216: Chapter 216 I will marry no one but her in this lifetime!

Cao Kun originally didn't want to bother with Zhang Haonan.

Explaining this kind of misunderstanding was meaningless, and Julie's experience was so tragic that he shouldn't have involved an innocent person in the first place.

But at the moment he turned around, Cao Kun thought about how Julie had never truly let go of Zhang Haonan in her heart.

She broke up not because she didn't love him, but because she didn't dare to love him.

She was afraid her dark past would implicate him, that her disgrace would ruin his life, and that the dead-end path she was about to take would leave a lifelong stain on the Zhang family.

Cao Kun's footsteps came to a halt.

He fell silent for a few seconds, then turned to look at Zhang Haonan, his gaze becoming complex and serious.

The system mission was to save Julie and let her return to a normal life.

If, after dealing with Liu Ziqiang, Julie still never dared to be with Zhang Haonan because of her inferiority complex, fear, and guilt...

Then even if she escaped that demon, she would never leave the cage of her soul.

It would be better to...

Tell Zhang Haonan the truth.

Let him choose for himself.

If he minded and couldn't accept Julie's past, then so be it.

Julie would hurt for a while, but time would slowly smooth everything over; living alone in the future would still be better than suffering with a secret.

If he didn't mind and was willing to cherish, accept, and protect Julie, then once things were over, the two could be together again, and Julie could truly achieve a complete redemption.

With this thought, Cao Kun abandoned the idea of leaving.

He looked up at Zhang Haonan, his tone cold and solemn, without a hint of a joke: "Do you really want to know why Julie broke up with you? Do you really want to know what my relationship is with her?"

Zhang Haonan was taken aback by his suddenly serious tone. His anger subsided slightly, but he still held his ground stubbornly: "Of course I want to know! I must know!"

"Fine."

Cao Kun nodded, his voice very low so only the two of them could hear, "This isn't the place to talk. Get in the car, find a quiet spot, and I'll tell you everything."

Zhang Haonan stared into Cao Kun's eyes for a full ten seconds.

The other man's gaze was open and honest, without the slightest dodge or guilty conscience; he didn't look like a treacherous villain.

He gritted his teeth and finally turned to get into his own car.

The two cars, one after the other, drove into a quiet underground parking lot nearby and stopped in a deserted corner.

The car doors closed, and the narrow space instantly became quiet, leaving only the heavy breathing of the two men.

Cao Kun didn't beat around the bush and spoke directly, his tone calm but every word shocking.

"First of all, I'm not the kind of person you think I am. Julie and I have no improper relationship."

"I'm her distant cousin. I've been away for years and just recently returned to Zhongzhou. I heard she was in trouble and came specifically to help her."

He first fabricated a reasonable identity for himself to avoid causing further suspicion.

Zhang Haonan was somewhat stunned.

"Ah? Cousin? I'm sorry, I was reckless just now."

After learning Cao Kun's identity, Zhang Haonan quickly apologized, then continued with a furrowed brow: "Trouble? What kind of trouble could make her suddenly break up with me?"

Cao Kun looked up, staring straight into his eyes, and slowly spoke the secret Julie had hidden for three years, word by word.

"Three years ago, right after Julie graduated from university, she took a taxi home after working late and was raped by the taxi driver. The man even took photos of her and used them to threaten her."

*Boom—*

Those words were like a thunderclap, exploding violently in Zhang Haonan's mind!

He froze in his seat, his eyes bulging. His face instantly turned from angry red to a deathly pale, and his lips trembled uncontrollably; he couldn't say a word for a long time.

Raped?

Threatened?

Photos?

He couldn't believe his ears.

That gentle, clean girl with the smiling eyes, the fiancée he had cherished in the palm of his hand—she had actually experienced such a hellish ordeal?

Cao Kun didn't stop and continued speaking, his voice calm to the point of being cruel.

"She was afraid and didn't dare to report it. She quit her job, fled to Zhongzhou, and lived under an assumed name."

"She finally met you and thought she could start over, but a year ago, the man who raped her, Liu Ziqiang, found her again."

"He saw Julie driving a luxury car and knew she had a wealthy fiancé, so he began a cycle of endless extortion."

"Over this past year, Julie has had over three hundred thousand taken by him. All her savings and jewelry were drained dry."

"Two days ago, that man asked for another hundred thousand, threatening to expose the photos, ruin her reputation, and ruin your wedding if she didn't pay."

"Julie loves you too much."

"She didn't want to implicate you, didn't want you to know about her most disgraceful past, didn't want people to point fingers at you because of her, and even more so, didn't want you to carry a stain because of her."

"So she could only force herself to be heartless, could only break up with you, and could only shoulder everything alone."

"She had even made plans to kill Liu Ziqiang and then turn herself in, using her own life to trade for a lifetime of peace."

Every word was like a heavy hammer, smashing ruthlessly into Zhang Haonan's heart.

His whole body was rigid, his blood seemingly frozen. His ears were ringing, and his vision went black in waves.

He finally understood.

He finally got it.

He understood Julie's determination that day, understood her tears, understood her trembling, and understood the heart-wrenching pain and despair hidden behind her words "I don't love you anymore."

It wasn't that she didn't love him.

It was that she loved him too much—so much that she would rather fall into hell herself than let him be stained in the slightest.

Zhang Haonan's eyes turned red instantly, and hot tears fell without warning.

A grown man, at this moment, he couldn't control himself and wept.

It wasn't anger or a sense of grievance, but pure heartache.

Heartache to the point of suffocation, heartache to the point of trembling, heartache to the point where he wanted to slap himself several times.

Why hadn't he noticed sooner?

Why hadn't he protected her sooner?

Why had he let her carry it alone for so long?

Cao Kun watched his breakdown and posed the most critical questions in a calm tone.

"I've told you everything now."

"Julie's past is a scar she will never be able to get rid of in her life."

"Now that you know, do you mind?"

"Are you still willing to accept her?"

"Are you still willing to marry a girl with such a past?"

"Are you still willing to stay by her side regardless of the gossip?"

The air instantly froze.

Zhang Haonan suddenly raised his head, his face covered in tears, but his gaze was incredibly firm. Without a single hint of hesitation, his voice was choked but resolute.

"I don't mind! I don't mind at all!"

"That wasn't her fault! It never was!"

"She is the victim! She is the one who was hurt!"

"Why would I mind? I only feel for her! I only hate myself for not protecting her sooner!"

"I love Julie the person, not her past!"

"No matter what she has been through, she is the girl I want to marry, cherish for a lifetime, and protect for a lifetime!"

"In this life, I will marry no one but her!"

...