Julian Lawson said furiously, "I’m going to divorce Charlotte Vaughn! And I’m going to clear Evie’s name. I’ll tell everyone this whole thing was a scam. Evie is innocent! Mom, I’m going to marry Eve Vaughn. Since being with Charlotte was a mistake, now that I’ve found out, I’m going to set things right!"

"No!"

Autumn Woods refused forcefully without a second thought. "Julian Lawson, I’m telling you, no!"

Julian Lawson was utterly disappointed in his mother. He was half-crying, half-laughing as he shook his head. "I really don’t understand. What is all this for? But Mom, I don’t want to be your puppet anymore. Unless you kill me, I’m going to do this!"

He turned and left, unable to wait another second.

Autumn Woods quickly chased after him, grabbing him tightly. "Julian, if you do this, you’ll be the death of your father and me! Think about it, can our branch of the Lawson Family afford you making a scene right now? Mason Lawson has almost taken over the entire Lawson Family. Unless you want to be completely crushed under his heel in the future!"

Julian Lawson let out a cold, desolate laugh. "The future? Am I not already under his heel right now? He stole my woman and exiled me to the bottom of the company, turning me, the dignified eldest grandson of the Lawson family, into the laughingstock of the entire company."

"That’s why you can’t be impulsive!"

Autumn Woods, afraid her son would act rashly and actually expose the scandal, persuaded him patiently, "Son, your father and I have our reasons for doing this. It’s all for your own good. Even if you won’t think about yourself or your parents, at least think about Eve Vaughn!"

Hearing Eve Vaughn’s name, Julian Lawson said hatefully, "How dare you even mention Eve Vaughn?"

Autumn Woods said, "If you really expose this today, will the Old Master spare us? We’ll be finished, cast out of the Lawson Family just like the second branch, losing our inheritance and living in poverty. At that point, even if you get together with Eve Vaughn, what can you give her? If we fall, the entire Lawson Family will belong to Mason Lawson. If he really wants to fight you for Eve Vaughn, do you think you can win?"

After his mother’s lengthy persuasion, Julian Lawson finally calmed down a little.

He clutched his head like a caged beast and said angrily, "But what am I supposed to do now? I can’t keep hurting Evie. I have to go admit my mistake and apologize to her!"

Autumn Woods’s heart leaped into her throat, terrified that her son, who had finally settled down and started a family, would get entangled with Eve Vaughn again.

She could only placate him. "Julian, listen to me. The most important thing for you right now is to work together with your father to take control of the Lawson Family before the Old Master dies, and make him give up on Mason Lawson completely. Trust me, once you become the head of the Lawson Family, Mason will hand Eve Vaughn over to you himself. You can have anything you want!"

Julian Lawson was silent for a long time, seemingly pondering his mother’s words.

Then, he said, "I can hold off on revealing the truth about the liver donation for now, but I have one condition. I’m divorcing Charlotte Vaughn! I can’t stand to spend another day with that shameless woman."

After all, in Julian Lawson’s heart, his parents were still his parents; he couldn’t just cast them aside.

But Charlotte Vaughn was different.

He could only direct all this pent-up rage toward Charlotte Vaughn.

At the very least, he had to get divorced first. Only then would he have the right to pursue Eve Vaughn again.

Just then, Charlotte Vaughn returned.

She happened to overhear Julian Lawson talking about divorce.

A sense of crisis instantly gripped Charlotte Vaughn. She ran straight into the room, knelt before Julian Lawson, and hugged his legs. "Julian, I don’t want to divorce you!"

Julian Lawson immediately kicked her hard and roared, "You have the nerve to say you don’t want a divorce? Let me tell you, I feel sick just looking at your hypocritical face! Charlotte Vaughn, I never loved you in the first place. If my parents hadn’t lied to me and said you were the one who donated your liver to me back then, do you think I would have married you?"

Charlotte Vaughn sat on the floor in utter despair. Only two words echoed in her mind: ’It’s over!’

But at that moment, Autumn Woods quickly helped Charlotte Vaughn up and reprimanded Julian sharply, "Julian, are you crazy? No matter what, Charlotte is still your lawfully wedded wife. How could you treat her like this?"

Julian Lawson scoffed, "Wife? She’s a liar! Give us the household registration book right now. I’m going to divorce her this instant."

Charlotte Vaughn cried, "Mom, please talk to him for me. I can’t get divorced. I don’t want to get divorced."

The Vaughn Family was bankrupt now.

She had worked so hard to marry into the Lawson Family; how could she just get divorced like that?

If they really divorced, wouldn’t she become the laughingstock of their entire social circle?

After all, since marrying Julian Lawson, she had finally felt a sense of triumph. How many people had she offended along the way?

If those people found out she’d been dumped by Julian Lawson, wouldn’t they eat her alive?

Autumn Woods held Charlotte Vaughn’s hand and comforted her, "Good girl, go back to your bedroom first. With me here, he won’t divorce you. Be good, go on back now."

Charlotte Vaughn glanced at Autumn Woods worriedly, only leaving slowly after receiving a reassuring look from her.

Just as Charlotte Vaughn stepped out of the room, she heard Julian Lawson’s questioning voice from inside.

"Mom! I really don’t get it! Why is it that Charlotte Vaughn and Eve Vaughn are both from the Vaughn Family, yet you can accept Charlotte but not Eve!"

As soon as Julian Lawson finished speaking, Autumn Woods stated forcefully, "What do you know? I’m your mother. I’m older and have seen far more of the world than you. I can just tell that Charlotte is better than that Eve Vaughn girl."

"She’s better than Eve Vaughn?" Julian Lawson sounded like he’d just heard a joke. "A vicious, scheming liar who impersonated Eve to trick me and constantly put Eve down in front of me—you call that good? Mom, I really don’t understand you anymore."

Autumn Woods’s patience had worn thin. She snapped, "Whatever, I’m putting my foot down! You absolutely cannot get a divorce right now, and the truth about the liver donation cannot be revealed. Your grandfather is in the hospital, and your father already pissed him off before. If we make any rash moves, just wait for your grandfather to kick you out of the family! See if I’m bluffing!"

Julian Lawson paused. "But I don’t want to live with that kind of woman. I’m going to divorce her sooner or later."

To placate him, Autumn Woods had no choice but to say, "Even if you want to divorce her later, you have to bide your time for now. Our branch of the family really can’t withstand any more trouble, understand?"

Although Julian Lawson had already agreed with his mother in his heart, he still couldn’t swallow his anger.

He was still fuming and didn’t want to say another word to his mother.

So, Julian Lawson stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

As he threw open the door, he found Charlotte Vaughn standing right outside, eavesdropping.

Charlotte Vaughn hadn’t expected him to move so fast. She was discovered before she even had a chance to hide.

Just as she was about to explain in a panic, she heard Julian Lawson look at her with contempt and say, "This is the only kind of trick a woman like you knows how to pull!"

With that, he stalked off.

Charlotte Vaughn burst into heartbroken sobs.

Autumn Woods walked over and said, "Don’t worry. Julian is my son; I know him best. Once this blows over, everything will be calm again."

Charlotte Vaughn wiped her tears. "But Julian said he wants to divorce me. Even if not now, he’ll find a chance to do it later."

Autumn Woods scoffed. "That won’t be up to him! The only thing you need to do now is figure out a way to get pregnant with Julian’s child as soon as possible. With a child tying him down, and with our opposition, Julian won’t be able to get a divorce no matter how much of a fuss he makes."

Charlotte Vaughn was incredibly touched.

Although Autumn Woods was always strict and harsh with others, she treated Charlotte better than her own mother did.

Charlotte Vaughn smiled through her tears. "Mom, I must have been blessed in three lifetimes to have such a wise and understanding mother-in-law like you."

...

Night fell over Rivaster, bringing a chill to the air.

Eve Vaughn walked out of the library, clutching a few books, and made her way alone across the quiet campus.

Her head was bowed, lost in thought.

She stopped abruptly only when a pair of sneakers entered her line of sight.

She looked up, and upon seeing Julian Lawson, she reacted as if she had seen the plague itself.

Julian Lawson, on the other hand, smiled in relief. "I just went to your dorm. The supervisor said you’ve been going to the library every day recently. I can’t believe I actually ran into you."

Eve Vaughn’s face was taut. She hadn’t forgotten how he’d twisted the truth for the media last time.

’If it weren’t for his weak constitution after that major illness, I’d love to just kick him a few times.’

Eve Vaughn frowned. "Julian Lawson, can you please stay away from me? I feel like I’m cursed with bad luck every time I run into you!"

"Evie, if cursing me out makes you feel better, then go ahead."

Julian Lawson wasn’t angry at all. He just looked at her gently, his eyes misty.

Eve Vaughn scoffed and said coldly, "Move! I don’t want to waste my breath on you."

She pushed him aside and kept walking.

But Julian Lawson suddenly ran after her and grabbed her hand.

The next second, Eve Vaughn saw the man actually kneel before her—and not on one knee, but on both.

"Julian Lawson, are you insane?"

Eve Vaughn took two steps back, but Julian Lawson held her hand in a death grip, refusing to let go.

Although there weren’t many people on campus at the moment, a few students still passed by occasionally.

Seeing the astonished glances thrown their way, Eve Vaughn wanted to die of embarrassment.

She hissed in a low voice, "Get up right now! Stop making a scene, I can’t afford this embarrassment!"

Julian Lawson held her hand and choked out, "Evie, I’m sorry. I don’t know how else to show you how sorry I am. I know now. I finally know! The person who saved my life, who donated their liver to me... it was you!"

Eve Vaughn’s expression froze, and her heart skipped a beat.

To her, that whole affair felt like something from a past life.

Whether it was donating her liver to Julian Lawson or her past relationship with him, she had buried it all and had no intention of digging it back up.

But now, here was Julian Lawson, dredging up everything she had sealed away.

Eve Vaughn’s heart pounded violently. She looked at the repentant man kneeling before her and said, "Yes, it was me. But Julian Lawson, I don’t accept your apology. Please let go of my hand!"

Julian Lawson’s eyes looked exceptionally red under the lamplight. He gave a bitter smile. "It’s okay, this is my retribution! Evie, hit me or curse me, please? Maybe then I’ll feel a little better."

At that moment, a few more students walked by, pointing and whispering about them.

Julian Lawson was lost in his own world of repentance, but Eve Vaughn wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

In a situation like this, he probably wouldn’t give up.

So, Eve Vaughn could only think of a way to get him off campus.

Even if she had to be embarrassed, it couldn’t be at school.

"How about this: you get up first, and we can go somewhere else to talk properly," Eve Vaughn said patiently. "If you’re the reason I become the school’s laughingstock tomorrow, I’ll hate you even more!"

Her words finally made Julian Lawson scramble to his feet. He supported his numb and aching legs as he followed behind Eve Vaughn.

The two of them went off campus, but Eve Vaughn deliberately chose a spot within view of a surveillance camera, just in case he tried anything.

The spot was also close to the school’s security office and right next to a road, making it very safe.

Eve Vaughn looked at him coldly. "Julian Lawson, to be honest, I don’t care anymore whether you know the truth or not. Because I gave up on you a long time ago—the moment you chose to believe your mom and Charlotte Vaughn, the moment you said we were through."

Overcome with regret, Julian Lawson gazed at her deeply. "What can I do to make you forgive me? Evie, I know how much you hate me! You’re only with my uncle to get revenge on me, right?"

Eve Vaughn’s lips curved in a bitter smile. "Do you think your uncle is the kind of person who can be used? I’m with him because I love him. He can give me things you never could."

Julian Lawson laughed desolately. "I see. My mom was right. Mason Lawson is rich and powerful; he can certainly give you a lot. It’s true, I’m nothing compared to him now. It’s only natural that you’d choose him."

Eve Vaughn sighed and gave a somewhat sarcastic laugh. "Even now, it’s still ’my mom was right.’ Julian Lawson, even if Mason Lawson had no power and no money, he could still give me something you don’t have! He has responsibility, integrity, and courage! And you? What do you have?"

Julian Lawson froze, seemingly mulling over her words, momentarily speechless.

Eve Vaughn wanted to make things crystal clear with him tonight. That way, she could save herself the trouble of him having a fit and harassing her every other day in the future.

She thought she had been clear enough, but Julian Lawson suddenly grabbed her hand. "Do you remember what I told you before? I said if my mom didn’t approve of us, I would elope with you. Evie, let’s elope! I’ll give everything up. Let’s run away together, okay?"

They didn’t notice that across the street, inside a black car, Mason Lawson was staring at them with a dark, predatory gaze.

It was a look that could kill.

He didn’t know how his evening drive had somehow led him to the gates of Rivaster University.

And not only that, but he had also managed to witness such a ’spectacular’ scene.

As expected, a first love wasn’t so easily forgotten.

Especially when it was the first love who saved his life. That kind was even harder to forget!