Juliana's body shook slightly. The plain white dress she wore somehow made her even more captivating, and the glimpse of her smooth skin stirred an unfamiliar heat inside Sebastian.

At first, he had only wanted to tease her. Before he realized it, however, he had already closed the distance between them, his warm breath falling against her.

"Don't... Please don't touch me..." Juliana tilted her head away and bit her lip until she tasted blood. Then she shut her eyes in despair.

Was there really no way for her to escape this?

Just then, the sharp ringing of a phone broke the tense silence.

The intensity in Sebastian's eyes disappeared as he reached for his phone and answered it.

"Sebastian, where are you? Something happened." A woman spoke through the phone, her voice shaking with tears.

Sebastian frowned and sat up. "What happened?"

"I'm pregnant," she shouted, her voice cracking. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Stay where you are. I'm coming over right away."

After offering a few brief words of comfort, Sebastian ended the call and got to his feet.

Juliana held the blanket tightly against her chest. "You..."

She wanted to ask whether he would be coming back tonight, but the words never left her mouth. Sebastian only looked back at her with a cold and distant expression.

"Juliana, this is the only warning you'll get. Stay out of my affairs. You have no right to stick your nose in," Sebastian said in a flat voice.

He picked up his jacket and walked out without another word, his expression as cold as ice.

Everything that had happened just moments earlier suddenly felt unreal to Juliana.

She slowly let out a breath of relief and pulled the quilt closer around herself as the fear inside her finally began to ease.

From now on, she decided to keep as much distance from Sebastian as she could.

She was afraid he might return. She was even more afraid that the violence he had shown would happen again. Because of that, she remained awake until dawn finally arrived.

...

The next morning, Juliana got up to wash herself. Once her mind felt a little clearer, she drove to the Watson mansion.

Jared had promised to tell her where her mother was, and she was finished waiting. This time, she would make him give her an answer.

However, Jared wasn't there when she arrived.

Only Vanessa Watson, her half sister, was in the garden, calmly tending to the flowers.

"What are you doing here?" Vanessa put down her gardening shears, sounding clearly displeased.

"Where's Dad? I need to speak with him," Juliana demanded.

A knowing smile slowly crossed Vanessa's face. "Let me give you some advice. Go back to the Harvey family and try to make your husband happy. If you ruin Dad's plans, you can forget about seeing your useless mother again."

Anger rose in Juliana because of Vanessa's words. "You have no right to talk about my mother like that."

Vanessa's smile grew wider. "I'm the only daughter Dad's actually proud of. You and your mother are nothing here, so I'll say whatever I want."

Juliana rushed forward and grabbed Vanessa by the collar. "Say that again. I dare you."

Vanessa sneered, "You think you'll hurt me? You don't have the nerve."

Then she took a bracelet from her pocket and held it up in front of Juliana. "Let go of me. Now look carefully at this."

Juliana recognized it right away. It was her mother's bracelet.

"That's my mother's! Give it back!" she said as she reached for it.

Vanessa pulled it away with a smug smile. "Go ahead. Touch me, and your mother will end up just like this bracelet..."

She made a quick motion, as if she was about to smash it against the stone path. Her threat was clear.

Panic gripped Juliana. She reached for the bracelet, but two servants suddenly appeared and grabbed her arms before forcing her onto her knees. With shame burning through her, she could only glare up at Vanessa.

Vanessa casually played with the bracelet in her hand.

"You really want this worthless little thing? You've got no taste at all."

She looked at Juliana, gave a cold laugh, dropped the bracelet onto the ground, and deliberately crushed it beneath her foot.

"Stop!" Juliana let out a desperate cry as she watched the thing her mother treasured most being ruined.

She struggled with all her strength to stand, but the servants held her down so tightly that she couldn't move.

Tilting her head back, Juliana shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice filled with hatred, "You bitch! I'll make you pay for this!"

"You're still talking back, huh?" Vanessa snapped in anger as she raised her hand to slap her.

Just before her hand came down, a cold, sharp voice rang out and stopped her.

"What an interesting sight. Why is my wife being pinned to the ground? What exactly are you trying to do?"