Aria's indifferent attitude irritated Julian, but he knew her too well. She would rather die than watch him marry someone else.
Julian waited for Aria to show up at the engagement, sobbing and begging for his forgiveness, so he could reluctantly accept her pleas from a position of superiority.
After all, that was how it had always gone for the past ten years.
But Aria didn't come.
He waited an entire day before losing his patience and sending her a message. "I'll give you one million dollars, all right? That should be enough to get you here."
Aria stared at the screen, her fingers trembling.
One million dollars. Just enough for the first payment of treatment in Edelmark.
She closed her eyes as tears slid down her cheeks.
In the face of survival, dignity meant nothing.
She went. The moment she stepped into the hotel ballroom, laughter exploded.
"Well, if it isn't Aria. You really showed up?"
"So money matters more than pride now?"
"Isn't that pathetic? Watching your man marry his mistress, and still showing up for money?"
Wearing the cheapest black dress she owned, she stood among the glittering crowd like a shadow.
Lila clung to Julian's arm and deliberately raised her voice. "Julian, is she that desperate now? She even dares to show up at a place like this?"
But Aria no longer cared about anything. She looked at Julian. "Will you really give me the money?"
Julian sneered and snapped his fingers.
Two bodyguards carried in a cardboard box and dumped it with a loud crash.
One hundred stacks of hundred-dollar bills spilled across the marble floor like trash.
"Pick it up," he said coldly. "Once you're done, it's yours. I won't go back on my word."
The room fell silent for a second, then erupted into even harsher laughter.
"Hurry up and pick it up!"
"Get down and grab it already! Who are you trying to impress with that dignity?"
"A simp should act like a simp!"
Aria stood frozen as the blood drained from her body, trembling with cold.
She remembered being fifteen, when he chased away the thugs who bullied her and said, "No one will ever make you bow your head again."
Now, he was the one forcing her to abandon every shred of dignity.
She took a deep breath and slowly crouched down.
Her fingertips touched the bills, cold and rough, smeared with dust.
Each bill she picked up felt like stripping off a layer of skin.
Tears pooled in her eyes, but she bit down hard on her lip and refused to let them fall.
She couldn't cry. If she cried, she would become exactly the joke they wanted.
She picked them up one by one, her movements slow but unwavering.
Some took photos. Others recorded videos. The flashes burned her eyes.
But she no longer cared.
This money was her lifeline. It was blood payment she had bought with ten years of youth and dignity.
At last, the final bill was picked up.
She stood up, her back straight, and looked calmly at Julian. "I'm taking the money. I wish you a lifetime of happiness."
At that moment, the host announced loudly, "Now, please have Mr. Lawson and Miss Bennett exchange their engagement vows!"
Thunderous applause erupted.
Julian wrapped his arm around Lila and vowed amid the congratulations, "I vow to protect you for the rest of my life, Lila."
Aria turned and walked toward the exit.
Behind her came Lila's smug whisper, "Look, she doesn't even dare to be jealous anymore."
But just as she pushed open the revolving door, a white medical transport vehicle pulled up at the steps.
The logo of a Edelmark medical institution was printed on the side.
The driver stepped out and nodded to her. "Are you Ms. Aria Hart? We're here to take you to the airport."
Aria stopped in her tracks.
The cold wind lifted the loose strands from her forehead, revealing a pair of clear eyes.
She suddenly smiled. Not a bitter smile, but one of true release.
She looked back once at the brightly lit ballroom, where her youth, delusion, humility, and humiliation were buried.
And in this moment, she let it all go.
She walked toward the white vehicle. In the twilight, the wheels rolled toward a tomorrow without Julian.