After the Bluen Family arrived, the Horne Family found out that Ruby Bluen had run away. The news instantly set off a storm within the Horne Family, and their rage was easily imaginable.
"The wedding was about to take place! We were even supposed to register today! Hah! Who would have thought the bride would run off? This is the kind of thing only your Bluen Family would pull. What exactly do you take the Horne Family for? A toy? Something to be discarded when you're bored with it? What now? The wedding is just around the corner, all the guests have received their invitations, and in nine days they'll gather at the Church for the ceremony. Even the media are anticipating this wedding, and Ruby Bluen actually... Isn't she deliberately trying to make the Horne Family lose face?" Mila Anderson raged, her ladylike composure completely gone.
In fact, she didn't particularly like Ruby Bluen. Truthfully, she wasn't satisfied with any of the Bluen sisters, but since her son liked Ruby, she couldn't say much. She had actually hoped Glades Horne would marry Jasmine Garcia, the daughter of the neighboring Garcia family, who were also a prestigious lineage in T City. Whether in terms of power, status, or wealth, the Garcias were a good match for the Horne Family. The Bluen Family, on the other hand, had wealth but no power—they were purely nouveau riche, so to speak, and not truly a match for the Horne Family.
"We're sorry."
Aside from repeatedly saying sorry, Chris Bluen and his wife dared not argue.
"Your apologies are owed to Glades; those are the words you should say to him," Gian Horne sighed heavily, refraining from excessively blaming his old friend. His son was the pride of the family, and countless women would have loved to marry him, yet Ruby Bluen had run away from the marriage. He suspected his son must have done something wrong.
Chris Bluen kept responding in the affirmative.
Unfortunately, when they wanted to apologize to Glades Horne in person, he refused to see them and instructed a servant to escort them out of the Horne estate.
The Horne Family's rooftop, like the Bluens', also had an outdoor swimming pool, though the Hornes' pool was half again as large. Glades Horne sat in a lounge chair, gazing up at the clear blue sky. The sunshine was blinding, and he squinted slightly, the anger in his heart still unsuppressed. Alongside his anger, he felt a deep sense of desolation. After all their years together, how could Ruby Bluen run off without even giving him a reason?
On a white marble round table lay several bottles of high-proof alcohol. Though he usually disliked binge drinking, he now poured himself a glass. Whenever his anger flared, he would take several large gulps. After downing a glass of hard liquor, his anger, mixed with desolation, only intensified.
Suddenly, there were soft footsteps from behind.
Glades Horne didn't turn around. Few people would dare disturb him at a time like this. Besides his fearless younger sister, it could only be Julia Bluen.
"Brother Glades," Julia Bluen said softly as she walked over to sit opposite him. She looked at Glades Horne apologetically. Her heart suddenly twinged. Wasn't this scene just like yesterday when he had comforted her after she'd been hurt emotionally? Seeing the glasses on the table, Julia also poured herself a drink, but after just one sip, she immediately exclaimed, "This is strong!"
His dark eyes, as deep as bottomless pits, fixed on her. Glades Horne responded irritably, "Did you think it was water?" He then took out his phone, called downstairs, and instructed a servant to bring up two bottles of red wine mixed with soda.
"Didn't I tell all of you to leave? Who dared let you up here?" Glades Horne glared at Julia's beautiful, oval face, his voice low and clearly laced with anger.
"Grandma Horne let me come up," Julia Bluen replied. Elder Mrs. Horne had always been very kind to her, treating her like her own granddaughter.
Glades Horne fell silent.
Julia Bluen said no more. She held the glass of strong liquor, took a few more sips, and with each one, she stuck out her tongue, muttering softly, "So strong."
Hearing her, Glades Horne immediately snatched the glass from her hand, emptied it, and refilled it with red wine. He pushed the wine toward her with evident displeasure and said sullenly, "You'll get drunk from that stuff. Red wine is more suitable for you. It's mixed with soda, so it's sweet enough."
Hearing Glades Horne still show concern for her at a time like this, Julia relaxed slightly. At least she wouldn't have to worry too much about Glades becoming estranged from the Bluen Family. Weren't her parents most worried about the ties between the Horne and Bluen families being severed?
But looking at Glades Horne now, Julia couldn't feel any lighter. In her heart, Brother Glades was the best man in the world, her dearest brother, a perfect match for her sister in talent and looks. Who would have thought that just as they were about to get married, her sister would pull a stunt like this? And no one even knew why she'd run away from the wedding.
They were frightened by Glades Horne's simmering rage, yet they also worried for him. Julia, too, felt a pang in her heart. Such an excellent man shouldn't be abandoned like this, she felt.
With a soft sigh, Julia spoke bitterly, "Brother Glades, we've both been hurt emotionally, haven't we? Actually, getting drunk isn't so bad. At least it lets you temporarily forget the pain of betrayal." She recalled her own three-year relationship, which had ended in deceit and abandonment. Though she was strong and no longer cried, how could that kind of pain be forgotten in a single day?
Glades's face darkened, and he pursed his lips, remaining silent. A flash of anger for the pain Julia had endured flickered in his deep eyes.
The two of them drank in silence. Julia had a very low alcohol tolerance. Having had a few sips of the strong liquor earlier, she was starting to feel a little dizzy.
She sipped her wine, her apricot-shaped eyes, now somewhat hazy from the alcohol, observing Glades. She took in all the anger and desolation radiating from him. Perhaps it was the alcohol clouding her judgment, or some other reason, but Julia suddenly said to Glades with a mocking tone, "Brother Glades, we're both abandoned people, both pitiful. Doesn't that make us a perfect pair?"
Glades suddenly fixed his gaze on her flushed face. It wasn't a blush of shyness, but the flush of intoxication.
His eyes, dark as ink, became even more profound, his lips pressed even tighter.
Silence fell between them.
The sun in the high sky gradually softened, and time shifted towards evening.
The sunset stained the horizon, dyeing half the sky red, as if the heavens themselves were bleeding.
Glades Horne never went downstairs, nor did anyone dare to come up and disturb him. In this house, although he wasn't the head of the family, he inspired more fear than his father, the actual head of the household. The servants were always completely respectful towards him, never daring to overstep their bounds in the slightest. Furthermore, the Horne Family was a prestigious one with many rules, maintaining a clear distinction between master and servant. As he hadn't summoned any servants, they naturally wouldn't dare to come up and disturb him.