Year After Year Infatuated

Yet in front of outsiders, I ultimately couldn’t bring myself to make a scene that would strip away his dignity, so I stepped into the room after all.

Everyone inside welcomed him back with warm smiles.

“President Julian, where did you wander off to, leaving Ms. Vivienne all by herself here? Weren’t you afraid she’d get scared?”

He spoke in German.

Upon finishing, noticing me enter right behind him, he asked with a puzzled look:

“And who might this be?”

Julian Vance’s expression remained unchanged: “An assistant.”

“Ha ha, President Julian is truly blessed. Even an assistant looks this exquisite; just a second ago I almost mistook her for your girlfriend.”

“With Ms. Vivienne right here, an assistant could never catch President Julian’s eye anyway.”

The last sentence was spoken by Dorian, Julian Vance’s close friend.

Every word and look of his dripped with contempt toward me.

I clenched my fists tightly, staring at Julian Vance, hoping against hope that he would stand up for me this time and acknowledge that I was his true girlfriend.

However, he did not.

He chose silence, yet again…

Dorian suddenly chimed in with a boastful tone:

“Actually, you all might not know, President Julian and Ms. Vivienne just got their marriage certificate. They’re currently in their newlyweds’ honeymoon period.”

Everyone gasped in astonishment.

I froze in my tracks.

Julian Vance frowned slightly, glancing over at Dorian as if displeased that he had brought this up in front of everyone.

Yet he offered no refutation; he merely shot me a single glance before looking away.

He thought he had concealed it impeccably, but I caught the flash of guilty conscience deep within his eyes.

So, it was real after all…

He didn’t even deny it…

Everyone in the room was still chatting away livelily, but I couldn’t hear a single word anymore.

My heart contracted in agonizing waves, and my head buzzed.

Flitting through my mind was a month ago when, upon learning of Vivienne’s return, he repeatedly assured me that she would forever remain a stranger to him; next to it was Dorian’s announcement moments ago that he and Vivienne had registered their marriage, a fact he chose not to deny…

Throughout the entire evening, they had communicated entirely in German.

Julian Vance must have assumed I wouldn’t understand a word.

Yet in reality, I had long since mastered German.

I had originally planned it as a surprise for him.

Little did I expect that the one being shocked today would be me.

“Alright everyone, let’s stop talking about private matters between President Julian and me. Let’s get back to business.” Vivienne smiled awkwardly, while secretly shooting me a provocative glance full of triumphant glee.

Julian Vance hesitated for a brief moment before walking over to sit beside Vivienne, not even sparing me a single look.

Or perhaps, he simply didn’t dare to look.

“Assistant Evelyn, go tell the waiter to bring an extra set of cutlery and a wine glass for President Christian.”

Dorian bossed me around with absolute entitlement.

Suppressing my tears, I swept my gaze across the room.

Who this President Christian was, I had no idea.

Until my eyes caught a man wearing a pheasant-feather brooch pinned to his chest.

That exact brooch had tangled in my hair just a few minutes prior.

Sensing my gaze, he lifted his eyes to look back at me.

His gaze was intensely calm, exuding an air of noble, detached refinement and profound insight.

After being stunned for a few seconds, I finally recalled where that familiar composure came from.

How much this man resembled Julian Vance; they belonged to the exact same breed of individuals perched high above the world.

There was a poised, unhurried calmness between his brows, appearing even more composed than the perpetually hurried Julian Vance.

He spoke indifferently: “I’ve already eaten before coming, so I won’t eat. As for the alcohol, skip it—I’m allergic to it.”

But Vivienne chimed in: “Then Assistant Evelyn, please help me pour a glass of juice. I can’t drink alcohol either.”

The look she gave me was laced with secret provocation and gloating triumph, though from Julian Vance’s angle, it remained entirely out of sight.

I originally didn’t want to make too ugly of a scene with Julian Vance in public, but hearing Vivienne order me around like a servant while Julian Vance sat by without the slightest reaction—treating it as the most normal request in the world—shattered my last shred of patience.

Unable to hold back any longer, I grabbed a bottle of beverage from the corner table and walked straight toward her.

As I drew close, she murmured softly, “Used and slept with for free for three years, you actually thought you were the mistress of the house? In the end, you’re nothing more than a tea-pouring maid who moonlights as a bed warmer. Little mistress, everyone knows we’re married now, why haven’t you crawled away yet?”

I abruptly tightened my grip on the bottle and poured the entire contents straight over Vivienne’s head.

With a loud crash—!

The sudden turn of events left everyone dumbfounded.

Even Christian Sterling, who had been sitting off to the side watching the show from beginning to end—unclear whether he had overheard Vivienne’s words or not—furrowed his brows in mild surprise.

Julian Vance snapped back to reality and angrily lunged forward to shove me away.

“What are you doing?!”

Fueled by overwhelming rage, his strength was immense.

I was knocked down, my forehead slamming straight against the corner of the table. The sharp pain made my head feel as though it was about to explode on the spot.

Yet he completely ignored it—or rather, didn’t care at all.

He pulled out a handkerchief, meticulously wiping the stains off Vivienne with a face full of anxious worry.

“Assistant Evelyn, why did you pour wine on me?” Vivienne asked with a fragile, aggrieved expression, acting utterly innocent.

Julian Vance turned his dark gaze back toward me, brimming with absolute disappointment: “Give me an explanation.”

“And you, do you have any explanation to give?”

I looked at him apathetically.

As if recalling something, a flicker of hesitation flashed across his eyes.

“Could it be that you…”

Dorian suddenly rushed over and shoved me: “Evelyn, do you know that Vivienne is pregnant?! How could you possibly throw a drink at her?!”

Pregnant?

My mind rang with a loud buzz, completely losing the capacity to think.

I watched as Julian Vance protectively shielded Vivienne’s abdomen.

So, the child was his?

Come to think of it, they had registered their marriage after all.

Julian Vance had once told me that he didn’t want to marry too early, nor did he want children, preferring to let the company’s operations stabilize first.

Yet now, the moment Vivienne returned, he married when she said marry, and wanted a child when she wanted a child.

A month was all it took to get pregnant, meaning he must have been with Vivienne the exact moment she stepped back into the country…