Called Off the Wedding, Left Him Bankrupt novel Chapter 304

Garry Fairchild and Dominic were among the very few who knew about Seymour and Juliet’s past relationship.

Given how much Garry doted on his sister, there was no telling what he might have said to Jocelyn. Just now, Jocelyn had probably been sharing stories about Seymour and Juliet’s history with Cynthia.

The thought left Vicky feeling unsettled.

It didn’t help that Seymour kept glancing over at Juliet, making Vicky’s mood sink even further.

After everyone took their seats, someone suggested they play a game.

Vicky kept her pleasant smile fixed in place and nodded in agreement.

But Seymour spoke up, his tone cool and steady.

“If we’re playing, then everyone should join in. That’s how you make it fun.”

Vicky’s hand tightened on the hem of her dress beneath the table. “Sey’s right,” she said, lifting her gaze toward Juliet and Julius.

Everyone else followed her eyes.

Juliet was radiant, her smile genuine, her eyes sparkling in a way that made her look like a completely different person. She’d always been beautiful, but over the years she’d taken on the persona of an ice queen—sharp, unapproachable, and distant enough to keep most people at arm’s length.

Julius, too, was undeniably handsome.

The two of them sitting together looked almost too perfectly matched.

What really caught everyone’s attention, though, was that no one else had ever managed to make Juliet laugh like that.

For a moment, the room fell silent, the usual chatter fading into an almost reverent hush as everyone stared.

A sharp clink suddenly snapped everyone back to reality.

Seymour’s glass had somehow fallen and shattered on the floor in front of him.

The bartender had already brought out several rounds of drinks.

Juliet, having taken her medication earlier, wasn’t keen on joining a drinking game. The only reason she’d come out to the vineyard was to connect with Julius—she wanted to learn how the Channing family had built their success, hoping to replicate that for the Tremaines.

Their fields were different, and she had plenty of questions for him.

What she hadn’t expected was to discover, in the course of their conversation, that she and Julius were actually alumni of the same university—and even shared two mutual friends.

Yet in all three years at Valtoria, they’d never once crossed paths.

After taking over Tremaine Holdings, Juliet had lost touch with those friends from Valtoria, but Julius had stayed in contact. Listening to him recount their old stories, Juliet couldn’t help but smile as she remembered her own time at school.

Those three years had been the easiest of her life—her parents were happy together, and she wasn’t under her grandfather’s strict, watchful eye.

Carefree days like that, she realized, were something she might never experience again.