Wrapped in His Arms (Julie and Lucian) novel Chapter 12

Not long after, Julie heard the excited tone of a teenage boy.

"Mom, I'm getting the limited edition one next time. It's not expensive either. It's only a little over a hundred thousand dollars."

It was her brother, Jake.

Mandy replied dotingly, "Okay, baby. As long as you like it, I'll get it for you."

"Thanks, Mom! I knew you were the best!"

"You're my son. What's mine is yours. Who else would I spoil, if not you?"

"I love you, Mom."

Jake took Mandy's hand affectionately and started acting like a little puppy.

Julie watched the interaction between the mother and son silently. She was not surprised at all.

Mandy was kind to Julie when she was a child, so much so that Julie once misunderstood that Mandy was biased against sons. She often felt it was unfair to Jake.

This remained the case until something happened to George and their family, and that was also when the company fell into Mandy's hands. After that, Mandy began treating her indifferently. The bias Mandy had shown Julie previously was all just an act.

When Mandy spotted Julie sitting in the living room, a look of surprise overcame her features. However, she managed to brush it off quickly.

"Jules? What brought you here?"

Julie stood up. But before she could say anything, Jake ran toward Julie excitedly and gave her a big hug.

"You're finally home, Jules! I've missed you so much!"

Julie just stood there in a daze, letting Jake hug her. Actually, Julie had a very good relationship with Jake. Even though she had not returned home in the past few years, she had been meeting with Jake in private.

She stretched her hand out and tousled Jake's head. "You're turning 18 soon, and you're still behaving this way. Aren't you embarrassed?"

Jake did not mind it at all. "What's there to be embarrassed about being clingy with my sister? Jules, why don't you just stay here for the night?"

Mandy looked at the siblings calmly and said, "That's enough, Jakey. Take your things to your room. I'm going to have a chat with Julie."

Only then did Jake remember what he had just bought.

He was just about to show Julie the item he had bought when Mandy shot him a look of warning. He could only carry the shopping bag up reluctantly.

Mandy walked forward with a smile and casually threw a request at Jenny, who was in the kitchen. "Jenny, get the grapes we got from Royal Orchard and wash them. "

Then, Mandy pulled Julie aside to start discussing their family affairs. "So? Did they say anything while you were at Peyton Residence?"

Mandy was still putting on the act of a loving mother. She reached out to hold Julie's hand.

Julie avoided Mandy's hand seamlessly.

Seeing that, Mandy looked hurt. "Jules, are you still mad at me?"

Julie avoided this topic and just calmly said, "Mom, I went to the hospital today."

Mandy froze for a moment. She seemed to know what Julie was trying to say. She choked back on her sobs and said, "I've no other choice. The company's not doing well, and your brother's starting university next year. We're going to need a lot of money."

"Even if that's the case, you can't have people transfer him to Emerald Sanatorium. That's where people go to die."

"What can I do? I'm just a woman. Do you think it's been easy being the sole breadwinner for this house all these years?"

Then, Mandy took Julie's hand and said with choked sobs, "Your father loves your brother a lot. He'll understand. We really can't afford to be spending so much money on your father's medical expenses every month."

Julie might not be showing any expression on her face, but she knew the truth clearly in her heart.

Mandy said they were running out of money?

But Julie had just seen it herself. The items in the bag Jake was carrying were all worth more than six figures. Why would they not have any money?

For a moment, Julie felt very powerless. She felt sorry for her father.

As far as Julie could recall, she had the impression that Mandy and George were on really good terms with each other. They were very much in love.

So, how could Mandy not care about the life and death of her husband anymore in just the short span of a decade? Did relationships also come with a shelf life?

How would George feel if he were to wake up one day, only to find the woman he had loved for many decades treating him like this? 

It was then that Jenny brought the fruits over.

Mandy smiled as she pushed the fruit toward Julie. "Please have some, Jules. I remember that these were your favorite."

Julie shook her head slightly and said nothing.

Mandy paused before awkwardly placing the plate of fruits on the coffee table. Then, she smiled and changed the subject. "We're having baked prawns tonight. Why don't you stay for dinner? It's been a while since we've had a proper dinner together as a family."

In the end, Julie did not stay for dinner.

Before Julie left, she said to Mandy, "Mom, I know you don't give a shit about Dad, but I do. Also, I don't like grapes. And I'm allergic to prawns."