Hearing this, I laughed coldly and looked toward Serena. Serena no longer had that aggressive air from before, fists clenched, brows lowered in aggrieved submission. She bit her lower lip in humiliation, her face slightly pale as she spoke. "I'm sorry, first young master. I shouldn't have gotten physical."
I crossed my arms, but didn't call for anyone to throw Serena out. I just said coldly, "I don't need a bodyguard, but I am missing a dog. Are you willing?"
Serena's body trembled. She knew this was me deliberately making things difficult and humiliating her. But after thinking for a long time, she finally chose to kneel on one knee before me. The back that had always been ramrod straight now bowed down. Serena lowered her head, humble for the first time like this.
"As long as I can stay by the first young master's side, I'm willing to play any role."
With that, her dark eyes full of love stole a glance at me. Serena actually still held a sliver of hope in her heart. She thought if she could help me remember the past, I would definitely fall in love with her again. Even if the process was filled with hardship, she wanted to try. She had just mistaken the person. Since I had loved her so much before, it proved the two of us were destined for each other. She just wanted everything to return to its proper course.
The feeling of breaking Serena's proud spine put me in a very good mood. I smiled, and under the sunlight that radiant smile dazzled Serena's eyes.
"I have a party to attend, but I don't want you riding in my car. I don't care how you do it, but if I don't see you at the designated location in ten minutes, expect to be dismissed."
Ignoring the mocking, contemptuous looks from everyone around, after I got in the car, Serena hurriedly stood up and ran after the car without stopping.
I don't know how she did it, but ten minutes later Serena indeed arrived at the private room right on time. She arrived panting heavily, almost drenched in sweat, her neck and face flushed red, completely lacking her previous noble elegance. The moment she opened the door and stepped in, everyone's eyes were drawn to her. Someone recognized Serena and was so shocked they could barely speak.
Serena ignored the strange looks from those around her and walked to my side, bowing respectfully. "First young master."
I lazily half-opened my eyes to glance at her and said, "Kneel."
Serena knelt before me without hesitation. I raised the glass of red wine in my hand and poured its contents all over Serena. Immediately, someone couldn't help but gasp in shock.
The red wine ran down Serena's hair, past her elegant brows, her porcelain-white face, her slightly pale, thin lips. Serena clenched her fists tightly, her body trembling slightly, clearly humiliated and furious to the extreme. Yet she still held back with reddened eyes, carefully asking me, "Is it because I arrived late that you're angry?"
I tossed the empty wine glass aside, laughing mockingly. "I'm not angry. I just despise you. Serena Ashford, why don't you take a look at yourself right now? How pathetic."
Those harsh words turned into steel needles, piercing Serena's heart, reopening wounds that had just healed. The pain made it hard to breathe, but she could only close her eyes and endure, bearing the bitter feeling, her voice slightly trembling.
"The first young master scolds rightly. As long as it makes the first young master happy, I'm willing to do anything. I only hope the first young master can calm his anger."
My eyes were full of disgust and impatience, not understanding why Serena was now putting on this act of being unable to leave me. She was the one who had continuously hurt me before. What was the point of all this now?
I snorted coldly and turned to leave. Serena hurriedly scrambled up from the ground, anxiously following behind me, fulfilling her duties as a bodyguard.
Vivienne was also in the private room. Her presence was very strong, combined with that extremely cold face. No one dared approach. But the moment she saw me, the icy coldness in her eyes melted away, her thin lips unconsciously curving into a smile.
"Julian." She extended her hand toward me.
I walked over and sat beside her. Vivienne naturally took my hand and poured me a glass of wine. "Have a drink."
I was in a pretty good mood today and had been thinking the same thing. But just as the wine was raised, before I could drink it, it was snatched away.
Serena forcibly grabbed the glass while glaring coldly at Vivienne. "He's allergic to alcohol, don't you know? Julian, this woman doesn't love you at all. Why are you with her?"
Serena's eyes were red with worry. Looking at Serena like this, I couldn't help but smile mockingly.
"I've never been allergic to alcohol. The one allergic to alcohol is Dominic. Serena, you see, you claim to love me, yet you can't even remember this correctly."
Serena froze, unconsciously protesting. "How can that be? All those times I went to bars with you, the one allergic to alcohol was clearly—"
Before she could finish, I cut her off impatiently. "But my memory doesn't contain those recollections. Most of the time I was alone, sadly drinking in the bar. Let me guess. It's probably because every time you arrived at the bar with me, Dominic would call you away with some excuse, and you, wholly concerned about his safety, would choose to abandon me. During those three years, you had long made protecting Dominic a habit."
Word by word, Serena had no strength to refute, because she realized everything I said was true. Serena's throat was dry. She took a deep breath, her face slightly pale. "I wronged you before. Can you give me another chance?"
But I had no desire to pay her any attention. I turned to look at Vivienne. "Still drinking?"
Vivienne took a sip of wine. "Of course."
I stared at Vivienne's thin lips for a moment. Then, suddenly, my eyes flickered, and I leaned in to kiss her. A rich fragrance, lips against lips. I felt myself growing slightly intoxicated.
My lips didn't linger long. I quickly released Vivienne, my face strangely flushed, and turned back to Serena, whose face had gone pale, standing frozen in shock. "Do you want to keep watching?"
Serena dropped the glass in her hand and staggered away in disarray.
I turned my head back and saw Vivienne's dark gaze still resting on me. A chill immediately ran down my spine and I cleared my throat somewhat awkwardly. "I'm sorry. I thought since we're husband and wife, coming to you made more sense. Besides, I didn't do it just to provoke her. These were my true feelings."
When I turned around, I watched Vivienne swallow that sip of wine and for some reason felt slightly moved. My body had moved faster than my brain.
Seeing Vivienne still silent with a dark expression, I thought she was angry. I immediately stood up. "Fine, I won't be an eyesore here anymore."
Before I could leave, Vivienne pulled me back. She held me somewhat helplessly, sighing. "I didn't like what you just said."
All I could smell was the pleasant fragrance that belonged only to Vivienne, mixed with a hint of alcohol. My whole body and face felt burning hot. I looked at Vivienne hazily. "Which part?"
Vivienne held me tighter. "You said you came to me just because we're husband and wife, and it made more sense. So if I hadn't been here today, would you have found another woman to provoke Serena?"
I almost couldn't react in time. Vivienne lifted her head and kissed my lips again. The man's lack of resistance looked no different from being coquettish in her eyes. When she released me again, Vivienne was in a very good mood, the corners of her mouth curved up, the coldness in her eyes melting away.
"Julian, I don't blame you for using me to provoke Serena, but I hope you can only use me."
Seeing clearly the different emotion in Vivienne's eyes, I finally realized her burning love for me. But instinctively, I still wanted to escape, hurriedly standing up to leave. "I have something to do. We can talk more tonight."
The moment I stepped out of the bar, I was planning to use the night breeze to cool my slightly muddled head. Suddenly, I heard a harsh, urgent sound, the screech of tires against the ground. I watched the out-of-control car speeding toward me. I immediately tried to run, but it was too late.
Just before impact, someone shoved me hard. When I fell to the ground and looked over, I saw Serena being dragged under the wheels.
I was so frightened I nearly screamed, my hands trembling violently, but I still immediately called for an ambulance. A drunk woman stepped out of the car, apparently also shocked, collapsing to the ground in fear.
Vivienne quickly arrived after hearing the news, and upon seeing the scene didn't forget to try to comfort me. "It's okay, Julian. It's okay. She'll be fine. The ambulance is almost here."
I tried to steady my breathing but still felt somewhat helpless and dazed. "In the end, I still owe her a debt of gratitude. I don't want this."