Chapter 423

Julian walked step by step toward the basement, a dark, unreadable smile on his face.

The woman inside had been dazed and lifeless, but the moment she saw Julian, her eyes snapped into focus.

The chains binding her clanked sharply as she stirred.

Her mouth had been stuffed with a cloth, completely silencing her; only her eyes could move.

Her body was barely covered by a couple of scraps of fabric.

At the sight, the desire in Julian’s eyes nearly overflowed, especially when he saw her barely clothed, as if she had been waiting there just for him.

Her body was marked with bruises, blue and purple.

Her gaze had once been void of emotion, but now, facing Julian, hatred burned in her eyes.

Julian let out a cold laugh and gripped her chin tightly. “What? Can’t stand the sight of me? Why are you looking at me like that?”

The woman had a striking, radiant beauty, and if one looked closely, she bore a certain resemblance to Aurora.

Not only that, she carried the same kind of pride that Aurora had.

That was exactly why Julian treated her with particular affection.

Her name was Lily Cook, a woman Julian had taken in from the outside.

At the time, she was covered in injuries.

When she woke up, she remembered nothing – not who she was, nor anyone around her.

Julian took full advantage of that and brought her back with him.

Coincidentally, it was precisely because she looked like Aurora that Julian had that moment of so-called compassion and decided to keep her.

But eventually, Julian realized that whenever he looked at Lily, he always ended up thinking of Aurora.

And so, the two of them…

In the beginning, Lily had genuinely planned to be with Julian.

After all, he looked decent, and he came from a well-off family.

All in all, he seemed like someone worth considering.

But later on, it seemed like Lily was starting to regain her memories.

Left with no other choice, Julian resorted to this desperate measure.

As he looked at Lily’s proud, cold face, his feelings were torn between love and hate.

He yanked the cloth from her mouth, grumbling, “What’s wrong with my parents? Why did they treat you so roughly?”

Then, with a look of false tenderness, he pulled her into his arms and softly comforted her.

“See? If you hadn’t tried to run away in the first place, you wouldn’t have had to suffer through all this. Why put yourself through this? It breaks my heart just looking at you.”

“Spare me!” Lily couldn’t hold back and spat straight at his face.

“A hypocrite like you should shut up. I don’t want to see you. Get out of my sight!” Her voice was weak, clearly showing she hadn’t been cared for properly.

Julian didn’t react much.

He raised his hand and wiped his face, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward.

“It seems I’ve been too nice to you lately. You’ve forgotten your place.”

His words sank into Lily’s heart, one word at a time. She trembled uncontrollably.

But deep down, she already knew that there was no way out today.

So be it.

That was how she’d lived the past month or two anyway.

She would just grit her teeth and endure again.

Bearing the pain all over her body, Lily stared at Julian, her eyes full of hatred, wishing she could kill him right then and there.