Chapter 113: Julian Fletcher Has Been Lying to Me All Along

Chapter 113: Chapter 113: Julian Fletcher Has Been Lying to Me All Along

The air was silent for a moment. I sat on the sofa, my fingers stiffening slightly. "What?"

I thought... I must have misheard.

’But can memories be wrong, too?’

I still remember that year, my last year of high school. The academic pressure was already intense, and I fell asleep as soon as I got in the car.

In my memory, my father drove for a long time. I don’t remember where he was going, only that I was in the car, sleeping soundly with my head on my mother’s lap.

"Turn the music down a little. Cece’s asleep." In my daze, I heard my mother gently scolding my father.

"Marcus and I are supposed to meet on the Grace Garden Overpass and go over together."

I don’t clearly remember what my father said, only that I seemed to be very happy at the time, excited to be meeting someone.

"Is that Marcus’s car?" my mom asked.

"The orphanage produced two geniuses. All the higher-ups are taking this very seriously. This is a good opportunity for publicity, to get more people involved in charity and to raise awareness for orphans and left-behind children..."

"BANG!"

The moment my dad stopped the car, a deafening crash hit us.

A powerful force of impact nearly threw me from my seat.

"Cece..."

My last memory is of my mother holding me tightly, shielding me with her body.

Her blood mingled with mine.

"Cece..."

"Live..."

"Cece... Cece!"

I don’t remember what happened after that. At the moment of the crash, my mind went completely blank. Time seemed to stand still. I couldn’t even tell how much of it had passed.

I only remember that when I finally woke up, Julian Fletcher was by my side.

It was Julian Fletcher who was calling my name over and over.

I also have a blurry memory of a figure rushing into the fire, recklessly entering the car to save my parents...

...and that image slowly merged with the face of Julian Fletcher.

’Can memory really be so distorted?’

"That day was the award ceremony for the Twin Star Orphanage, presented by the leadership. It was also the children’s coming-of-age ceremony. Cece’s parents and I had arranged to go to the orphanage together. We saw the car crash on the bridge—it involved Cece’s parents... and Marcus Lancaster, the eldest son of the Lancaster family. The accident was horrific. A dump truck was driving on the wrong side of the road, and an overloaded semi-trailer caused a rear-end collision. The entire Lancaster family died at the scene. Bystanders said a young man rushed into the fire and saved Cece."

Mrs. Fletcher spoke softly, letting out a sob. "But when Cece woke up, she couldn’t remember who saved her, so she just assumed it was Julian. I wanted to tell her the truth, but Julian actually admitted to it... I was shocked at the time, but I didn’t want to get too involved in the children’s affairs. I never thought... it would end up hurting Cece so much."

I sat on the sofa in shock, my whole body rigid as I stared at Mrs. Fletcher. My head throbbed as if it were about to split open.

So, memories really can lie.

Especially after suffering immense trauma and shock, the brain can automatically fabricate images from before losing consciousness, creating false memories.

All this time, I had believed without a doubt that Julian Fletcher had saved me.

Because when I asked Julian Fletcher, he tacitly agreed.

"Because of his father and me, Julian has been starved for love since he was a child. He doesn’t know how to love someone; he only knows how to possess them." Mrs. Fletcher wiped her tears. "He likes Cece. Even if he doesn’t say it, I can tell. Cece’s mother and I were the best of friends. We arranged a marriage for our children long ago, agreeing they would get married and we’d become one family when they grew up."

"Julian is a very rebellious child with a strong personality. If he didn’t like Cece, he would have refused long ago. But he went along with it. The fact that he went along with it told me he liked her. But he’s so awkward. He clearly likes her but refuses to admit it."

"Mrs. Fletcher," I interrupted her, "the Julian Fletcher you describe and the Julian that Cecilia Caldwell knew don’t seem to be the same person." I couldn’t believe that Julian loved me...

"Love isn’t possession, and it isn’t about hurting someone. All Julian ever did to Cecilia Caldwell was hurt her." I shook my head and spoke again. "Whatever Julian’s reasons were, he lied to Cece and caused her endless pain."

Mrs. Fletcher lowered her gaze and spoke again. "Silvia, Cece loves Julian. She loves him very much... For Cece’s sake, can’t you give Julian a chance? Julian is now the president of the Fletcher Group. The entire company’s survival depends on him. He can’t have any blemishes on his record."

Mrs. Fletcher was telling me all this to prove that Julian loved Cece, hoping I would give him a chance for Cece’s sake.

"Why didn’t you tell Cece the truth? You had so many opportunities..." I asked, my voice hoarse.

’Am I resentful? A little...’

"I love Cece too much. I see her as my own daughter. I wanted so badly for us to become a real family. They already had a marriage agreement, and Cece loved Julian. I just thought that one day, Julian would see his own heart clearly and treat Cece well. He does love her..." Mrs. Fletcher seemed to still be deluding herself.

I laughed... I laughed and lowered my head as scorching hot tears rolled down my face.

’For a brief moment, it struck me how selfish people are.’

’In all the years I lived with the Fletcher family, did Mrs. Fletcher really not see the harm and emotional abuse Julian subjected me to? Did she really not see how carefully I had to act, constantly reminded that I was living under their roof?’

’All she had to do was tell me that Julian wasn’t my savior. Then I wouldn’t have been trapped by a debt of gratitude.’

’I have my own dignity. If I had known there was no debt to repay, Julian would have had no excuse or right to hurt me.’

’I could have chosen to love him, or not to love him. My love would have been free.’

’I shouldn’t have been bound like that.’

’I could have called the police when Julian forced me to do things I didn’t want to do. I could have made him face the consequences and be punished.’

’But just for that debt—that supposed debt for him recklessly rushing into the sea of fire to save me and my parents, for saving their bodies from being burned beyond recognition—I endured years of his emotional abuse and torment.’

’And all of it could have been avoided.’

’Mrs. Fletcher could have told me.’

’But both of them, mother and son, held me captive in the name of love. One was afraid I would leave, and the other called it so-called love.’

"Regarding Cece’s savior, Mrs. Fletcher, do you know who it was?" Taking a deep breath, I looked up at her, my hands slowly clenching into fists.

’Since Julian Fletcher wasn’t my savior, I owed him nothing at all.’

’He killed me, and he killed the child in my womb! He and Erin Whittaker are the ones who owe me!’

Mrs. Fletcher shook her head. "By the time we got there, the person was already gone. There were no surveillance cameras on that bridge, so no one knows who saved you. The witness just said it was a young man. I tried to find the savior afterward, but no one ever came forward." Mrs. Fletcher shook her head again. "I’ve been asking around all these years."

I didn’t say anything, just quietly lowered my head.

"Miss Lynch, can you give Julian a chance? We can resolve this privately..." Mrs. Fletcher’s voice was gentle, but I knew this was the last time she would offer to negotiate with me so kindly.

’Before Julian took over the company, Mrs. Fletcher was the one who had propped it up. She was an iron-fisted woman.’

"I’m sorry." I shook my head.

’Julian Fletcher, I will never compromise with you again.’

"The kidnapping charge against Julian won’t stick. Right now, there’s only your accusation of physical assault, Miss Lynch, and I don’t see any injuries on you. We can clearly choose a better way to handle this, one that doesn’t harm the peace between our two families." Mrs. Fletcher’s voice had turned cold.

"The harm he caused me isn’t just physical. He kidnapped me, threatened my husband, and provoked my husband. I have zero tolerance for him," I said in a low, unwavering voice.

Mrs. Fletcher was silent for a moment, then placed her phone in front of me. The screen showed a clip of Asher from his time on the streets, abusing an animal.

He was covered in blood, holding a small cat that had been abused and crippled by someone else.

"Since the Lancaster family wants to fight a war of public opinion, then we, the Fletcher family, will see it through to the end," Mrs. Fletcher said before getting up to leave.