Julian Keaton grew even angrier. "I’ve already spent so much money on you, why go looking for someone else?"

He glared at Cecilia Lynch, enunciating each word: "Listen carefully, Cecilia Lynch, I’ll never let you go in this lifetime. Whether you accept it or not, once you’re my woman, you’re mine for life!"

"What if I’m unwilling, even in death?" Cecilia Lynch met Julian Keaton’s murderous gaze and coldly spoke, "Julian Keaton, don’t push me."

"Who’s really pushing who?" Julian Keaton grabbed Cecilia Lynch’s shoulders, his eyes glaring as if he wanted to devour her whole.

His grip on her was so tight it made her shoulders ache, as if her bones might shatter.

Yet that pain was not even a fraction of the pain in her heart.

Julian Keaton’s face was ashen and cold, his eyes bloodshot. In that moment, he seemed to age several years, his eyes sinking deeply into his sockets. The stronger the icy aura emanating from him, the more powerless he appeared.

"Cecilia Lynch, tell me, who’s forcing who?" Julian Keaton questioned softly, staring unblinkingly at Cecilia Lynch. "What more do you want? Hmm? What exactly do you want?"

A tear fell from Cecilia Lynch’s eye.

She looked at Julian Keaton, gently caressing his cheek, and a strange, faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Julian." Cecilia cried while shaking her head, "What I want, you can’t give. You...you can’t..."

Seeing the confusion in Julian Keaton’s eyes, Cecilia continued, "I want to become Mrs. Keaton, not just your lover, Julian. Can you do that? Can you marry a woman like me, without money or power, as your wife?"

Hearing Cecilia Lynch’s words, Julian Keaton’s gaze trembled. Suddenly, his vision lost focus, uncertain where to look in his fragmented despair.

The hands gripping Cecilia Lynch’s shoulders gradually lost strength, dropping to his sides, the imposing chill vanishing instantly, leaving his face bleak.

"You can’t." Cecilia turned her eyes away, refusing to let Julian Keaton see her tears falling relentlessly, "So, let me go! If I stay your lover any longer, I’ll go mad! I can’t stop wanting your heart. If you appear before me again, I will...desire to become your girlfriend, your wife."

Sniffling, Cecilia continued, "A woman like me, once she decides to cling to you, will be like a flyer stuck to a utility pole, impossible to tear off. Don’t bring trouble upon yourself; staying away from me is good for both you and me."

Looking at Cecilia, Julian Keaton opened his mouth, his throat blocked by something deeply stifling, unable to utter a word.

Marry her?

He clearly understood that as the eldest son of The Keaton Family, it was impossible for him to be allowed to marry her.

Retracting his gaze from Cecilia Lynch, Julian Keaton felt a mix of complex emotions surge within.

It was something he had always overlooked.

He thought if he gave her affection, relieved her worries, she could depend on him.

But in reality, by letting her hide in the shadows as the woman who couldn’t see the light by his side, how was he actually cherishing her?

He couldn’t bear to let anyone else harm her, but ultimately, the one who hurt her the most was...him!

After putting on his clothes piece by piece, Julian Keaton placed a check on the bedside table, coldly opening his mouth, "Take the money yourself. Cecilia Lynch, if you want to move on, I will let you go."

With that, Julian Keaton didn’t spare Cecilia Lynch another glance and strode out.

[PS: Two updates in a row! If the recommendation votes hit 2000, there will be another update! Highly recommending my good friend Chloe Hayes’ affluent romantic fiction ’The Privileged’s Secret: Good Evening, Wife.’ When someone bullies her, Jasper Kane rushes over, "For bullying my woman, the consequences—ruin or broken, which do you choose?" She works part-time for money, he buys the entire company: "Marry me, and you’ll be the proprietress who can destroy anyone who disobeys." Readers in a reading slump should take a look. Just search ’Chloe Hayes’ to find it.]