Chapter 371
371
William wasn’t the type to repay a life–saving favor. So, for the past two years, Julianne had always wondered why he treated her so well and was especially attentive to her health.
It was only after she returned to Claudeville that she finally understood.
It turned out William had a sickly niece he cherished dearly–one whose survival depended on Julianne. Upon learning this, she suddenly felt she had the upper hand again.
While she still couldn’t figure William out entirely, she had come to understand him somewhat. She knew he would continue to tolerate her—for the sake of his sickly niece as long as she didn’t do anything out of line.
To be clear, Julianne made my life difficult because she hated me. But as long as she didn’t harm me, she knew no one would hold it against her. After all, William’s niece needed her blood to live.
The more she thought about this, the more pleased she became.
I could see it plainly in her eyes. Her expression seemed to say that even after all these years, I was nothing more than a pawn she had defeated.
My eyes darkened instantly, and my hands clenched tightly at my side.
Julianne stepped closer and bent down slightly to look me in the eyes, still wearing the same pleased expression.
“Doesn’t this remind you of the trial back then, Emilia?” she said. “You looked at me with the same smug gaze–like you were enjoying how enraged I was after trying and failing to destroy you. And right now, you look just as powerless as I did back then.”
She let out a scornful laugh and straightened up proudly. She was looking at me in the exact same way I had at the time, like I was a flailing, raging fool.
Truly, we were stuck in an endless loop of where our roles would swap.
“You’re just ordinary, after all, Emilia,” Julianne added.
With a scoff, she turned and walked away arm–i
-in-
-arm with the blond–haired and blue–eyed man.
I glared at her back, my fists still clenched tight. Even though my nails had dug into my palm and broken the skin, I didn’t feel any pain.
Emma held my arm,
her face filled with concern. “Are you alright, Emilia?”
Snapping out of it, I unclenched my hands. “I’m fine.”
She hesitated, but ultimately decided to ask, “Do you have a grudge against that woman from earlier?”
“Something like that,” I replied.
Sensing that I didn’t want to talk about my relationship with Julianne, Emma didn’t pry further and changed the subject. “What do we do now, Emilia?” she asked, looking quite troubled. “That man said we aren’t to be allowed in, even with invitations. Are we really just going to leave like this?”
We had almost lost our lives just to get to this important academic conference. It would be a huge waste if we couldn’t even
attend it.
Emma thought back to what she had said in her class group chat before leaving the country. If she couldn’t attend the conference, her classmates–especially her biggest rival–would have a field day.
Considering our current situation, it would be pointless to contact the college and ask them to send us two new invitations. After thinking for a moment, I walked to a corner and made a call.
Just as I hung up and turned to update Emma, I saw a row of black cars pull up at the entrance.
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+25 BONUS
At the same time, a group of people walked out of the hall. It was clear they were there to greet whoever was getting out of the cars. Among them was the blond man who had entered the hall with Julianne earlier.
Emma craned her neck to get a better view. “Wow, I wonder who’s the big shot that has arrived?”
Only those of significant status could attend a conference of this level. So, the fact that the organizers had come out to welcome them could only mean these new arrivals were of even higher status.
However, I wasn’t the type to chase after excitement. Plus, one of my senior lab teammates had just sent me a set of data and asked if I had any questions.