Chapter 512: Chapter 512

Julian Sterling heard the voice and slowly looked up, his gaze suddenly sharp.

They had long agreed not to seek each other out, to pretend the other didn’t exist. Why did this person come looking for him?

"What are you here for?"

His tone was blunt, not at all friendly. Compared to Ethan Sterling’s familiarity, he could be considered cold.

A hint of hurt flashed in Ethan’s eyes as he lowered his head to stroke the cat.

"I haven’t come to see you for so many years. Recently, I heard you were injured, so I came to check on you. I have no other intentions. You don’t need to be so guarded with me."

Julian calmly shifted his gaze, unable to feel close to this so-called cousin because of the things Ethan had done in the past, which truly disgusted him.

"Jude, you should go back first. Don’t worry, even if Yvette comes, I won’t open the door for her."

He didn’t want such embarrassing matters to be known by Jude, so it was best to send him away.

Jude nodded, casting a slightly strange glance at the two sitting there. Seeing them together, they indeed looked somewhat alike.

However, Julian exuded the charm of a mature man, while Ethan resembled a fresh university graduate.

He opened the door and left, making sure to close it behind him.

Ethan placed the cat on the ground and turned to glance at Julian.

"Bro, are you still holding a grudge over that incident? It’s been years, we should let bygones be bygones."

Julian’s brow instantly furrowed, goosebumps rising all over his body. Seeing this person made him uncomfortable.

"Why are you here? Whatever you have to say, just hurry up and say it, then leave."

Ethan’s hand paused, feeling as if a knife had stabbed into his heart, causing him intense pain, trembling all over.

Why couldn’t this person just exchange a few kind words with him? It was indeed his mistake back then, but what could he do? Emotions are uncontrollable things, especially since at that time, Julian, with his shoulder-length hair, looked so beautiful, truly like a girl.

The other party never mentioned his gender, so Ethan naturally assumed he was a girl, leading to his confession and even forcing a kiss.

He sat quietly, not speaking, his eyes continually shifting with emotion.

Later, when he learned Julian was a man and also his cousin, he nearly broke down. His young love hadn’t even matured before it was abruptly snuffed out.

Afterward, their family moved away, and he became the target of everyone’s disdain for doing such a disgusting thing to his cousin.

For a long time, he was deeply depressed.

He resented Julian for having long hair at that time, giving him the illusion of being a girl, and he regretted his own feelings for him. Even now, he couldn’t let go; seeing Julian’s face, that affection still overflowed from some corner of his heart.

Perhaps, in his view, Julian should have been a woman.

"Cousin, that incident wasn’t entirely my fault. You never told me your gender, and you were so close to me, that’s why I liked you."

Hearing the word "like," Julian felt a wave of nausea. Being liked as a woman by a man made him utterly uncomfortable.

"That matter is in the past. What is your purpose in coming to see me? Just speak directly." Official source ıs novel-fire.net

A hint of amusement crossed Ethan’s eyes as he gently placed the cat on the ground.

"I don’t have anywhere to go recently, and knowing you’re in Serenford, I came to join you. I’ll stay for a month, and once things are sorted out there, I’ll leave."

Julian stood up somewhat impatiently, every strand of his hair radiating agitation.

"Do as you like, just don’t cause me any trouble and don’t tell others about that embarrassing incident. Otherwise, I won’t let you off."

Ethan nodded, curving his lips into a smile.

Meanwhile, Dylan Dawson’s body had already been sent to Eleanor Hollis, as per Ethan’s suggestion.

Eleanor truly did not expect that Dylan would die.

She looked at the person lying beside her and reached out a finger to test his breath.

When she felt that faint breath, her eyes brightened.

"Take him to the hospital! He still has a breath, hurry!"

The people around immediately sent Dylan to the hospital.

The emergency room lights quickly came on, and Eleanor paced anxiously outside.

That morning, she had just received the news of Ashley Dawson’s death, and that afternoon someone placed Dylan in front of her. It seemed these two had experienced something together, but Dylan was luckier to still be alive.

The doctors worked on him until late at night before they finally brought him out.

"The bullet missed his heart by only a few millimeters. If it weren’t for those millimeters, he’d be dead. His will to live is strong. After some rest, he should wake up."

Eleanor sighed in relief, nodding slowly as she watched Dylan being wheeled out.

Dylan’s face was deathly pale, his lips tightly pressed together.

She sat by his side, sighing.

Half an hour later, her phone rang; it was Hugo Quinn calling.

Hugo’s tone was somewhat sullen, seemingly in a bad mood.

These past days, Hugo hadn’t returned home at all, despite his efforts to find that woman but to no avail.

He finally managed to come home once at midnight, only to find Eleanor wasn’t there.

"I’m at the hospital. Dylan’s injured, and I brought him to the hospital."

Eleanor said as much, hearing silence on the other end, knowing Hugo was angry.

"Come home. I need to see you."

Recently, Eleanor’s emotions had also not been good, and she hadn’t gotten proper rest, so her emotions were volatile. Hearing Hugo’s words made her instantly uncomfortable.

"He’s seriously hurt. I need to stay here with him."

Hugo’s breathing grew heavier, clutching his phone tightly.

"Eleanor Hollis, you and he aren’t friends. If it wasn’t for Felix Ford’s tip-off, we would be dead already. Do you still stay with your enemy at the hospital?"

Eleanor felt more stifled, and her next words were purely stubbornness.

"Just go to sleep. I won’t be coming back tonight."

With that, she hung up, feeling a heavy weight pressing against her chest, making it hard to breathe.

Recently, she had enough of the online criticism, feeling like her life was a mess. She feared meeting people, dreaded receiving those strange looks. If she could, she really wanted to find a place where no one was around and hide herself away.

That day, Dylan gave her a note, saying if she regretted it, she could go with him.

She didn’t dare admit that, for a moment, she truly wanted to escape everything in Serenford and never come back, leaving all her troubles behind.

But in the blink of an eye, Dylan lay in front of her, and she didn’t even know what the man had gone through.