After Dumping My Uncle, I Married His Rival

Chapter 3

By the time I got home, I was drenched from head to toe.

After that phone call, Julian never tried to contact me again.

That afternoon, when I stepped out of the bathroom, my friend Susie and one of Julian's friends, Chase Channing, were already sitting there waiting for me.

"Scarlett, I've been waiting forever. Come with us, quick," Susie urged.

I stood there completely baffled, my gaze drifting to the man beside her.

It was only then that I remembered who he was.

He was exactly the one who said, "Julian, your first love is back. What are you going to do about that niece of yours?"

Seeing that I wasn't moving, he stood up and teased, "The person you like most in this world sent us here for you. Aren't you coming with us right now?"

"Yeah. Hurry up, let's go." Susie was beaming with delight.

She genuinely wanted the best for me.

Yet she just had no idea, same as I hadn't, that Julian's heart already belonged to someone else.

Before I could say another word, she grabbed my hand and dragged me out the door.

No matter how many times I asked where we were going, her lips were sealed.

About 30 minutes later, we arrived at our destination.

The moment I pushed through the gates of the equestrian club, everyone turned their eyes toward me, and the entire crowd burst into cheers and applause.

Julian emerged from the crowd and walked toward me, a doting, adoring smile painted across his face.

"I'm sorry about this morning. It was all my fault. I never should have lost my temper at you like that. Now, I'm going to teach you how to ride. Will you forgive me?"

Before I could even answer, his friends had already started hooting and hollering. "Julian's whipped, isn't he?"

"How come he's so terrifying when he's dressing down his subordinates, but in front of his girlfriend, he's a totally harmless teddy bear?"

"Is this really the CEO of Ascend Capital? Scarlett, hurry up and forgive him. I swear, if he gets any more pitiful, he might actually start crying."

As my eyes fell on the white horse Julian was holding, a wave of nausea rolled through my stomach.

I fell off a horse when I was little. I'd been terrified of riding ever since. And he knew that.

Just then, at the very back of the crowd, a woman in a white riding outfit caught my attention. It was Vivian.

If I wasn't mistaken, the brooch pinned to her chest was something Julian had bought just a few days ago.

Vivian was pressing her lips tightly together, tears trembling on the verge of spilling over.

Seeing that, I forced down the nausea, reached out, and took the reins from Julian's hand. "I'm not upset."

Right there in front of everyone, Julian scooped me up and lifted me onto the saddle. He said he did it so that the dirt on the ground would not ruin my shoes.

What Julian didn't know was how terribly he was acting.

Even as he said those words, he couldn't stop his gaze from flickering unconsciously toward Vivian.

Even though this was Vivian's first time appearing before the group, it was as if everyone had already been quietly looking out for her.

In fact, once Julian mounted his own horse, everyone deliberately slowed their pace, yielding the spot right beside him just for her.

"Julian, can I ride behind your horse? Will Miss Hawthorne mind?" Vivian sat atop her horse, putting on a deeply conflicted expression.

Julian didn't even acknowledge her question. Instead, he stood close by my side with an air of absolute focus, murmuring instructions on how to hold the reins. "Like this. Don't be nervous. Relax."

Only when Vivian's tears were about to fall did he finally answer, his voice cold. "You're a guest. You can ride behind whomever you wish."

However, before I could even get a proper grip on the reins, a horse nearby suddenly let out a wild shriek and charged straight toward us in a blind, raging frenzy.

I reached instinctively for Julian's wrist. But just as I drew near, he shoved me away—hard.

"Ahh! Julian!"

"Vivian, watch out!"

Their voices rang out almost at the exact same instant.

The crazed horse barreled straight in my direction. The horse beneath me, spooked beyond control, reared up violently and hurled me off its back.

Julian could have held onto me. He could have.

But instead, he pulled Vivian, who was much farther from the charging horse, safely into his arms.

I hit the ground hard.

When I lifted my head, she was nestled against Julian's chest, still trembling with lingering fear, their fingers tightly interlaced.

Her custom-tailored riding outfit was pristine, untouched. Not a single speck of dust on it.