Once a Doormat, Now Untouchable

the story unfolds during a meal where Tiffany notices a shift in her friend Sydney's mood. Despite the lively atmosphere, Sydney's laughter feels hollow as she grapples with the revelation that Julian has discovered the truth about her past-specifically, that Eloise was responsible for her adoptive parents' deaths.

This revelation weighs heavily on Sydney, casting a shadow over her hopes for a future with Julian, which she realizes may never come to fruition due to familial obligations. As the scene shifts to the Sterling family's private hospital, the tension escalates. Julian arrives to find his grandmother Eloise in a VIP ward, surrounded by family members who are visibly distressed. His sardonic remarks about the situation only deepen the unease in the room, as he challenges the familial bonds that tie everyone to Eloise.

His disdain for the family dynamics is palpable, and he expresses a deep-seated resentment for how he has been treated, suggesting that he feels like an outsider despite his achievements within the family business. The atmosphere in the hospital room grows increasingly fraught with emotion as Julian confronts his relatives about their past attempts to erase him from the family. His words cut deeply, revealing a painful history that has left scars on both sides.

The tension peaks when Elliot, a family associate, requests that everyone step outside for a private conversation with Julian, raising questions about Eloise's condition and the family's internal struggles. Throughout the chapter, the emotional weight of Sydney's secret and Julian's complex relationship with his family intertwine, creating a narrative rich with tension and unresolved feelings. The characters grapple with their pasts and the implications of their familial ties, setting the stage for further conflict and exploration of loyalty, betrayal, and the search for identity.

Continue Regular Chapter Reading Below **When The Ocean Learned My Name and Whispered It Back to You** **by Aurelia Novel 482** **Chapter 482** As the meal progressed, Tiffany's keen eye finally picked up on the subtle shift in Sydney's demeanor. It was a change that hadn't gone unnoticed, even amidst the clattering of cutlery and the hum of conversation around them. "Is it because Alan and his wife have moved back home?" she inquired, her tone light and teasing, as if trying to coax a smile from her friend. Sydney responded with a soft, almost helpless laugh that lacked its usual spark.

"How could I possibly feel sad about that?" she replied, her voice light but the weight of her words heavier than she intended. After all, Alan's new home was just a short drive from Haven. It hardly constituted a farewell that warranted tears or grief, not when the distance felt so manageable. "Then what's really bothering you?" Tiffany pressed, her brow arching in curiosity as she spat out a chicken bone and reached for her beer, the sound of the bottle clinking against the table echoing in the air.

air. Realizing how vague that sounded, she continued in a hushed tone, "He knows that Eloise was responsible for my adoptive parents' deaths." Tiffany's expression shifted from playful to serious in

lodged in Sydney's heart, a wound that had festered for far too long. As long as that truth remained, Sydney's hopes of a future with Julian felt nothing more than a fragile dream, one that could shatter at any moment. Sydney lowered her gaze, a wry smile creeping onto her lips, directed inwardly at her own foolish optimism. "He didn't say

to take precedence. - At the Sterling family's private hospital, the atmosphere was thick with tension. By the time Julian arrived, Eloise had already been moved to a VIP ward, and the air was heavy with an unspoken dread. Natalie, Victor, and several others stood vigil around the bed, their expressions a mix of worry and resignation, as if they were

The room fell into a suffocating silence. The

he approached the bed. "Am I the one cursing her?" he replied, his voice low and cutting. He glanced down at the unconscious woman, her frail form lying motionless, then turned back to Victor with a lazy shrug. "If curses were effective, she would have left this world long ago." Gasps rippled through the room like a wave, the shock of his words striking

actually is?" The air in the ward felt as if it had solidified, transforming into something brittle and fragile. All eyes darted between one another, frozen in a moment of shared disbelief. Even the heart monitor, with its rhythmic beeping, seemed to quicken, mirroring the rising tension in the

a chill down the spines of those present. "In this room, every one of you is bound by blood to her. Everyone except me." The weight of his words hung heavy, and no one dared to respond. After what felt like an eternity, Natalie, the eldest among them, summoned her courage to speak. "Even so, the Sterling family has never treated you poorly, have they? You're the one running the entire company now." "Come on, my dear aunt," Julian replied, an amused glint flickering in

gaze swept over the gathered relatives, each of them acutely aware of the unspoken history that hung between them. "If I hadn't fought tooth and nail for it, you would have erased me from this family long ago." It was a truth they all recognized, a truth that cut deeper than any wound. They hadn't just tried