Adrian smiled yfully, his posture rxed. He tilted his head back, finished the red wine in his ss, then raised an eyebrow at Sebastian. "Didn''t you used to think your wife was a country bumpkin? All she did was revolve around you, no job, no career, just wanting to be your wife."


    "She was always dressed so tackily. Watching her fawn all over you was honestly pretty nauseating."


    Hearing this, Julian quickly cut Adrian off. "Adrian, shut up. That''s going too far. Natalie didn''t have time to dress up those years because she was taking care of Sebastian. She handled everything for him personally. We all saw it. Joanna would just visit Sebastian; she never took care of him for a single day. What you''re saying is out of line."


    But Adrian didn''t see anything wrong with it and continued, "Don''t be fooled by Natalie''s innocent act. She''s useless. She didn''t even graduate from high school. Besides waiting tables, she can''t find any decent work. Her being ''good'' to Sebastian was just a way to lock him down and be a trophy wife."


    "She''s also the other woman who broke up a rtionship..."


    "Shut up! Natalie is my wife. She was never the other woman," Sebastian interrupted him coldly.


    It suddenly dawned on Sebastian that, over time, even his friends hade to believe his wife was just some uncultured hick.


    He couldn''t pinpoint when it started, but his friends had been belittling his wife for a long time.


    He would hear it at gatherings, but back then, he didn''t understand Natalie and held his own misconceptions, so he never defended her.


    He now realized how shallow and unfair that contempt was to Natalie.


    Over time, he had lost himself in that twisted perception.


    No wonder Natalie was willing to let go of their rtionship. It truly wasn''t worth it.


    In their eyes, all her sincere devotion was just a calcted attempt to please him.


    He took a deep breath, stood up, and looked at Sean. "Sean, we''re leaving."


    Adrian was taken aback, then couldn''t help butugh. "Sebastian, are you getting angry? You used to think the same way. I''ve said worse things before, and you never get


    ad. Why the sudden charge of heart today?"


    "Besides, I''m just telling the truth. Joanna is so aplished..."


    Sebastian''s sharp re cut him off, and Adrian reluctantly shut his mouth.


    With that, Sebastian left with Sean.


    As they passed Adrian, Sean patted him on the shoulder and said, "You''re a real jerk, Adrian!"


    "What?" Adrian was stunned. He red at Sean. "Sean, are you crazy? What are you so angry about?"


    "You''re the one who''s crazy. You''ve got serious issues. What does it matter to you if someone''s a


    ''country bumpkin''? You''re a yboy yourself You Have no idea how many women you''ve hurt. Instead of meddling in other people''s rtionships, you should focus on your current girlfriend."


    "Hey... what''s gotten into you, kid?"


    Adrian was furious. He hadn''t seen the kid in a while, and he was acting like apletely different person.


    Julian casually crossed his legs and said in a low voice, "Alright, don''t mind him. Right now, no one can say a single bad word about Natalie. If they do, he''ll bite their head off."


    Adrian, still fuming, looked at Julian with renewed interest. "Julian, you''ve been back for a few months. It seems like a lot has happened while


    I was away, What do you know? Tell


    me"


    Julian just shook his head with a smile, leaning backzily. His voice was deep. "It''s better if we don''t get involved in other people''s family matters. Let''s just drink."