The sun pierced through the clouds, and a cool breeze was blowing; it was a refreshing and pleasant autumn morning.
The Bluen Family villa in the luxury garden of T City was still quiet, with only the servants quietly cleaning the place. Its owners were still deep in their dreams.
The bedding was warm and soft, and Julia Bluen clung to its comfort, reluctant to get up even though she was awake. She hugged a pillow tightly, her face turned upwards, revealing her fair and beautiful melon-seed face. Her almond-shaped eyes were slightly squinted, barely revealing their beauty. She had short black hair, which she preferred not to style, giving her a refreshing look. Her lips were a tender red. At this moment, half asleep and half awake, she was even more alluring; her 170 cm height was not entirely covered by the bedsheets.
Undoubtedly, she was born a beauty.
"Pleasant Goat, Pretty Goat... Grey Wolf, Red Wolf..." Her phone's ringtone suddenly went off, rudely pulling Julia Bluen from the comfort of her bed.
Seeing the caller ID on her phone was her colleague Rachel, Julia couldn't help but mutter, "What does she want so early in the morning?" Despite her grumbling, she quickly answered the call.
"Rachel, you, you... wait, what did you say?" Julia, who had started to rebuke her, suddenly stopped when Rachel said something. The news cast a shadow over her pretty face. Her grip on the phone tightened, and her beautiful almond eyes widened with shock.
She had heard news that struck her like a bolt from the blue: Rachel had seen her boyfriend of three years, Nicholas Coldwell, marrying another woman.
"Julia, it's true. They're getting married at St. Rowan Cathedral. If I hadn't seen him sitting in the wedding car driving past me, I wouldn't have believed it was him. No wonder he asked you to take a few days off; he was planning to marry the CEO's daughter all along!" Rachel's voice was urgent, filled with sympathy and anger.
She suspected many in the company already knew. Perhaps it was because she and Julia Bluen were so close that they were the ones kept in the dark together.
That Nicholas Coldwell was truly hateful! He had deceived Julia Bluen into taking a few days off to 'rest well,' while he seized the opportunity to marry into a wealthier family.
Seeing her good friend and colleague deceived and kept in the dark, Rachel's anger was palpable.
Even without Rachel's urging, Julia Bluen was determined to see for herself.
She hurriedly bid Rachel goodbye, slid out of bed quickly, ran barefoot to her wardrobe, opened it hurriedly, and grabbed a set of clothes to throw on.
Once dressed, she didn't even bother to wash her face. She just grabbed her phone and rushed out the door.
At the stairway, she bumped into a man. Standing close to 190 cm tall, the man was dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt and black trousers. His dark clothes fully showcased his innate coolness. His features were as handsome as a deity's, capable of captivating women the world over. Even his deep, black eyes, like bottomless pits, were utterly captivating.
"Julia, why are you in such a panic so early in the morning?"
The man reached out and caught Julia Bluen's arm, his deep voice unable to conceal his concern for her.
Julia Bluen looked up and recognized him as her older sister Ruby Bluen's boyfriend, Glades Horne, the imposing scion of the Horne Family in T City.
The Horne Family's Valence Group was fabulously wealthy, with subsidiaries across the globe involved in any profitable industry.
There were five young masters in this generation of the Horne Family. The thirty-two-year-old Glades, the eldest son and direct heir, was in charge of the vast Valence Group. His demeanor was neither warm nor cold. He was decisive, and his networking skills were unparalleled. Respected by people from both legitimate and criminal circles, he was a figure of immense influence—no one dared to cross him.
Even the wealthy Bluen Family, longtime associates of the Horne Family, vied for their approval.
Julia Bluen only gave him a brief glance before responding, "Glades, you're here. My sister hasn't woken up yet. Let me go, I have urgent business to attend to." With that, she pulled her arm free from Glades's grasp and hurried past him down the stairs.
"Julia."
Glades Horne stood still, watching her dainty figure rush off, disappearing before his eyes. His thick eyebrows couldn't help but arch. He had known Julia for twenty-six years, and this was the first time he had ever seen the girl in such a panic.
He glanced at the stairs leading to the third floor. He was just one floor away from his girlfriend Ruby Bluen's room. However, he suddenly wasn't in the mood. His mind was preoccupied with Julia's actions; perhaps her behavior had piqued his curiosity.
Turning around, Glades Horne decided to go downstairs and follow Julia to see for himself what was happening.
Julia Bluen got into her Twitter car, which she had bought cheaply on an impulse. Just as she was about to drive off, she realized the Twitter car couldn't match the speed of a Mercedes. So she leaped out of the Twitter car, ran to another Mercedes, yanked open the door, and jumped in. She floored the accelerator, and the car shot off like an arrow, vanishing from the quiet Bluen Family villa.
The black Mercedes raced to St. Rowan Cathedral at breakneck speed.
St. Rowan Cathedral was one of the famous churches in T City, a popular wedding venue among the wealthy.
Currently, the church was packed with guests attending the ceremony, all eyes on the couple standing before the priest.
The groom was Nicholas Coldwell, the thirty-year-old manager of the Planning Department at Cosmos Group. He stood 185 cm tall, possessed a strikingly handsome, sharply-defined face, a gentle disposition, and was successful in his career, making him exceptionally popular with women.
Next to him stood his bride, Diana Powell, the only daughter of the CEO of Cosmos Group.
Compared to Nicholas's striking looks, Diana Powell appeared quite plain. Even though her white wedding dress was worth over a million, her 158 cm height was a poor match for Nicholas. Moreover, her features lacked any particular distinction. Standing together, he was like the bright moon in the sky, while she was like mud on the ground. No matter how one looked at them, they seemed utterly mismatched.