Chapter 12

Not long after, Julie heard the excited tone of a teenage boy. "Mom, I'm getting the limited edition one next time. It's not expensive either. It's only a little over a hundred thousand dollars." It was her brother, Jake. Mandy replied dotingly, "Okay, baby. As long as you like it, I'll get it for you." "Thanks, Mom! I knew you were the best!" "You're my son. What's mine is yours. Who else would I spoil, if not you?" "I love you, Mom." Jake took Mandy's hand affectionately and started acting like a little puppy. Julie watched the interaction between the mother and son silently. She was not surprised at all. Mandy was kind to Julie when she was a child, so much so that Julie once misunderstood that Mandy was biased against sons. She often felt it was unfair to Jake. This remained the case until something happened to George and their family, and that was also when the company fell into Mandy's hands. After that, Mandy began treating her indifferently. The bias Mandy had shown Julie previously was all just an act. When Mandy spotted Julie sitting in the living room, a look of surprise overcame her features. However, she managed to brush it off quickly. "Jules? What brought you here?" Julie stood up. But before she could say anything, Jake ran toward Julie excitedly and gave her a big hug. "You're finally home, Jules! I've missed you so much!" Julie just stood there in a daze, letting Jake hug her. Actually, Julie had a very good relationship with Jake. Even though she had not returned home in the past few years, she had been meeting with Jake in private. She stretched her hand out and tousled Jake's head. "You're turning 18 soon, and you're still behaving this way. Aren't you embarrassed?" Jake did not mind it at all. "What's there to be embarrassed about being clingy with my sister? Jules, why don't you just stay here for the night?" Mandy looked at the siblings calmly and said, "That's enough, Jakey. Take your things to your room. I'm going to have a chat with Julie." Only then did Jake remember what he had just bought. He was just about to show Julie the item he had bought when Mandy shot him a look of warning. He could only carry the shopping bag up reluctantly. Mandy walked forward with a smile and casually threw a request at Jenny, who was in the kitchen. "Jenny, get the grapes we got from Royal Orchard and wash them. " Then, Mandy pulled Julie aside to start discussing their family affairs. "So? Did they say anything while you were at Peyton Residence?" Mandy was still putting on the act of a loving mother. She reached out to hold Julie's hand. Julie avoided Mandy's hand seamlessly. Seeing that, Mandy looked hurt. "Jules, are you still mad at me?" Julie avoided this topic and just calmly said, "Mom, I went to the hospital today." Mandy froze for a moment. She seemed to know what Julie was trying to say. She choked back on her sobs and said, "I've no other choice. The company's not doing well, and your brother's starting university next year. We're going to need a lot of money." "Even if that's the case, you can't have people transfer him to Emerald Sanatorium. That's where people go to die." "What can I do? I'm just a woman. Do you think it's been easy being the sole breadwinner for this house all these years?" Then, Mandy took Julie's hand and said with choked sobs, "Your father loves your brother a lot. He'll understand. We really can't afford to be spending so much money on your father's medical expenses every month." Julie might not be showing any expression on her face, but she knew the truth clearly in her heart. Mandy said they were running out of money? But Julie had just seen it herself. The items in the bag Jake was carrying were all worth more than six figures. Why would they not have any money? For a moment, Julie felt very powerless. She felt sorry for her father. As far as Julie could recall, she had the impression that Mandy and George were on really good terms with each other. They were very much in love. So, how could Mandy not care about the life and death of her husband anymore in just the short span of a decade? Did relationships also come with a shelf life? How would George feel if he were to wake up one day, only to find the woman he had loved for many decades treating him like this? It was then that Jenny brought the fruits over. Mandy smiled as she pushed the fruit toward Julie. "Please have some, Jules. I remember that these were your favorite." Julie shook her head slightly and said nothing. Mandy paused before awkwardly placing the plate of fruits on the coffee table. Then, she smiled and changed the subject. "We're having baked prawns tonight. Why don't you stay for dinner? It's been a while since we've had a proper dinner together as a family." In the end, Julie did not stay for dinner. Before Julie left, she said to Mandy, "Mom, I know you don't give a shit about Dad, but I do. Also, I don't like grapes. And I'm allergic to prawns." Once Julie was out of Somers Residence, she took her phone out and searched for Martha's contact in her contact list. She sent Martha a text message. "Martha, I agree with your suggestion." When she saw that the recipient had read the text message, Julie put her phone away. "Jules, is that you?" A familiar voice could be heard coming from behind. Julie turned around. When she saw Lucian's grandmother, she started becoming overwhelmed with feelings. "It's me." The old lady walked toward Julie and held her hand affectionately. "It's been about five years since we've met. Here I thought my old eyes were starting to see things." Julie shook her head. "I'm sure you haven't had anything to eat. Let's go. Come over to my place." Julie wanted to decline, but when she thought of how she had not seen Patricia Fuller for so many years, she simply agreed to her invitation. "Luce! Look who's here?" Patricia shouted excitedly as soon as she walked through the door. Julie was stunned. She never expected Lucian to be at Patricia's house. Realizing this, Julie squirmed. If she had known that Lucian was here, she would not have come. Lucian walked over and reached out to take the vegetable basket from Patricia. "I told you I'd go, yet you insisted on going yourself." "It's not like you know how to pick the fresh ones." "I could just get Clarice to come to the market with me. How could you force your old joints all the way to the market?" Clarice Moore was Patricia's in-house caretaker. She had been living in this house for over 20 years, and Julie was well-acquainted with her as well. Julie watched the two's interaction from the entrance. She suddenly had a feeling that Lucian had really changed a lot over the years. "What are you standing over there in a daze, Jules?" Lucian walked up to her. He took a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet and placed them in front of Julie. It was the exact same pair as the one she wore six years ago. Hers were pink and his were blue. Patricia looked at Julie with a gentle smile. "Silly little girl. Have you forgotten who this is? This is Lucian. You used to follow him everywhere like a puppy, remember?" Julie felt a little embarrassed. "I-I remember." "I'm glad you remember. Come on over. It's been many years since we last met. I'm going to treat you to my specialty today." Julie froze when she heard this. She had not forgotten about the time when she was sent to the hospital after eating the food Patricia made. Apparently, Lucian had not forgotten about it either. Patricia was good at everything, except cooking. He immediately said, "Grandma, you're too old now. Why don't you sit back and let me handle everything?" Patricia looked at Lucian with disbelief. "You can cook?" "Yeah. I've practically been cooking my meals since I started living abroad." "You know how to cook now, huh? You've all grown up," Patricia said with satisfaction as she took Julie's hand. "Jules, come have a chat with me. We'll just leave this brat here to cook for us in the kitchen. I've never gotten a chance to taste his cooking yet." Before Julie could say anything, Patricia had already dragged her into the living room by the hand. Even after so many years had already passed, Patricia still adored Julie a lot, which was why she dragged her to the couch and asked her questions endlessly. "How's life been treating you the past few years, Jules? How are your studies? Has it been tiring?" Julie was overcome by emotions again. She held Patricia's hand and answered with a smile, "I've been doing well. I'm graduating soon, so it's been okay. It's nothing too tiring." "So, have you been thinking about what kind of work you'd like to do?" Julie shook her head. Over the years, she had been living her life in a muddle-headed manner, without any hope for the future. Patricia felt a little heartbroken seeing Julie like this. She sighed. With a pained heart, she said, "I've heard about your father. It has nothing to do with you. You don't have to burden yourself with things that are out of your control." Julie nodded with her eyes lowered. Patricia could tell that Julie did not want to bring up her father, so she changed the subject. "Right. Now that Luce has returned, you can talk to him about work. Let him help you with whatever he can." Julie unwittingly raised her head and looked into the kitchen. Lucian was wearing a plaid apron as he hovered over the stove to cook the vegetables Patricia had bought. The Lucian now was more down to earth. Compared to the version of him back at Peyton Residence, this one seemed more like a real person. In a split second, Lucian suddenly turned around. Julie suddenly met Lucian's gaze. She quickly lowered her head, feeling a little peccant. "Juju, could you come over for a little while?" Lucian's voice traveled over.