He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 152

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His mother dictated her every move, and she followed blindly, completely devoid of her own free will.

Zara was about to reply when a figure marched around the corner—it was Julian's mother, Eleanor.

*Smack!*

A heavy slap landed squarely across Julian's cheek.

He ran his tongue over the corner of his mouth as the woman began to scream. "Are you trying to humiliate me on purpose? With so many VIP guests here today, you let that girl make a scene on stage? You agreed to marry Zara, and now you pull a stunt like this? What do you expect people to say about the Sterling family behind our backs?!"

A faint red handprint lingered on Julian's face, but he remained silent; he never had anything to say when it came to his mother.

Zara's eye twitched violently; she had always known Julian was the black sheep, but she hadn't realized Eleanor's favoritism was this severe.

Then again, the bias made sense.

Sebastian was far too exceptional, making Julian's reckless, deadbeat lifestyle all the more infuriating to watch.

Zara spoke up in a soft, placating tone. "Mrs. Sterling, the banquet is starting soon. Please don't be upset. Julian and I will make sure to offer extra toasts tonight, and everyone will likely forget the whole incident."

Eleanor clearly had a soft spot for Zara, her expression softening noticeably. "Get changed first."

She turned on her heel and left.

Julian and Zara were left alone in the massive suite.

Zara grabbed a handful of ice from the mini-fridge, stepping up to Julian and pressing the makeshift ice pack against his cheek.

Julian stared down at her; he had never actually taken a good look at Zara before. He had zero interest in these hyper-competent corporate types, usually preferring women who knew how to cater to a man's ego, the kind who wore their emotions on their sleeves and were easy to spoil.

Clearly, Zara was not the type of woman to offer a man any peace of mind.

More importantly, there was no affection in her eyes—she looked at him the exact same way she would look at a business partner.

How fascinating.

It wasn't the first time today Julian found her intriguing. A slow smirk touched his lips as he leaned down, trapping the hand she had pressed to his face, staring intently into her overly detached features.

Zara met his gaze, completely baffled by his sudden erratic behavior.

A second later, Julian tilted his head and leaned in for a kiss, only for her to shove him away violently.

He stumbled back a few steps before catching his balance.

His mouth had barely brushed against hers, but she immediately brought her hand up, scrubbing at her lips as if she had just been infected by a lethal virus.