Chapter 39: Julian Fletcher and Erin Whittaker Are Getting Married?

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Julian Fletcher and Erin Whittaker Are Getting Married?

I looked down at Julian Fletcher and laughed mockingly. ’Julian Fletcher, I’m dead. Shouldn’t you be happy? Who are you putting on this act for! You’re the one who killed me!’

"Alright, if there’s nothing else, Mr. Fletcher, you should head back and wait for the results." Zeke Shaw clearly had no patience for Julian Fletcher, probably unable to stomach this complete personality switch.

"Julian Fletcher, you’re disgusting!" Madeline Quinn was still agitated, pointing and cursing at him. "Aren’t you getting married? Get the hell back to Erin and marry her!"

I stood beside Madeline Quinn, watching Julian Fletcher, my expression cold.

At this point, I no longer had the energy to hate him.

I was just Erin Whittaker’s scapegoat, a shield who took a fatal blow for the woman he loved.

And with that... the life I owed him was now fully repaid.

Julian Fletcher stood frozen in place. Clearly, he now believed something had happened to me.

"Julian Fletcher..." Madeline Quinn handed the jacket back to Zeke Shaw and pulled an envelope from her purse. "Sorry, I didn’t want to give you this, because I don’t think you and Erin deserve to receive a wedding gift from Cece..."

As she spoke, her voice began to choke with sobs.

I wanted to wipe her tears, to hug her, but I was powerless to do anything.

"Three months ago, Cece came to me and told me she’d applied to study abroad. She asked me to keep it a secret..." Madeline Quinn’s whole body was trembling.

She was probably thinking that if I had only left the country sooner, I wouldn’t have died here.

"She’d been wanting to escape you for a long time. She was constantly thinking about leaving you, yet you thought she’d stoop to anything just to have you." Madeline Quinn scoffed at Julian Fletcher. "That pathetic ego of yours is truly pitiful."

"Enough..." Julian Fletcher frowned, clearly not wanting to hear any of this.

"The reason she endured you, the reason she let you do whatever you wanted, wasn’t because she was some desperate fool. It was because she was repaying what she owed you! That day, Cece told me it’s easy to pay back money, but a life, a debt of the heart... she didn’t know how she could ever repay that..."

Madeline Quinn held the envelope out to Julian Fletcher. "All these years, she worked part-time jobs, sold her design drafts, and tutored people, juggling three jobs at once. She tried so hard not to spend a single cent of the Fletcher family’s money, desperately saving up to pay back what she owed you."

Madeline Quinn then pulled a bank card from her purse. "Cece left all this with me. This envelope holds the wedding gift money Cece prepared for you. There’s ten thousand inside. She said it wasn’t much, but it was a token of her sincerity. She truly wished you and Erin happiness..."

As Madeline Quinn spoke, she couldn’t hold back her tears.

I stood to the side, listening quietly.

’At one time, I really did sincerely wish Julian Fletcher and Erin Whittaker happiness.’

’I hoped they would be truly happy after they got married.’

"Enough..." But Julian Fletcher couldn’t even bear to listen to her well-wishes.

"Do you have any idea how many jobs Cece worked to earn this gift money? Every day, she had to go to the rich district to tutor those difficult, spoiled brats, who would often take their anger out on her. She’d come home covered in bruises. At night, she worked as a cashier at a 24-hour convenience store. She’d get five hours of sleep at most, and that depended on how busy work was."

Madeline Quinn let out a sarcastic laugh. "She worked for over a month just to scrape together this ten thousand for you. She said she wanted to earn your wedding gift money before she left the country."

Julian Fletcher didn’t want to listen, but that only made Madeline Quinn more determined to speak. "There’s over a million in this card. Cece saved for four whole years, ever since her parents passed away. She was constantly putting money into it, saying that one day, she’d save up enough to pay you back."

Julian Fletcher’s gaze faltered, and he looked away, refusing to take the card.

’Take it... Don’t you always say I owe you so much? Then take it...’ I demanded of Julian Fletcher, my voice hoarse.

But he still didn’t take it.

"You say Cece owed you so much, but does the money she owed you even add up to what you spent on Erin’s father’s hospital bills, surgery, and recovery fees, let alone all the luxury goods you bought for her?" Madeline Quinn lost her patience and threw the money and the card at Julian Fletcher.

"Take the money and get out... Don’t ever show your face in front of Cece again. She hates you. She doesn’t want to see you."

I nodded, agreeing with every word Madeline Quinn said.

’It’s true. I never want to see him again. Not even in death.’

"She’ll be okay... I already said, if something really happened to her, I’ll die with her. She’ll be okay." Julian Fletcher’s voice was hoarse, as if he were muttering to himself.

I found him truly laughable, to the point of absurdity.

’Die with me? By what right? Do you think you’re worthy?’

"Julian! You have to go back! The hotel just called, they said Erin... tried to kill herself at the hotel!" Jake Abbott, who had stepped aside to take a call, ran back in a panic, yelling that Erin had committed suicide.

I watched as the color drained from Julian Fletcher’s face, his expression growing even more conflicted.