Chapter 244 - The Islet Mystery 60

Jullien stood before the mannequin that wore her wedding gown. Made from the finest silk fabrics and embellished with 150 carats of diamonds, it was one of the most expensive gowns that not many brides could afford. It flowed like a goddess dress in its off-shoulder design, and a bodice skimmed to accentuate her chest and waistline. Its mermaid cut would enhance her beautiful and flaunting curves in the h.i.p.s and butt.

Sadly, this gorgeous wedding dress would be worn with a heavy heart. It would have been as perfect as it was if worn for the man she really loved on their wedding day. Yet, on that great day that the world would witness, she would be walking with the man who loved somebody else, and her heart would be screaming for the one she loved. As her fingers traced the soft fabric, big drops of tears flowed in an endless thread from her eyes. Not long after her silent grieving, her shoulders rocked back and forth as she progressed into a bawl.

A tap on her shoulder alerted her to the fact that someone came in. She didn't need to turn her head to know who was there. Only her parents would dare to get inside her room without invitation. Their house helps would only come if summoned.

"Dear, what are those tears for?" a man's voice floated into her ear.

That voice penetrated her heart and stirred the sense of humiliation she kept inside for so long. Instead of answering, she cried harder until her mom guided her to sit on a couch. They gathered together and waited until she would calm down and speak up.

"Tell us, dear, whatever it is that bothers you. We are willing to listen," assured Jullien's mom as she pulled her daughter to lean on her shoulder.

"I want to die, mom, dad," replied Jullien in between her sobs, "anyway, both of you wish for it, do you?"

"Jullien! What are you saying?" snarled Jullien's dad, angry for her disrespectfully accusing them. Never in their whole lives had they heard her speaking against them.

"Don't you, dad, mom?" Jullien retorted, looking straight without fear into their eyes with a soul-piercing look. "You push me to marry the man I can only love as a mere childhood friend. You never even once asked me how I feel. You never even asked if I am happy with your plans. You always say it's for my own good, but in reality, it's for your self-interest."

Jullien's parents stared at each other as if the truth of hurting their only child just occurred to them. If Jullien wanted to kill herself, she could; she's a chemist after all. Jullien was always an obedient child, and their wealth never spoiled her. She never demanded anything, even those fad, and fashion that women at her age desired so much.

"I'd rather die than go for a loveless marriage. Anyone wouldn't jump for joy in sleeping with someone whose thoughts are on someone else," murmured Jullien as she sobbed harder.

"What do you mean? Does Ryan betray you? How could he?" roared Jullien's dad, thinking that Ryan was having an affair with another woman.

Jullien shook her head in disbelief. How could his dad be so insensitive? Though she had never once complained, but it did not mean she agreed on every plan they had for her. Though she was part of the blame for not voicing out her protests earlier, she felt it was pointless against the cruelty of Mr. Te. And she knew very well that whatever Mr. Te said, her parents were like puppets, ever ready to comply. She was afraid, not for herself, but in the anger of Mr. Te against her parents.

"Dad, it's not about Ryan only. He, too, suffers so much about this decision. I just know recently that his dad took away his son from him. Where are your hearts? Do you still have a conscience?"

Jullien poured out his anger and humiliation without caring anymore if that would drive her parents mad. She already had alternative plans; one for Mr. Te, and the other one for herself. If her plan for Mr. Te would not work out, though she could already foresee her success, she would carry out her second move. If it's not Mr. Te, then it would be her; either one of them should see death.

She began to tell them what she knew about Mr. Te, even about the story of Ryan and Shiela that Andy just disclosed to her. Her parents were not oblivious to the evil practices of their friend but to hurt Ryan and his parents, and now his grandson, was already too much for their conscience to keep.

Jullien's mom hugged her tight. She knew how the truth about Ryan's love for Shiela hurt her daughter. She rubbed her back and cried with her, angry that Jullien kept her pain to herself.

"I'm sorry, dear. We are not villains in your life. You are our only princess, and you are precious to our eyes."

Jullien's mom then looked up to her husband and demanded. "Find a way to cancel the wedding!" Then she held Shiela's shoulders at arm's length and said, "We will refund the expenses for your wedding and I don't care if this will affect our partnership."

Jullien heaved out a sigh and held her mom's gaze for a while, taking the courage to speak up. As if her mom understood that she wanted to say something, she urged her to confess.

"You are already wrong for keeping so many things to yourself. Now, speak up." Her father also seconded, and so she got the courage to dip entirely into the water, now that she is drenched.

"Mom, Dad, I still wish to keep the gown, not for Ryan, but Andy..."

She then confessed her relationship with Andy, which started when they were yet in high school until they both took up the same degree in college. She also told them that Andy worked for them in the lab and that they had been living together for so many years. She also confessed that he secretly let her drink the antidote every time she overdose herself with the Chara blooms.

"Where is he now?" Jullien's dad asked; he could not seem to fathom the pain of knowing that the woman he loved would marry someone else.

"I broke up with him two weeks ago, before I came home to prepare for the wedding."

Her parent's eyes widened, their faces reflecting an expression of massive shock.

"And what did he do to stop you?"

"He sets me free. He completely understands me, dad."

"And what did you do?" Jullien's dad got so horrified. If it ever happened to his wife, he couldn't imagine himself breathing anymore.

"I did not stop him, dad, until I can prove myself to him."

"What is your plan, dear?" asked her mom, wondering what was in her mind. 

"I am killing uncle Gerome slowly," she laughed, her mirth gleaming in her eyes.

"What?" her parents chorused, too terrified that their heartbeats stuck in their throats.

Jullien continued to laugh until her tears came streaming down her lovely face. "I really do not kill him. The anti-aging regimen I give him every day has a high dose of Chara blooms, which could cause him irreversible amnesia if not given the antidote."

Jullien then took a deep breath, her smile disappearing in her lips. "I just give him back the doses he gave to Shiela years ago."