My Girlfriend Is Getting Married

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jolene shrieked, instantly jumping defensively between Julian and her highly vulnerable father. Her eyes were wide with blind panic and unhinged hostility, ready to strike. However, her desperate defensive maneuver was entirely unnecessary. Julian had already finished his precise, lightning-fast intervention and smoothly retracted his hand.

Before Jolene could unleash another venomous tirade, an audible, collective gasp of pure disbelief caught in her throat. To her utter astonishment, the sickly, pallid gray washing over William's face rapidly receded. A healthy, vibrant flush of returning color surged back into his previously dying cheeks. His agonizing, rattling breaths—which just moments ago sounded like an irreversible death rattle—smoothed out completely, settling into a calm, incredibly steady rhythm.

Julian casually took a step back, brushing off his sleeves with total clinical indifference. "I have only temporarily kept the severe hidden injury in check," he explained calmly, his deep voice slicing through the tense air. "Do not mistake this for a permanent miracle. Given the sheer age and severity of the internal damage in your lung, you are still on borrowed time. Achieving a full, permanent recovery will require an extensive, highly regimented, long-term treatment plan. If you ignore it again, you will drop dead."

Overwhelmed with profound relief and breathing easier than he had in over a decade, William surged forward and firmly grasped Julian’s hand. "Thank you. Thank you for saving my life right here on the side of the road. I genuinely cannot express my deep-seated, boundless gratitude enough."

Meanwhile, Jolene stood completely frozen like a statue, her jaw practically hitting the pavement. She was entirely astounded by her father's sudden, miraculous physical improvement. The sheer undeniable proof of Julian's skill instantly shattered her previous arrogance, leaving her momentarily silenced in absolute shock.

Julian pulled his hand back smoothly, making his underlying motives abundantly clear. He didn't want any misunderstandings. "Don't flatter yourself, and don't mistake me for a bleeding heart," Julian stated flatly, his sharp gaze cutting toward Jolene before settling back on the old man. "My medical intervention was not born out of blind saintliness or some manufactured obligation to help entitled strangers. Especially not after your daughter's unprovoked hostility and her pathetic attempt to stab me mere minutes ago."

He directly addressed William, his tone steady. "I only chose to step in and save you because I am acutely aware of your extensive philanthropic work in Harrington. I know for a fact that your corporation has generously funded and built more than ten schools for the underprivileged in the worst districts. You did good for the people. Because of that, I felt a moral obligation to return the favor on behalf of the community. Consider your good karma cashed in."

Deeply embarrassed by his daughter's earlier reckless behavior but immensely appreciative of the young man standing before him, William warmly insisted, "Your humility does you immense credit, young man. But I simply cannot let a life debt go unpaid. It is almost noon. You must allow me to treat you to a lavish lunch at my own property, The Grand Sterling. Please, I insist."

Julian immediately shook his head, declining the generous offer. His mind was still burning fiercely with an urgent, desperate need to clear the air with Sasha. "I appreciate it, but no. I still have a pressing personal problem to take care of."

But the wealthy patriarch absolutely refused to take no for an answer, his fingers tightening relentlessly around Julian's arm, refusing to let go. Julian paused. He could quickly sense William's underlying desperation to secure those crucial follow-up treatments, seamlessly combined with a very genuine sincerity that was hard to brush off. Unwilling to physically drag the old man further along the concrete, Julian finally relented with a heavy sigh.

"Fine," Julian agreed reluctantly, his jaw tightening. "I must deal with my personal problem first. I promise to meet you at the hotel once I am done."

Leaving the Sterlings behind by the roadside, Julian pivoted and hurried with heavy, determined steps toward the sprawling Rossi residence. The old, familiar mansion loomed in the distance, but the moment he set foot near the heavily manicured entrance, his path was aggressively intercepted.

Sasha's mother, Mina, stormed out to block the grand gates. Dressed in a gaudy, overly expensive gown that aggressively screamed new money, she glared at Julian with unvarnished, venomous disdain. She didn't even bother hiding her absolute disgust.

"Get the hell lost!" Mina spat at him, her voice dripping with pure malice. "What do you think you're doing lurking around here? My daughter is getting married today to a vastly superior man! We are moving up in the world, and a worthless ex-convict like you is entirely unwelcome on this property. Crawl back to the gutter where you belong!"

Hearing the horrific rumors confirmed directly from Mina's spiteful mouth caused Julian's face to contort into a deep, furious scowl. The blood in his veins practically boiled over.

Completely ignoring her vicious shrieks, Julian surged forward. Mina let out a frantic cry, making desperate, flailing attempts to pull him back by aggressively grabbing his clothes. But Julian simply overpowered the older woman with insulting ease. He didn't even break his powerful stride, practically dragging her struggling, high-heeled form across the manicured yard as he forced his way aggressively right into the mansion's lavish main hall.

His relentless, angry march was only brought to an abrupt halt the exact moment the inner double doors swung open. Sasha finally emerged from the inner rooms.

She was dressed in a pristine, breathtaking white wedding gown, the intricate lace hugging her figure perfectly. Yet, contrasting the beautiful dress, her expression was completely sullen, her eyes dull and entirely devoid of joy.

The moment he saw her, Julian stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes blazed with uncontrollable rage. "Sasha, what the hell is going on here?" he demanded, his deep voice echoing off the high ceiling. "Explain this to me right now!"

Instead of the guilt or remorse he desperately expected to see, Sasha met his unbridled fury with absolute, cold indifference. She didn't even flinch.

"Julian, you need to leave immediately, and you should never attempt to see me again," she stated coldly, her voice devoid of any warmth or history. "I have made the conscious decision to marry Lucca."

The name hit him like a physical blow. *Lucca.* Hearing the name of the very mafia scumbag who had brutally assaulted her—the very man Julian had sacrificed three agonizing years of his freedom in a hellish prison just to protect her from—twisted a jagged, rusted knife deep in Julian's gut.

A wry, deeply pathetic laugh escaped his lips. The sheer, sickening absurdity of the betrayal washed over him like a bucket of ice water.

His fiercely tense fingers slowly uncurled at his sides. The blinding, hot anger that had propelled him all the way here rapidly receded into a cold, hollow clarity. He stared at the woman he thought he knew, meticulously analyzing her foreign, stony face.

"Is this what you truly want?" Julian asked softly, his voice eerily devoid of all previous heat.

Sasha nodded sharply without a single hint of hesitation. "Yes," she declared cruelly. "I want to be rich, Julian. It's that simple. And that is a luxury you will never, ever be able to provide for me. Look at you. As a freshly released ex-convict, you might not even be capable of taking care of yourself in this city, let alone supporting a wife. You are nothing but dead weight."

To cement her utter contempt, Sasha aggressively reached into a nearby designer purse, grabbed a thick wad of cash, and hurled it directly at Julian's face. The crisp bills fluttered through the air, slapping against his chest before raining down onto the cold marble floor between them.

"Take the few hundred dollars for old times' sake," she sneered, looking down her nose at him with absolute disgust. "At least that way, you won't have to sleep on the miserable streets tonight."

Julian didn't blink as the money rained around his boots. Staring at the scattered bills and the incredibly cold, unfeeling woman standing before him in white, he realized with absolute finality that the sweet girl he had once fiercely loved was entirely dead to him. She was nothing but a hollow shell wrapped in greed.

Without bending to pick up a single bill, he turned his broad back on her. The last frayed thread connecting them snapped completely, severing him from his past.

As he walked away, a thunderous, echoing roar tore from his throat. "You will deeply regret this choice, Sasha! I swear it!"

From behind him, Sasha hisses viciously, her voice sharp and spiteful. "I would only ever feel regret if I had married a broke bastard like you!"

Julian didn't look back. Walking away with a cold, absolute clarity, he headed straight for the mansion's sprawling exit, moving directly on a collision course with the groom.