Julian froze. Right, Finnian was a married man.
"But..."
"There are no 'buts.' I'm married, and Kaia and I have been husband and wife for seven years," Finnian cut him off sharply. "Besides, the most appropriate dynamic between Noelle and me is as siblings. We used to be brother and sister-in-law, and going forward, we can only ever be brother and sister."
"Then... do you love her?" Julian asked point-blank. People used to ask Finnian this question, but he had always dodged it, and eventually, everyone had been too afraid to ask again.
But right now, Julian was demanding an answer.
Finnian looked at him and offered a faint smile. "I don't know what kind of love you're talking about, but regardless, she is family to me."
"I mean the way a man loves a woman. Wanting her, wanting to be close to her, wanting to be lovers, husband and wife, spending the rest of your lives together—that kind of love." Perhaps seeing Noelle reduced to tears had rattled Julian, making his emotions volatile. The question left Finnian completely rigid.
"That's romantic love," Finnian said, his gaze dropping to the rim of his glass. "What I have with her isn't romance. It's family."
"You're lying." Julian stood up abruptly. "Why won't you just face your own feelings? We're all watching from the outside. There's no way you don't love her. You only married Kaia because Noelle married your brother. We all know it..."
"No." Finnian's voice was dark as he cut him off. "I married Kaia for a business partnership. We signed a contract. That's it."
"You can fool everyone else, but you can't fool me. You married Kaia right after Noelle got married. To you, Kaia was just a substitute for Noelle. We all saw it. Don't even try to deny it," Julian fired back, his tone escalating and his eyes red with anger.
How could Finnian refuse to acknowledge his own past actions?
Finnian was stunned into silence.
Slowly, he poured himself another drink, his voice flat. "Sometimes, the line between romance and family gets blurred. Is it really that easy to tell the difference?"
"So you did love her, didn't you? It's just that now, because of your status, because you're technically family, you can't love her openly." Julian's tone carried an aggressive, interrogating edge.
"Julian, does any of this even matter now? Kaia is my wife. We might be going through a rough patch right now, but I have no intention of divorcing her." Finnian despised being interrogated like this. When he looked up, his gaze was steely and severe.
In that instant, all of Julian's righteous anger and confidence evaporated.
Looking at Finnian, he suddenly felt as though he was looking at a stranger.
"Then what are you going to do about Noelle?" Julian asked hoarsely.


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The readers' comments on the novel: What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage
Please update soon. This story is good. And I'm hoping it won't go till 2000 chapters.. Although it's current slow pace is telling....