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Chapter 53 She’s Dead
“Julia? What brings you here?” Carter furrowed his eyebrow, confusion was evident in his expression.
But the same question was on the tip of Julia’s tongue. ‘Does he live here now?”
No matter how Julia racked her brain, she couldn’t recall Carter having a place in this neighborhood. But by the looks of it, Unit 91 seemed to be his.
And then it hit Julia like a brick- Carter and Vivien were about to seal the deal.
‘Could this be their marital home?‘
Thinking about this, Julia couldn’t help but laugh at herself.
‘Oh, Julia…‘
Julia and Carter had grown up side by side, a pair of childhood sweethearts. She even believed he was her entire world. But the way he treated Vivien now than he did to her was like comparing day and night.
Setting aside her emotional turmoil, Julia composed herself and sarcastically replied, “Why? You can live here, and I can’t?”
Under Julia’s laser–focused stare, Carter felt kinda squirmy but couldn’t put his finger on why. Just then, Vivien cleared her throat and chimed in. “Heard you got kicked out by your family, Julia. Let me guess… you’re homeless, so you sold your body to survive. Depending on a sugar daddy, is it?”
Vivien’s words hit Carter hard, making his eyes widen with disgust and disbelief as he stared at Julia.
Then, he remembered that fancy party thrown by the Scott family. The crowd that night was like a who’s who of high society, and Julia was right in the mix.
Carter briefly considered whether Julia desperately climbed the social ladder, but that idea just breezed through his mind. Considering the years they shared, Carter believed he knew Julia well – she’d done some things for him and made sacrifices she probably wished she hadn’t, so he never even considered she could sell herself out so completely.
As for the guy Julia kissed that night at the party, Carter suspected she hired him to mess with his head for some drama. But now, he couldn’t help but wonder.
‘Can Julia go that far? Did she really sell herself?‘
“Vivien, you can’t really filter your words, can you? Why? Have you ever seen me with a sugar daddy?” Julia fired back, shooting Carter and Vivien a look that could cut through anything.
Pretentious and ever–ready, Vivien’s eyes started to well up, tears threatening to spill over.
“No, I’m sorry. I was just guessing,” Vivien put on a pitiful act.
“Guessing? Vivien, don’t you know baseless claims can throw someone to the wolves of public opinion?” Julia’s tone was as cold as ice.
Humiliated, Vivien’s voice shook as she apologized, “Yeah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I…..”
“Enough!” Carter yelled as he yanked Vivien into a tight hug, his eyes locked onto Julia with
Chapter 53 She’s Dead
palpable anger.
“You’re as nasty as ever, Julia! Vivien was just worried about you. If you can’t appreciate kindness, that’s on you. But why the hell are you coming at us with all this aggression? What happened to the chill version of you we used to know? Where’d she disappear to?”
Carter’s intense, low growl made Julia feel like he was stabbing her heart.
“The old me?” Julia scoffed, her smile gradually vanishing, replaced by a frosty attitude. “She’s dead.”
She said two words, and the room went eerily quiet.
Seeing Carter’s stunned gaze fixed on Julia filled Vivien’s eyes with a hint of cruelty and jealousy.
Shifting her gaze from Carter to Julia, she said, “Julia, I’m sorry for what I did to you, but I can’t help how I feel about Carter. I can’t live without him. Call me selfish, but I do genuinely hope things work out for you in the future.”
Vivien’s words seemed sincere and kind on the surface, but Julia knew there was an underlying meaning to that: Carter and Julia were not a match made in heaven.
“Is that so? Well then, thanks for that. Carter might be right – you sure are one hell of a kind soul,” Julia retorted with a smile, her demeanor all friendly on the outside, but her eyes weren’t dancing to the same tune.
Vivien was all aware of that.
Julia would’ve exploded and called her out if they were in the past. Back then, Vivien purposely pushed Julia’s buttons to make her lose her cool in front of Carter, so the latter wouldn’t like her
anymore.
But this Julia, the one standing before her now, was on another wavelength. Ever since that messed–up hospital encounter where Julia put her through the wringer, Vivien had always felt Julia had changed.
It was a 180–degree shift that took Vivien by surprise and left her completely baffled.
Just like now, Julia played her cards so well that Vivien didn’t know how to fight back.
Just when she thought Julia was done, the latter went on. “Anyway, you’re tying the knot on the 18th, right? Well, guess what? It’ll be on the very same hotel where Carter and I were supposed to tie the knots too.”
Julia’s words hit Carter and Vivien like a surprise wave, causing their expressions to shift almost simultaneously.
“I wish you both well. And- oh! I’ll come to your big day and shower you with my blessings,” Julia announced with a cheeky grin.
Carter narrowed his eyes, shooting a skeptical glance at Julia. “What are you up to, Julia?”
“Chill, Carter. Why so tense? Can’t your ex spread some love?” Julia mocked, imitating Vivien’s signature style and giving her best puppy–dog eyes.
Vivien, on the other hand, had been keeping a close watch on Carter, and right now, she could sense his uncertainty hanging in the air.
Truth be told, Vivien had always felt like she was playing catch–up compared to Julia.
Julia and Carter had history, and on top of that, Julia had once saved Carter’s skin. Of course,
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Chapter 53 She’s Dead
those were advantages Vivien couldn’t lay claim to. So the more she thought about it, the heavier the pressure weighed on her.
Now, she only had one card left to play.
Vivien glanced at the sun, then faked a feeble closure of her eyes. What followed was a series of graceful sways, like a leaf taking its final dive during autumn.
Just when she was about to execute her graceful tumble, an unexpected “thud” reverberated through her ears, jolting her back to attention.
When she looked forward, she could only stand frozen in shock.
Right there, she saw Julia crumpling to the ground, one step ahead of her.
