Julia Harvey and I exchanged glances, and for a moment, the air was thick with awkwardness.

The silence was broken when Sean spoke up passionately.

"Seriously, sis? This is what you call being busy?

"Busy with that pretty boy you're hanging out with, right?

"Tell me, sis, what do you think would happen if I told Mom and Dad about this..."

Julia was so frustrated she actually laughed, then raised her hand and slapped him on the head.

"Honestly, sit down. Your new brother-in-law is treating us to dinner today. Try not to make a scene when you go home." She glanced at me with a polite but distant tone. "Leon can join us as well."

I gave a small smirk and countered, "Just Leon?"

The atmosphere instantly became a bit awkward, and the young man next to Julia started eyeing me with a hint of scrutiny.

I smiled back at him, trying to keep my tone light, "Just kidding, Julia. I'm looking forward to the big dinner you and your boyfriend are treating us to."

Julia's eyes met mine with a clear sign of panic.

But I decided not to push it any further.

After finishing our coffee, Sean insisted on digging into the background of the new brother-in-law and followed him to get the car.

Julia got up to leave, but I pulled her into an embrace.

"Why?"

I asked her, my voice trembling more than I realized.

Julia and I, along with Sean, had grown up together. Julia was a few years older, having started school much earlier than us.

Since we were kids, Sean and I had followed her around. It wasn't an exaggeration to say we grew up together.

I had been pursuing her for over a decade. After finally getting her to agree to be my girlfriend, it had only been a year. How could she just change her mind so easily?

Weren't we supposed to announce our relationship soon?

I had even prepared a bribe for Sean. And yet...

I couldn't understand it.

She looked at me with a smirk and asked, "Do you have money?

"Can you make over ten thousand a month just after graduating?"

"Do you have a family business?"

My throat felt parched, and I could only shake my head. "I don't have any of those things.

"But I'm working hard to achieve them. Even if I can't get to ten out of ten, I can at least make it to eight."

She coldly laughed, "But he can.

"Some people are born into luxury, while we spend our entire lives just trying to touch a piece of that luxury.

"I've had enough of that kind of life, so I chose him."

Julia seemed like a completely different person now.

She was no longer the sister I used to know, the one who would say things like: "Money is just a means to an end. As long as you have enough, that's what matters. Wealthy people have their own way of living, and we ordinary folks have ours." Or: "Leon, don't let money blind you. Love and life are what truly inspire us to create something beautiful."

After my parents fell ill, I sank into a deep depression. I worked tirelessly, trying every possible way to raise money and bring them back from the brink of death.

Every day, I prayed for just a little more time to earn enough to keep my family with me.

But in the end, I was beaten by time.

They were gone, and the pain of losing them nearly crushed me. I was overwhelmed by loneliness, blaming myself for being so powerless, unable to even afford their treatment. At one point, I was so desperate that I even considered ending my own life.

Julia was the one who pulled me out of that dark place.

She slapped me hard, crying and shouting.

"You're not just living for yourself anymore. You're living for your parents who are gone.

"Haven't you heard? We're the living legacy of our parents' love. True death isn't just about the physical body; it's when we forget them.

"As long as you remember them, they're still alive.

"Leon, if you don't have anyone to rely on, find someone else to lean on. Look at me—I'm here for you too."

Her steadfastness was like a beacon of light in my darkness.

But today, I suddenly realized that the Julia of my memories was beginning to fade.