Chapter 145: Be my wife then
Regina\'s heart raced as she stood at Julian\'s door, recalling everything Alden had told her about Julian\'s recent actions. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Enter."
Regina hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open. As she stepped inside, her eyes met Julian\'s. His blue eyes was glowing with the same charm and mischievousness that had always made him irresistible. But today, there was something darker in them.
"Welcome, mother," Julian said, "Did you miss me?"
Regina\'s heart skipped a beat. His tone was so casual that it made her feel as though everything was fine.
"I always miss you, Julian," she replied softly as she stepped closer. "But there are things we need to talk about."
Julian\'s smile faltered for a moment. "Talk? About what mother?"
Regina\'s gaze softened as she stepped closer to him, her motherly instincts kicking in. She could see the subtle flicker of unease in his eyes, but it was quickly masked by his confidence.
"Julian," she said. "I heard what you did. The way you handled Marcus...."
Julian\'s expression hardened at her words. He stood tall, his eyes not quite meeting hers as he answered, "I did what had to be done, mother. There was no other choice. Sometimes, to protect what\'s ours, sacrifices must be made."
Regina\'s heart sank further, the pain of hearing him speak like this evident in her face. She stepped closer, reaching out as if to touch him, but stopped herself.
"Julian, how could you do it without hesitation? Without even a flicker of doubt?" Her voice trembled, the mother inside her struggling to comprehend how her son had changed so much.
"You took a life, a young man\'s life. You ended it without a second thought, without remorse. How could you be so… cold?"
Julian\'s voice grew louder, filled with frustration and anger. "I would have died there. If not for my own power, I would have been corrupted to death. If I had not protected father, the other dukes, and the king, the kingdom would be finished by now!"
He took a deep breath trying to control his emotions, but his voice remained sharp. "And you ask why I didn\'t feel remorse for killing him?"
He paused, his eyes meeting hers with an intensity that sent a chill through her. "The truth is, yes, I didn\'t feel any remorse, because he
doesn\'t deserve it
. He chose his path mother and that path led to his death."
Regina stood frozen, her heart aching as she watched her son, this person who had once been so full of life, now speaking with such dictating personality.
"Julian...," she whispered. "Is this the kind of person you want to become, cold and ruthless?"
Julian\'s voice softened slightly. "No, mother. I haven\'t and I will never become anything new. I am the way I was before... It\'s just that now, I have power."
His gaze was steady, almost challenging. "Power might change things, but it cannot change who I am." He turned away slightly. "I have always been who I was, and that will not change moving forward."
"Julian," Regina whispered as she struggled to find the words. "I want you to understand that power isn\'t just about authority and control. It\'s about wisdom... and knowing when to show mercy."
Julian\'s tone grew cold as he continued. "The thing about power is, mother, that it can grant mercy," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "And it can also grant death. There is nothing surprising about that."
"I did what was necessary to protect everyone. And if that meant taking a life to prevent a greater disaster, then so be it."
Regina\'s heart raced and with a trembling voice she said. "But Julian, there is always a price for power. It changes people... and I don\'t want to lose you."
Julian turned his body away from Regina, his back facing towards her. He could not help a grin spread across his face.
How will you react to this, Dear mother.
He said in his mind, before hiding his grin and facing towards her.
"You don\'t want to loose me? Then be my wife mother," Julian said nonchalantly.
Regina froze at Julian\'s unexpected words, her breath catching in her throat. The air between them grew thick with tension. She looked at him, unable to comprehend what he had just said.
"Julian... what do you mean by that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Julian\'s expression remained steady, a coldness in his eyes as he gazed at her. "You asked me to change, to be less ruthless. But if you truly want me to change, then accept my terms. Marry me, and I will prove that I can protect this family, protect you without holding back."
Regina\'s face paled, her mind reeling from the implications of his words. She stumbled back, her heart torn between the shock of his request and the overwhelming fear of what he had become.
"Julian, you... you can\'t mean this," she stammered. "You are my son... how could you ask such a thing?"
"I mean it mother. I mean what I say," Julian shot back.
Regina stumbled backwards. She couldn\'t process his words, couldn\'t wrap her mind around the twisted reality of what he was saying. Her son—her own flesh and blood—was offering something she could never fathom.
"Julian, stop," she whispered, her voice trembling with a mixture of horror and disbelief. "This... this isn\'t right. You are my son, and you can\'t ask me something like this. You can\'t."
Julian stepped closer "I have always loved you more than anyone else. More than any other woman."
Regina\'s heart raced, and her hands shook as she backed further away. The air around her seemed to grow suffocating, as if she couldn\'t escape the weight of his words. Her mind screamed at her to reject him and to stop this madness, but something deep inside her, some twisted part of her was being drawn into the terrifying allure of Julian\'s word.
"No, Julian," she said. "I will never be with you in that way. Never."