Chapter 256:

Robert’s POV

A cold shiver ran through my veins. Her request meant that the lie involved someone specific, and that my rage might cost that person their life. I locked my piercing gaze onto her eyes, my jaw clenching from the sheer pressure, while my mind seasoned by betrayal began to connect the dots.

"Julie... what does this mean?" I asked, my voice heavy.

"It means you won’t kill anyone," she replied, clutching my hand in fear.

I took a deep breath, trying to bridle the beast within. "Fine... I promise."

"Remember when I asked you to train?" she began, her voice trembling. "In reality, Max was already teaching me how to fight."

I smirked inwardly because I had known this for a while, but I feigned ignorance and said coldly, "Mmm... and why did you say otherwise?"

"Because I was afraid of you back then," she said, lowering her head.

I nodded. "Fine, Julie."

But she didn’t breathe a sigh of relief. Instead, she continued, "I’m not finished."

More lies? I felt the pulse in my temples quicken.

"When I told you Max was gay... that was a lie," she said.

Damn it! Her lie had been so convincing that I had believed it completely. "Max isn’t gay?" I snapped. "Did you lie just so I wouldn’t kill him?"

She nodded sheepishly. "Yes."

"You’re a professional liar," I said, looking at the craftiness in her features.

"Marcus isn’t gay either," she added quickly.

That was the moment my blood began to boil. "What was Marcus doing in Max’s room then?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Remember when I told you he compared me to his lover and showed me her picture, and I thought it was my mother?"

I remembered that encounter clearly. "Yes."

"It turns out she’s my aunt," she continued. "My mother has a twin, and I am a carbon copy of my mother."

"Go on," I commanded.

"That day you found Marcus... he came to my room drunk," she said visibly nervous. "He thought I was his lover... I mean, my aunt."

Rage ignited inside me like a wildfire. I stood up violently, ready to explode, but Julie grabbed me firmly. "Nothing happened, I swear!" she cried out in terror.

I fixed my gaze on her, my voice turning lethal. "Did he touch you? Tell me!"

"You promised not to kill anyone! Remember your promise!" she shouted, trying to calm me.

To hell with that promise! My fists clenched so hard they shook.

"He didn’t touch me, don’t worry!" she said quickly. "Olivia hit him over the head with a vase back then."

My God! Had all of this happened without my knowledge? Had I trusted her all this time while she was hiding these things from me? "What is this, Julie?" I asked bitterly. "Have you been lying to me this whole time?"

"I was afraid of you," she said in a broken tone.

"And why did Marcus come to your room drunk in the first place?" I asked, sparks flying from my eyes.

"Actually... he came and drank in my room," she whispered.

"What?!" I roared in disbelief.

She looked at me with a mix of defiance and fear. "If you keep being this angry... I won’t tell you anything else!"

"Speak!" I barked, my voice full of apprehension and bottled-up rage.

"He was angry because of what I told your father," Julie said, her body trembling. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

My father? This was madness. I felt the ground shifting beneath me. "What does my father have to do with this?"

"Your father came to me and asked about my Aunt Violet," she said, looking at the floor nervously.

I froze. A chill swept through my limbs. It couldn’t be possible; was Julie’s aunt named Violet too? Robert, there are thousands of women named Violet, I told myself, trying to stay calm. It doesn’t mean anything.

"And why did my father ask about your aunt?" I asked, my jaw tight.

"I don’t know..." she said, her voice filled with confusion. "But he asked me about the person my aunt was in a relationship with."

Impossible! Could it be the same woman? Was she Julie’s aunt? I felt my heartbeat thumping in my head. I got out of bed and began putting on my clothes with frantic speed, my wound groaning under the sudden movements.

"Robert, what’s wrong?" Julie asked in a panic as she watched me get ready to leave.

"I have business," I said curtly, buckling my belt.

"Are you going to kill someone?" she screamed, standing up behind me. "Look at me... you promised you wouldn’t, Robert!"

"I won’t... I have to go," I said flatly, without looking at her.

"Business at this hour?" she asked, bewildered.

I didn’t answer. I bolted out of the room, ignoring the sharp pain of my injury. I needed to know the truth, and the truth was in only one place. I left the club, got into my car, and drove like a madman through the empty streets.

A thousand questions stormed my mind, and I was terrified; terrified that my conclusion was right, and that fate was playing a filthy game with us.

I reached the house and began pounding on the door like a lunatic until it nearly broke under my fists. The maid opened it in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes in shock. I pushed past her and stormed upstairs toward my father’s room.

I burst into the room to find my father already awake, sitting up and looking at me with sharp eyes despite the traces of sleep. "Robert, what’s wrong with you?" he asked in a calm but surprised tone. "Why are you here at this hour?"

I locked my eyes onto his, my breath coming out like steam from my chest. "Violet..." I asked in a wavering voice. "Is she Julie’s aunt, Father?"

A terrifying silence filled the room a silence that shredded my nerves more than any scream could. My father just watched me with cryptic eyes and didn’t answer. "Father, speak!" I roared, losing control.

He sighed deeply, the wrinkles on his face more prominent under the dim lamp. "I told you to stay away from that girl, Robert," he said firmly. "But you wouldn’t listen."

"Father... don’t drive me to insanity!" I growled, my fists clenching.

"Robert... go back to the club," he replied with lethal coldness, gesturing toward the door.

In that moment, the volcano inside me erupted. I could see nothing but the missing truth. I strode toward him, grabbed his pajama collar with both hands, and yanked him toward me until we were face to face. "Tell me!" I hissed through gritted teeth. "Is Violet the woman who made my mother commit suicide is she Julie’s aunt? Answer me!"

He looked at me with eyes full of sorrow and resignation, as if the weight of years had suddenly fallen onto his shoulders. Then, he spoke the words that felt like a lightning bolt striking my head:

"She isn’t her aunt."

My grip loosened slightly as I trembled. "Are you telling the truth?" I asked in a terrified whisper.

He shook his head slowly and uttered the words that made the world collapse around me in a single second:

"Violet... is Julie’s mother."