,000, would I have the courage to tell Julian the truth? But later, his hatred was so intense it choked back every word I tried
to say.
After my obsession dissolved, what I understood least was how I had endured all those years. Why could 1, because of my love for Julian, put myself in such a humble position?
It wasn’t until I followed Mr. Thorne to the Underworld and saw my mother stand by the River of Oblivion and offer a deep bow to me.
“Congratulations, Ghost King, on your return from tribulation.”
Only then did I remember. This was my first trial of love. Even as the Ghost King, I needed
11:34 Sun, 6 Jul
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to understand the eight sufferings of the human world so that my actions wouldn’t be
biased.
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To increase the difficulty of my trial, some had reincarnated as my mother, others as
Julian’s stepmother, and still others as Julian’s parade of mistresses.
All to create countless misunderstandings between Julian and me. I was a little curious.
“Who was Chloe Harper then?”
Mr. Thorne looked a bit helpless. “That girl truly wanted to climb the social ladder.
Everything she did came from her own heart.”
“You are the Ghost King. Even if Anya was just one of your mortal forms, we couldn’t
create a being so similar to you.”
I fell silent. Julian’s mistresses had, more or less, resembled me. Perhaps it was a pair of
eyes, or a nose.
As long as there was some resemblance, Julian would bring them home, showering them
with affection. Only Chloe, she was almost eighty percent similar to me.
But the past was gone. I no longer cared who Julian truly loved.
If he had believed in me even a little, I would have brought him to the Underworld after
his death to be my king consort. He was the one who failed.
Now, all I needed to do was sever the red thread between Julian and me. To untangle our
karmic bond. So, I told Mr. Thorne.
“Restore Chloe Harper’s memories.”
Chloe was initially gloating over my death, thinking that with me gone, she could finally
marry Julian Sterling openly.
But then, images of that otherworldly day and night, of the two dreams, flooded her mind. The smile on her face froze, replaced by sheer terror. She shakily called Julian.
“Julian, Anya really died yesterday, didn’t she? So why did she come back?”
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“Am I hallucinating? Do you still remember Anya?”
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Julian felt a surge of adrenaline, snapping him back to reality. His face showed an excitement he hadn’t anticipated. “You remember Anya too! I knew none of this was fake!”
“If Anya had the power to create dreams like that, maybe she didn’t die at all and is watching us from somewhere!”
Chloe let out a shriek. She kept begging Julian to stop, terrified I would come back to settle scores with her. Julian was bewildered by her scream.
“Why are you so agitated? You never hurt Anya. Even if she wants revenge, it wouldn’t be
you she comes for.” He forced a self–deprecating smile. “If she could come for my life, that would be great.”
“No matter what, at least I could see her one more time.”
Julian seemed to love me so much. The red thread tied to his index finger shimmered,
trying to convey his love for me along the thread into my heart.
I pinched my end of the thread. No matter what, my obsession with Julian had completely vanished. There could be no future for us.
