Year After Year Infatuated

The moment Christian Sterling and I stepped back into my apartment, Julian Vance came pounding heavily on the front door.

He stared in sheer incredulity: “You actually arranged for him to live here with you?”

“So what? My house has plenty of spare rooms.”

“An unmarried man and woman living under the same roof—have you no sense of propriety?!”

Christian Sterling smoothly wedged himself forward: “President Julian, I’m injured here; what if my condition worsens overnight and I kick the bucket? Tuế Tuế simply took pity on me to ensure I don’t drop dead, so she graciously took me in.”

Choking with rage, Julian Vance turned his aggrieved gaze back to me: “Evelyn, I am your legitimate fiancé! Why are you housing another man in a place you’ve never even let me step foot in!”

“President Julian, back abroad Tuế Tuế and I also used to—”

“Enough!”

Unable to stomach another word, Julian Vance cut him off harshly.

Storming straight into the apartment, he declared with reckless abandonment: “If he stays, I stay too.”

“Suit yourself.”

Without missing a beat, I released the door handle, walked into the living room, and signaled Christian Sterling to sit down so I could disinfect his facial wounds.

Julian Vance hovered awkwardly nearby, flustered and helpless, repeatedly opening his mouth to speak only to be interrupted by Christian Sterling hissing in exaggerated pain whenever I touched a bruise.

The provocation tactics had genuinely reached art-form status.

Suppressing a laugh, I shot Christian Sterling a murderous glare.

He blinked innocently before shooting a triumphant, gloating smirk back at Julian Vance.

Driving Julian Vance to the brink of total insanity.

That night, as I stepped out of the bathroom after a shower, I found Julian Vance sitting dead center on my bed.

Before I could frown, he rushed forward and pulled me into an embrace: “We’ve been apart for so long, and you’re still cruel enough to deny me, but we’re getting married in just a month.”

“There’s a guest in the house…”

That exact remark seemed to detonate his last remaining restraint: “So what?!”

Sweeping me off my feet, he threw me flat onto the mattress and loomed over me: “Evelyn, stop pushing me away. All these years, I’ve missed you to the point of madness…”

Sensing his actions crossing lines of consent, I struggled frantically just as a heavy crash echoed from the hallway outside.

Startled, he paused. Seizing the opening, I shoved him away and scrambled toward the door:

“I’ll go check what that noise was.”

The second I stepped into the hallway, the adjacent guest room door flew open, and a strong hand yanked me inside.

It was Christian Sterling.

His gaze dropped to my disheveled clothing, turning impenetrably dark: “Are you alright?”

I awkwardly adjusted my collar, opening my mouth to claim I was fine.

From outside, Julian Vance’s voice rang out: “Evelyn, where did you run off to?”

Christian Sterling’s breathing grew perceptibly heavier as he leaned closer.

Whether it was an illusion under the dim nocturnal lighting or not, his expression carried an uncanny intensity that made my heart skip a beat…

“Are you planning to go back out there, or stay right here with me?”

I weighed my options regarding the imminent chaos waiting outside:

“You go outside; I’m staying here.”

“…?”

“I’ll sleep in here, and you can take the living room. There’s a spare blanket in the closet, grab it yourself.”

After a prolonged silence, he let out a helpless chuckle.

Releasing his grip.

He reached out to ruffle my hair roughly.

“Go on then. First time in my life I’ve ever been kicked out of my own bedroom to accommodate a female guest.”

Playing the aristocratic young master, were we?

Glaring at him, I shoved him out the door and slammed it shut with a loud thud.

Whether Julian Vance was genuinely driven frantic by Christian Sterling’s psychological warfare remained unclear.

He completely abandoned company affairs, pouring his heart and soul entirely into wedding preparations.

Perhaps because my past dedication to the Vance Group ran deep, in a bid to win my favor, he granted me absolute trust in the workplace, instructing all staff to obey my directives unconditionally.

Though company employees remained baffled by the twisted love triangle between the CEO and me, my professional competence commanded universal respect.

The wedding was organized with unprecedented grandeur; Julian Vance even splurged on drone camera crews to broadcast the event live globally.

Regrettably, the top trending search topic that day wasn’t praise for the flawless ceremony, but rather the historic jilting of the Vance Group CEO as the bride failed to show up entirely.

He stood waiting in a daze from dawn till midnight, yet the bride’s silhouette never materialized.

Ultimately, he departed the wedding venue alone with a shattered soul.

Utterly pathetic.

Julian Vance dialed my phone dozens of times, and it wasn’t until the fiftieth call that I finally picked up.

At that moment, I was washing tomato sauce off my shirt in the bathroom sink.

With mischievous malice, Christian Sterling intentionally turned the faucet on full blast and leaned in close to whisper:

“Take your shirt off, I’ll wash it for you.”

Julian Vance on the other end exploded instantly: “What the hell are you two doing?!”

“Running the tap, what else? What dirty thoughts are crossing your mind?”

I severely suspected Christian Sterling was exacting revenge for the beatings Julian Vance had previously inflicted upon him.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I calmly pressed the phone to my ear:

“Did you need something?”

“… Today is our wedding day.” His voice dripped with clenched-teeth fury.

“My apologies, I completely forgot.”

Dead silence fell over the other end of the line.

After a long pause, he spoke in a choked whisper:

“Evelyn, did you do this on purpose?”

“What?”

“You’re still angry at me, so this was your intentional revenge, right?”

Drawing a deep breath, his tone bordered on a sob:

“If this was meant to punish me, haven’t you vented enough by now? Can we get married already?”

I stared in disbelief—had this man lost his mind?

Talking about marriage at a time like this?

Walking past, Christian Sterling casually chimed in:

“When she was willing to marry you, you spurned her. Now you’re putting on a show of deep devotion for who to watch?”

“Christian Sterling! This is none of your damn business!”

Julian Vance roared furiously before trying to steady his voice: “Evelyn, where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”

“Don’t bother looking for me, I won’t ever see you again.”

“… What do you mean?”

“I mean, you no longer hold any useful value to me. In this lifetime, let’s make sure we never cross paths again.”