Chapter 68: Eleanor’s Kneeling Humiliation

Understanding the situation perfectly, the attentive sales staff quickly brought over a comfortable lounge chair. "Young Master Vance, you must be tired after standing for so long. Please have a seat."

Julian raised an eyebrow in pleasant surprise. The staff here are certainly quick on their feet.

He sat down gracefully in the chair, crossing one leg over the other like a relaxed nobleman. His posture appeared entirely carefree, indifferent, and nonchalant.

Looking down at Eleanor, Julian said flippantly, "You may begin your apology now."

"Julian Vance! I am your mother!" Eleanor screamed, her face turning ashen with humiliation. "You actually have the audacity to demand that I kneel down and apologize to you?!"

"No," Julian corrected her smoothly. "It’s not just kneeling down to apologize. You also promised to slap yourself across the face continuously for five whole minutes. Remember to keep count."

The surrounding crowd of onlookers began to whisper among themselves, shaking their heads in disgust at Eleanor.

"She’s completely shameless! She was the one who boldly proposed the bet and claimed she’d kneel, but now that she lost fair and square, she’s trying to back out!"

"Exactly! So what if she’s his mother? If you make a bet and lose, you have to own up to it and apologize!"

Hearing the harsh judgment from the surrounding crowd, Eleanor’s face turned dark and contorted with rage. She turned around and shrieked at the onlookers, "I’m talking to my own biological son! What business is it of yours?!"

"No, no, no," Julian waved his hand lazily to dismiss her claim. "We formally severed all family ties long ago, and the legal severance agreement was notarized. I, Julian Vance, am certainly not worthy enough to be Eleanor’s son."

Standing behind his parents, Leo stared at Julian in silent shock. Julian had truly changed completely; he didn’t care about the Vance family or their opinion in the slightest anymore. But Leo quickly reassured himself—this is actually better. That way, he won’t ever return to the Vance family to compete with me for the inheritance!

Julian casually pulled out his smartphone and waved it in front of Eleanor’s face. "Eleanor, I recorded a crystal-clear video when you were making that bet just now."

"If you refuse to comply with your own promise, I will broadcast this video directly to every elite social circle and corporate group in the city. When that happens, Mrs. Vance, you won’t have an ounce of dignity left."

Eleanor pointed a trembling finger at Julian, her teeth grinding together in pure fury. "Julian Vance! How dare you threaten me?!"

Arthur rubbed his throbbing temples in deep frustration. How could he have married such a foolish, short-sighted woman like Eleanor?! She was dragging the entire Vance family’s reputation through the mud!

Julian didn’t feel like wasting any more words on them. "I’m going to count down from five. If you still haven’t knelt down on the floor by the time I hit zero, I’m sorry, but I’ll press the send button immediately."

"Julian Vance, you—!!" Eleanor trembled all over with overwhelming rage.

"Five."

"Four."

Julian began to recite the numbers slowly and deliberately.

Standing beside her, Arthur Vance finally lost his temper and roared angrily, "You brought this utter humiliation upon yourself! Why haven’t you knelt down and apologized already?!"

"If you bring any more public disgrace upon the Vance family name, I will never forgive you!"

Eleanor bit her lip so hard it nearly bled. She couldn’t bear the unbearable shame of kneeling down and begging for forgiveness from Julian!

But... but if that video leaked to the high-society circles, her reputation would be utterly ruined forever!

Julian’s cool voice continued the merciless countdown.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

PLOP!

A sharp, heavy thud echoed across the floor as two knees slammed hard against the cold marble pavement.

Julian raised an eyebrow in slight amusement. "Weren’t you so tough and arrogant just a moment ago? Look at you now, willing to kneel down after all."

Eleanor bit her lip in bitter humiliation, her eyes brimming with tears of sheer hatred. They had actually forced her—a mother—to kneel down before her own son in public!

Julian Vance... as long as I remain in the Vance family, don’t you ever dream of coming back!

Julian leaned forward in his chair, casually tapping his phone screen. "You’re missing the second part of your promise," Mother". The five minutes of self-slapping hasn’t started yet."

The surrounding crowd continued to point and whisper, taking out their own phones to capture the spectacle.

Arthur Vance looked away in utter humiliation, his face burning with shame, while Leo Vance stood silently beside him, keeping his head down to avoid being dragged into the public humiliation.

Eleanor trembled as she slowly raised her trembling hand toward her own cheek. Under Julian’s cool, unyielding gaze and the watchful eyes of dozens of spectators, she slammed her palm against her face with a sharp SMACK.

"I was wrong... I shouldn’t have slandered you..." she muttered through gritted teeth, her voice shaking with hatred.

"Louder," Julian said casually, crossing his arms. "And keep a steady rhythm. Five full minutes."

SMACK!

"I was wrong... I shouldn’t have slandered you!" Eleanor raised her voice, tears finally spilling over her cheeks as she struck herself again and again.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

Each slap echoed clearly through the quiet sales hall, cementing her complete defeat. Sean stood beside Julian, watching the scene unfold with his mouth slightly agape, completely awestruck by Julian’s absolute dominance and zero-tolerance attitude toward his toxic biological family.

Julian checked his watch lazily, watching the seconds tick by until the full five minutes had elapsed.

In the middle of slapping Eleanor, she suddenly stopped and looked at Julian with a pained expression.🥺

Julian raised an eyebrow and said, "Eleanor, why are you stopped ? Please Continue."

Eleanor:".."

Eleanor took a deep breath, her face burning with shame and physical pain.

She started slapping herself again while saying through gritted teeth, tears of humiliation spilling over her bruised cheeks as her palm struck her face repeatedly.

Five minutes later.

Having finished her required five minutes of self-slapping and public apology, Eleanor gritted her teeth, her voice trembling with rage. "Is this alright now?!"

"It’ll do," Julian nodded casually.

He stood up smoothly from the high-backed armchair.

"Eleanor, learn from your mistakes. Don’t go showing off your unearned superiority in front of me ever again. I genuinely look down on your Vance family."

Even if he were completely penniless, there was no way on earth he would ever return to a family like the Vances. In a toxic environment like theirs, staying would just be asking for endless psychological torture. Only the original owner of this body would have been foolish enough to endure such abuse for the sake of biological family ties.

"Let me out of here. We’re done," Julian clapped his hands carelessly and left the sales gallery with a flourish.

Sean looked at Julian with boundless admiration, jogging to keep pace. "Julian, do you have any idea how cool and utterly satisfying you were just now?!"

Jullian:"..."

"It was nothing special. You don’t need to admire me too much."

Sean smirked, bumping his shoulder gently. "You really aren’t very modest, are you?"

Julian chuckled and led the way out, leaving behind a group of Vance family members whose faces were twisted into thoroughly grim, unsightly expressions.

"I have never lost face like this in my entire life! Julian is a heartless, ungrateful wretch!" Eleanor spat through gritted teeth.

"Hiss—!"

The sharp, tearing pain across her swollen face made her gasp heavily. Even though she hadn’t used maximum force while hitting herself, slapping her own cheeks continuously for five solid minutes had completely re-inflamed Her skin was glowing bright red, throbbing with intense pain at the lightest touch.

"Leo, let me take you home," Eleanor said in a strained, deep voice.

"Mom," Leo Vance frowned, his tone laced with clear disappointment, "what about the luxury villa you were going to buy for me today...?"

"Leo, I’m really in no state or mood to deal with property purchases after what just happened with Julian," Eleanor said, trying to soothe him. "Don’t worry, your father and I will definitely buy it for you later."

"Okay," Leo Vance nodded, pretending to be understanding on the surface.

Inwardly, however, he clenched his fists in frustration. Later? Who knows when ’later’ will actually be?! It’s all that damned Julian Vance’s fault! He just cost me a multi-million-dollar estate!

Julian returned to Rose Manor and immediately resumed his carefree, lazy lifestyle of luxury—eating gourmet delicacies, drinking iced milk tea, and lounging about. In between resting, he even managed to dedicate a whole hour to reading through his university textbooks.

At 10 p.m. sharp, he turned off his room lights, climbed into his soft king-sized bed, and drifted off to sleep.

Around midnight, Victoria Sterling returned quietly to the master bedroom suite. Because the lights were switched off, she could only make out the slight, raised outline of a body sleeping soundly beneath the plush blanket.