I specifically brought Julian to attend our first family gathering after the wedding.

“Honey, how do I look in this outfit?” Julian straightened his back, puffed out his chest, and looked at me, blinking his doe-like eyes.

Looking at Julian, dressed to the nines in designer clothes, he looked proud, like a flamboyant peacock strutting around.

I rubbed my forehead, unable to look directly at him. It was almost too much to handle.

“Take it off.”

“No way.”

“If you don’t take it off, I’ll do it myself.”

Julian’s ears turned red. Looking into his affectionate, almond-shaped eyes, I almost lost control and felt like ripping off his clothes myself.

After a bit of fuss, he finally changed into something else.

I raised my hand to adjust his bowtie. The simple suit suddenly made him look dignified.

Under the lights, his handsome profile was bathed in shadows that flickered and shifted, mysterious and captivating.

I stared at him, transfixed. His striking face leaned in closer.

Julian raised an eyebrow, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Honey, do I look good?”

His voice was soft and sweet, sending a jolt through my chest. For a moment, it felt like my heart skipped a beat. God, how could anyone resist this?

I swallowed hard and stammered, “Y-You look… good…”

I must’ve married a damn fairy!

We walked into the hotel, heads held high.

“It’s alright, you can be as grand as you want. I’ve got your back!” I kept giving him advice and encouragement along the way.

“Yeah, Honey, you’re amazing!” His warm breath brushed against my ear.

I blushed, trying to stay composed.

“Yep, trust me. I’ll help you win over the aunts and uncles!”

His eyes sparkled with amusement, reflecting the confident me in them.

Suddenly, a voice came from behind us, sharp enough to cut through the air. “Evelyn!”

I spun around, meeting the gaze of the person who called my name. My body froze.

It was Marcus...

What the hell was he doing here?

He looked at me, his expression awkward and guilty.

“Evelyn, I heard you got married.”

I took a deep breath, rolling up my sleeves.

“Eve... lyn… what are you going to do?” Marcus’s face turned pale, and he quickly took a step back.

“What am I going to do? Beat you up, of course!”

Marcus and I were college classmates. We’d dated for two years, and I thought he was decent enough.

It’s the natural course of things—men marry, women get married. I thought, why not just marry him?

The wedding invitations had already been sent out, but then, he ran away.

God damn it, here he was, delivered straight to me. Wasn’t I right to give him a beating?

I threw a punch.

“Evelyn, are you crazy? We broke up, and you’re hitting me now?!” Marcus covered his nose, looking at me in disbelief.

Before I could say anything else, a panicked female voice interrupted.

“Marcus, are you okay?”

I turned to see my cousin, Vanessa, step forward and help Marcus, her face filled with concern as she looked at his bleeding nose.

I studied Marcus and my cousin, understanding what had been going on.

“Such a perfect pair of dogs!”

Vanessa, furious, lunged at me to slap me, but Julian quickly grabbed her wrist, preventing her from moving.

Vanessa glared at Julian with disdain. “So you’re the delivery guy?”

I felt my face harden, and I could have sworn I wanted to tear her mouth off.

But then, the warmth from Julian’s palm against mine calmed my restless heart.

He looked down at Vanessa with a proud sneer. “Yeah, I’m the delivery guy. So what? Did I eat your family’s rice?”

Vanessa was stunned into silence, her round eyes wide with anger.

Marcus, hearing this, lifted his head and shot me a cold smile. “Evelyn, you’re no better. You found a new lover just as quickly, didn’t you?”

“Bullshit! Do you think I’m like you?”

“Are you blind? Haven’t you seen my world-class looks?”

For a moment, both Marcus and Vanessa looked like they were constipated.

Julian grinned, a cocky smile stretching across his face.

“Honey, let’s go. Don’t waste time with crazy dogs.” He blocked Marcus’s view of me, grabbing my hand and pulling me away.

We walked briskly, as if there really were two crazy dogs chasing us. Not a moment was wasted.

Julian: "Honey, how did I do?"

"Not bad, keep it up!" I patted him on the shoulder.

"Yes, ma'am, Honey!"

I looked at the smug Julian and shook my head with amusement.

Having someone stand up for me felt pretty damn good.

"Dad! Mom!" Seeing my parents' serious faces, I hurried over and gave them a big hug.

My dad raised an eyebrow. "You're this grown-up and still acting like a little tiger?"

"Not at all!" I whined, playing cute.

Julian saw my parents and immediately put on a serious, respectful demeanor, addressing them politely, "Dad!"

"Mom!"

I had never seen Julian like this before. Usually playful and laid-back, now he seemed so composed.

My dad remained stone-faced, still a bit sore about my sudden change of groom.

This was their first time meeting outside of the wedding.

The atmosphere was awkward, but Julian’s charm quickly worked its magic, throwing in a "Dad" here and a "Mom" there. The mood gradually lightened.

And with his face that seemed to win everyone over, it didn’t take long for the relatives to start asking if there were any unmarried girls or brothers looking for a spouse in our family.

Just as the atmosphere relaxed, Vanessa and Marcus walked in.

The room fell silent. Someone whispered, "Why does that guy look so familiar?"

My parents immediately understood and turned red with anger.

I quickly motioned to them, signaling that it was okay.

However, Vanessa wasn’t going to let me off that easy. She grinned and announced, "This is my fiancé, Marcus, an executive at Apex Group!"

At her words, the relatives immediately started murmuring.

"Marcus? The one from Evelyn’s past?"

Vanessa’s face darkened, realizing she’d just shot herself in the foot.

"Yes, he's the scumbag," I nodded, giving Marcus a disdainful glance.

Marcus looked a bit flustered.

The relatives’ expressions shifted, their gazes now tinged with curiosity and something more knowing.

Vanessa quickly changed her tone, pointing at me. "Evelyn, it’s fate between Marcus and me, nothing can be forced."

"Fate? More like a damn curse!" I agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

"Without my cousin’s sacrifice, how could I have found my perfect match?"

"But you found a sister first, then moved on to the older one?! Tsk tsk..." I grinned, a mocking curve on my lips.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Marcus, making him uneasy, while Vanessa’s face went from red to black, her expression darkening with malice.

"Marcus is a manager at a listed company with a million-dollar salary. Your husband must be struggling delivering food, huh?"

One of the relatives sighed. "Vanessa, your boyfriend is really something. A million-dollar salary! I heard Apex Group is a listed company, too!"

Vanessa’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction, waiting for me to flinch.

I glanced at Julian, silently cheering him on.

Julian turned to me, giving me a soft look, then casually said, "Not at all, it’s easy. I’ve already bought a few villas for my girl Evelyn to live in."

Then, to my surprise, he pulled a stack of property certificates out of a black leather bag, looking all too confident.

I: ...???

This was some next-level bragging, and he brought props?

"Dad, Mom! This one’s for you two to retire in," Julian said seriously, holding up one of the property certificates and walking over to my parents.

I quickly rushed over, glancing at the certificate in his hand, my mouth dropping open.

The prop was way too convincing. "Where the hell did you get this from?"

"Real estate office," Julian replied innocently, looking at me.

Should I just run away with him now? Is it too late? I asked you to trick everyone else, but now you’re pulling this stunt on my parents!