He Wanted Me Hidden, I Became Untouchable Chapter 01
After my brother brought me back to Harbor City, he threw me a birthday party.
I had planned to introduce Julian Ashford to my family while everyone was there, but he turned me down, saying he had an important dinner to attend.
In the end, I had no choice but to let it go.
What I never expected was to see Julian at my own birthday party.
His arrival caused quite a stir among the city’s elite and the paparazzi.
Every eye in the room turned toward him and the woman on his arm.
I stared, caught off guard.
I’d never seen Julian look like that before, dressed in a sharp suit and polished from head to toe.
He looked nothing like the man who used to tell me stories in our rented apartment while wearing a ratty tank top.
It wasn’t until my brother leaned close and introduced him that I understood.
“Julian Ashford. Harbor City’s newest power player. He took control of the Ashford empire at eighteen and married the daughter of a shipping tycoon at twenty-two.”
“That’s his wife beside him. You could say his whole life has been one lucky break after another. Plenty of people would kill to trade places with him.”
Only then did it hit me.
The Ashford in Julian Ashford was the Ashford family, the most powerful family in Harbor City.
***
My family had been in public service for generations. We used to be close with the Ashfords, until Julian’s grandfather left government and went into business.
These days, the two families maintained little more than the appearance of civility.
Privately, we didn’t even bother visiting one another during the holidays anymore.
Put simply, the political elite thought businessmen reeked of money, while the business world considered politicians fake and self-important.
I had spent most of my life away from Harbor City and rarely appeared in public.
There were almost no pictures of me online.
All the outside world knew was that the Whitmores had a well-protected younger daughter named Emilia.
No one knew I also went by Luna Bennett, using my mother’s surname.
After college, I had spent three years accompanying my brother on a rural assignment, so I knew even less about what was happening in Harbor City.
That was why, when I first met Julian and heard his last name, I hadn’t paid much attention.
I never imagined it.
I wasn’t the only one keeping a secret.
When I failed to respond, my brother frowned and turned to look at me.
“What are you thinking about?”
His voice pulled me back to the present.
I blinked, then forced a smile and shook my head. “I’m fine. I probably just didn’t get enough sleep.”
The explanation sounded weak, and my brother clearly didn’t believe it.
He studied me for another moment, but ultimately said nothing.
Julian was no longer in the ballroom, and neither was my father. They had clearly gone upstairs to the study together. I frowned. “What does he want with Dad?”
My brother’s fingers tightened slightly around his champagne flute, and his eyes darkened.
“They’re discussing a marriage alliance.”
“The Ashfords have a younger relative around your age.”
I froze, a storm of emotions rising in my chest. “So Julian came to set it up?”
“Yes. He wants to bring Dad over to their side.”
The moment my brother finished speaking, a bitter laugh escaped me.
The whole thing felt absurd.
After all that back and forth, Julian had lied to me, I’d lied to Julian, and now he wanted one of his relatives to marry me?
Who did he think he was? How dare he?
