He Wanted Me Hidden, I Became Untouchable Chapter 08
Meanwhile, at the Ashford estate,
Julian spent the entire night in his study. The ashtray on his desk was overflowing with cigarette butts.
After seeing the picture in the news the night before, he stared blankly for a few seconds. Then he ordered someone to investigate Luna’s identity overnight.
He had never had much interaction with the Whitmores.
The family had also gone out of its way to protect its daughter.
So he knew almost nothing about Emilia. He only knew that she was under twenty–five atıd painted for a
living.
If that counted, he’d been at the Whitmores‘ celebration for Emilia when she was a newborn.
When his assistant brought him the complete file,
Julian let out a helpless sigh.
There was almost no information about Emilia, but there was plenty about Luna Bennett.
Luna had also spent most of her life away from Harbor City. Even though their birthdays, ages, and college majors matched, it had been almost impossible to connect the two identities, especially because Luna had deliberately hidden who she was.
In that moment, Julian understood why Luna had been at Emilia’s birthday party.
He also understood why she had been so hurt when he refused to attend her birthday celebration.
Luna had wanted to introduce him to her family.
The realization made Julian rub his brow. He couldn’t name the feeling twisting inside him.
If Luna had just been Luna, he wouldn’t have refused her anything. Even if she learned the truth about him, he would have found a way to keep her.
But Luna was Emilía.
He could no longer use any of those methods.
The Whitmores would never allow Emilia to become his mistress, and he didn’t want to destroy his
relationship with the family over a personal matter.
That was why he had asked one of his relatives to marry Emilia in the first place.
“A marriage alliance.”
Julian murmured the words, and his head began to ache even more.
If Luna found out that he had personally pushed her toward another man, what would she think of him?
She would probably hate him.
Dawn finally broke. Julian reached for another cigarette,
but his fingers found nothing,
He hadn’t smoked this much in years.
No matter how he looked at it, he still couldn’t find a solution that would satisfy everyone. He picked up his
phone.
The chat was still frozen on yesterday’s messages.
Luna was still angry.
After some time, Julian finally left the study.
He ran straight into his older brother, who looked him over and smiled.
“You closed the deal with the Whitmores, right? Too excited to sleep?”
“My son was the same way. He ran off to meet Emilia first thing this morning.”
Julian frowned. “She agreed?”
His brother heard the strange note in his voice and immediately followed up. “What? She agreed, and that’s
not good enough?”
“I just think it happened too fast.”
His brother gave him an odd look.
Julian was decisive and efficient. He had met Lauren once, and they had gotten engaged and married soon
after.
He had no business judging anyone else.
But he kept that thought to himself and cleared his throat. “They’re young. They should spend more time getting to know each other.”
Julian fell silent.
Young? Compared with him, Elliot really was young.
So was that why Luna had agreed to the marriage? Or was she only trying to spite him because he had hidden his identity and kept his marriage from her?
Julian’s thoughts had become a mess.
He only knew that he needed to see Luna in person.
Before he could leave, the butler hurried over.
“Mr. Ashford, the Whitmores sent everything back.”
“They said they aren’t considering the marriage alliance.”
Julian’s expression flickered, but the knot in his throat finally loosened.
He let out a silent, breathless laugh.
A tenderness he could barely hide softened his eyes.
He thought Luna had rejected the marriage because she still loved him.
He hadn’t realized the truth.
Luna had already walked away from him for good.
