Being Dumped by My EX, I Marriied His Older Brother-Chapter 99: We Are Married, a Spousal Relationship

Chapter 99: Chapter 99: We Are Married, a Spousal Relationship

"Next month is my birthday," Justin Kane said without a moment’s hesitation.

Nina Thorne had seen his birthday on their marriage certificate.

It was soon, less than twenty days away.

’I can’t believe he’s moving so fast, and he even picked such a meaningful and special day.’

Justin Kane was the famous Crown Prince of the Sylport scene, a top-tier figure.

Countless people wanted to curry favor with him, so his birthday party was bound to be a grand and high-profile affair. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Just thinking about it made Nina Thorne feel an inexplicable mix of excitement and nervousness. A smile lit up her eyes without her realizing it. "Okay."

After hanging up, Nina Thorne’s heart fluttered. She felt as if she were walking on air.

The difference between Justin Kane and Cole Kane was that Justin was a man of his word who always put her first.

Cole Kane, on the other hand, never kept his promises. He always put her needs last and would readily sacrifice her feelings.

The difference between the two was like night and day.

Nina Thorne reflected once more. ’If Cole Kane hadn’t saved me ten years ago, I wouldn’t have seen him through rose-colored glasses.’

’Perhaps I never would have fallen for him.’

’And even if I had, I wouldn’t have endured one disappointment after another, constantly compromising for five long years.’

As the old saying goes, speak of the devil.

She had just been thinking of Cole Kane when her phone rang. It was him.

The smile on Nina Thorne’s face vanished instantly. She swiped to answer. "What is it?"

He hadn’t pestered her too much about the so-called life-debt, so Nina Thorne had unblocked his number—but only his phone number.

"Nina,"

His voice on the other end was laced with regret. "I miss you. I’ve been thinking about our past a lot lately, and I realize I did so many awful things..."

Nina Thorne felt a surge of revulsion and frowned. "If you only called to say this, you can hang up."

Cole Kane felt her coldness, and it was like a knife to his heart. "Are you really going to be like this with me?"

"Won’t you even give me one more chance?"

"We were truly in love. You loved me so much for five years. Are you really throwing me away because of a misunderstanding from three years ago?"

His voice was hoarse, as if he were in great pain.

Nina Thorne felt a moment of daze, a trace of sorrow welling up from deep within her.

Back then, whenever she got upset over Serena Kane, all she wanted was for him to comfort her.

To acknowledge her feelings and understand the hurt she was experiencing.

But Cole Kane always thought she was being melodramatic, making a mountain out of a molehill, and maliciously targeting Serena Kane.

He would even cut off all contact, giving her the silent treatment for days on end.

Throughout that relationship, she endured his constant accusations and emotional abuse, to the point where she was constantly questioning herself day and night.

She started to believe she was really in the wrong. Her confidence eroded, and she became increasingly subservient in her efforts to please him.

Eventually, she didn’t even dare to get angry anymore.

...

But now, time had passed, and Nina Thorne’s heart was as calm as still water.

"It’s over. Don’t ever bring this up with me again."

Nina Thorne’s expression was cold, her voice detached and calm. "Whether it was the incident three years ago or you ditching me at the marriage registry three months ago for Serena Kane, none of it matters anymore."

"We broke up. We called off the engagement. From now on, I have my own life. You, Serena Kane—neither of you has anything to do with me anymore."

As Nina Thorne spoke, Justin Kane’s handsome face surfaced in her mind, bringing with it an unexpected sense of peace.

Not wanting to say any more, she prepared to hang up.

Cole Kane suddenly grew agitated. "Nina, I didn’t know anything about that! This isn’t fair to me..."

"Yes, I was wrong not to go to the registry that day. But we have plenty of other opportunities to go!"

"If you’re willing, we can go on my birthday. That would be meaningful too, wouldn’t it?"

His mention of a birthday reminded Nina Thorne that Cole’s birthday was the day after Justin’s.

But her heart was dead to him. If he hadn’t brought it up, she would have completely forgotten his birthday.

"There’s no need."

Nina Thorne paused, then added, "It’s not like I’m desperate to marry you. Besides, I’m already married."

"Nina, what’s the point of lying to me like this?"

Cole Kane assumed she was just saying it out of anger. He said placatingly, "For years, I’ve been the only one by your side. How could you marry someone else? Stop fooling around, okay? Let’s get back together for real."

’He’s certainly confident.’

’I’ve told him so many times, and he still doesn’t believe I’m married?’

’Well, it’s going to be public soon anyway,’ she thought. Nina decided to be direct. "I’m not fooling around. I’m dead serious."

"You keep asking about my relationship with Justin Kane, right? Well, I’ll tell you..."

Her tone was grave and earnest. "We’re married. We’re husband and wife."

There was a long silence from Cole’s end. When he finally spoke, his tone was mocking. "Nina, you’d say something that ridiculous just to piss me off?"

"Leaving aside the fact that you don’t even like him, Justin Kane has always been in love with someone else. Why would he possibly marry you?"

Nina’s heart sank. His claim that Justin Kane was in love with someone else was jarring.

But she didn’t dwell on it. ’Everyone has a past.’

’I don’t care.’

Since Cole Kane wouldn’t believe anything she said, she couldn’t be bothered to argue and simply hung up.

After she hung up, Cole Kane relentlessly called back. Nina rejected his calls two or three times in a row.

A text message arrived moments later: "You once said you’d love me forever, that you’d be with me for the rest of our lives..."

"Nina, how could you go back on your promise?"

"You said you owed me your life, that you’d agree to anything I asked. Well, I’m asking now. Marry me."

Nina read the text, her brow knitting tightly as a nameless fury surged in her chest.

Unable to hold back, she texted him back: "You, a person who breaks promises, have the audacity to demand I keep mine?"

After replying, she tossed her phone aside without a second glance.

Nina’s mood didn’t improve until the gown Justin Kane had chosen for her was delivered.

When she tried it on, the gown was a surprisingly perfect fit.

The purple, a nebula-like tie-dye on silk, was anything but gaudy. Instead, it exuded an air of noble elegance.

On Nina, it traced the lines of her graceful figure, making her look as radiant and elegant as a celestial being who had descended to the mortal realm.

Nina looked at her radiant reflection, completely unfazed by Cole’s earlier behavior. She couldn’t resist snapping a photo and sending it to Justin Kane.

Moments after she sent it, Justin Kane video called her, his praise unstinting as he smiled.

"That gown is beautiful on you. It suits you perfectly."

A fiery intensity burned in Justin Kane’s dark eyes, and his adoring tone was mixed with a bit of his usual, ill-timed sharp wit.

"Nina Thorne has really grown up. You’re no longer that green, hot-tempered girl from ten years ago."

Nina Thorne blushed, embarrassed.

’Back then,’ she thought, ’I was headstrong and pampered, never letting anyone sway me. A truly flamboyant and confident heiress.’

"So is that why you always loved to antagonize me back then?" she asked, glaring resentfully at the handsome face on the screen.

After she got together with Cole Kane, she often visited the Kane family’s estate.

Back then, both he and Cole were still living there.

Old Master Kane was fond of Nina and always enjoyed pulling her aside for a chat.

Justin Kane would sit far away, but whenever she brought up Cole, he would always cut in with a cool, dismissive remark, completely ruining the mood.

"You little fool." A low chuckle escaped Justin Kane’s lips, his dark eyes brimming with affection. "That hasn’t changed. You’re still as silly as ever."

"..."

Nina was completely baffled. She just huffed and ignored him.

And yet, this feeling... it felt a lot like being in love.

Sweet and wonderful.

It was far sweeter and happier than her entire five years with Cole Kane had been.

She even found herself wondering, ’If Justin Kane had been the one to save me back then, would things have turned out differently?’

’Would we have gotten together much sooner?’

-

On the day of the wrap party for the miniseries, Nina Thorne went to the production company at the producer’s request for a meeting about the next project.

During the meeting, the producer’s laptop started acting up.

The IT guy came to take a look but said it couldn’t be fixed quickly and might delay things by three hours.

Nina had plans to go shopping with Macy Lynch later to pick out a birthday gift for Justin Kane.

That was also the day they planned to announce their marriage.

She was paying extra attention to all the details.

Not wanting to wait, Nina spoke up. "I have an idea. Let me try."

As she finished speaking, Director Aldridge remembered something.

"That’s right! Mr. Thorne is an expert at this. Last time on set when the script file was lost, she recovered it immediately."

A few crew members in the meeting who had been there that day immediately chimed in to agree.

The producer was skeptical. "Really?"

Nina gave a modest smile. "I’ll give it a try."

The IT guy said worriedly, "Mr. Thorne, this is no joke. If you do something wrong, I’m afraid all the data will be lost, and there’ll be nothing I can do at that point."

"If anything goes wrong, I’ll take full responsibility," Nina assured him, not wanting to waste any more time.

The producer hesitated for a moment, then thought, ’Worst case, we just redo the plan.’ "Alright, give it a shot."

Nina stood up, walked over to the producer, and sat down. The moment she looked at the screen, she seemed to transform into a different person.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard with nimble grace. Her gaze was steady, her posture composed, as if this were a trivial task for her.

The producer watched in astonishment, feeling as if she were looking at a complete stranger.

About ten minutes passed.

Nina stopped, calmly looked up, and said in a quiet voice, "It’s done."

Everyone was stunned.

Thunderous applause erupted. The producer gushed excitedly, "My God, Nina, with skills like that, why are you a screenwriter? You could be a top gun in any IT department!"

Nina’s eyes darkened, a flicker of pain crossing their depths. "Just luck."

Meanwhile, outside the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, Justin Kane and Seth Lawson stood watching the scene unfold.

Seth Lawson’s face was a picture of shock. He slapped Justin on the chest a couple of times. "Kane, since when was Nina Thorne a tech whiz?"

A thought struck him, and he sucked in a sharp breath. "Did she get that from her dad?"

Justin Kane’s pupils contracted. His voice was low. "Don’t ever bring that up in front of her. She likes being a screenwriter. As long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters."

Seth Lawson looked puzzled. "Why? Does she think her dad’s death had something to do with... that?"

Justin Kane’s gaze shifted to his friend’s face. "Her father’s death was a huge blow to her. That’s all you need to understand."

Seth Lawson suddenly had a realization, his eyes widening as his voice rose in shock. "So that’s why! You were clearly into her back then, but you never made a move... it was because of that, wasn’t it?!"

"Then now that you’re planning to announce the marriage, aren’t you afraid... of what will happen when Nina finds out the truth?"