CHAPTER 169: CHAPTER 169: GO ALONG WITH HIM FOR NOW, ADMIT THAT JULIANA JACOBS IS HIS FIANCÉE

Without caring that she was still on the phone with Summer, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply.

After a long time, the call was quietly hung up. He let go of her, suppressing his turbulent emotions, and said in a low voice, "Wait for me for three years, three years later I’ll marry you."

Juliana frowned, "Why wait three years?"

Elias regulated his breathing before saying, "I have a three-year marriage contract with the Sinclair Family’s deceased daughter."

Juliana recalled the incident when they took Summer’s hair and raised an eyebrow, "Is it the person you’ve been looking for all along?"

Elias nodded.

Juliana looked straight into his eyes and sharply asked, "If she comes back to life, will your marriage contract still only last three years?"

Elias’s gaze slightly dimmed. After a moment of silence, he softly countered, "Do you think my promise to you was said lightly?"

But no matter how firm he was, what did it matter?

The Sinclair Family could force him to marry a deceased person, proving they held his weakness.

Just like how Evan was caught by his weakness, choosing to abandon her every time.

Besides, whether he could even dissolve the marriage contract at that time was uncertain.

Juliana had no certainty about the unforeseeable future.

After all, in a second choice, she had learned to be cautious in matters of the heart.

The light in her eyes gradually dimmed, "Then wait for me for five years."

Elias, "?"

"My relationship with Evan lasted only four years, so after five years, if you’ve freed yourself from the Sinclair Family’s marriage contract, and our feelings haven’t changed, then we’ll be together."

After saying this, she got out of the car without looking back.

Elias felt stifled and puzzled.

Quinn slowly lowered the partition, turned to him, and said, "I think Miss Jacobs’s worries are quite reasonable. After the identification center results came out, Dorian’s mother changed her tune, admitting she lied to us with the whole village to deceive us for money, and now the Sinclair elder is more convinced that his real granddaughter is not dead."

However, listening to Quinn, Elias thought of another layer of meaning in the whole incident.

His eyes darkened slightly.

"Do you think Dorian’s mother has the capability to get the entire village to lie with her?"

His words left Quinn at a loss for a response.

"Initially, they wanted me to believe Dorian was the person I was looking for. Everything matched, the bracelet, the time of encounter. Since she was declared dead, I no longer needed to search. But then something changed, and they wanted me to believe Dorian wasn’t who we were seeking, and that the person I was looking for was still alive."

Elias paused.

"Do you know what could have caused such a change in the plan?"

His words left Quinn speechless.

Quinn pondered deeply for a moment, realizing his boss was only watching Juliana’s departing figure, understood.

"Is it because you fell in love with Miss Jacobs, so whoever dislikes you being with other women is deceiving you?"

Quinn could hardly believe his own analysis.

But Elias saw further than he did.

"If they have the power to manipulate DNA test results, our years of searching have been in vain."

Upon hearing this, Quinn felt a chill all over his body.

"The Sinclair Family’s Third Miss clings to you the most and doesn’t want you to have any women by your side, but she doesn’t have that capability, does she? The Second Miss Sinclair has the means, but she doesn’t cling to you, she even has a boyfriend—so, who exactly is preventing us from finding the rightful Miss Sinclair?"

"Hold the line for now, head to the hospital immediately," Elias instructed.

...

When Juliana reached the hospital on foot, Elias was already there.

Jared and Stella had both fallen from a cliff.

Jared was caught by a branch mid-fall, sustaining only a head injury without any major harm.

Stella, however, fell straight into the river.

The rescue team had been searching continuously for three days, to no avail.

At this moment, Jared was placed in an intensive care unit, showing no signs of waking up.

As soon as Leona saw Juliana, she rushed over with red eyes, pointing at her nose and cursing, "You jinx! How dare you show your face? My son got hurt protecting you—if he doesn’t wake up, you’ll never have peace in this life!"

Juliana had expected Leona to say many unpleasant things, but since Jared was injured saving her,

just for this reason alone, today she would have to endure the accusation.

She lowered her eyelids, without defending herself.

Just when she was ready for even harsher scolding, Elias stepped forward in one swift move, shielding her, "It was an accident; no one wanted it to happen, please calm down, sister-in-law."

"Elias," Leona said with immense sorrow, "he’s my only son, my only hope. Now he’s lying here for this woman; how can you ask me to calm down?"

"Leona," Victor said steadily from the side, "remember where you are and don’t lose your composure in front of outsiders."

Seeing him also not allowing her to scold Juliana, Leona became even more agitated.

"Composure? My son is like this, why bother with composure! This woman brings misfortune, she’s a temptress..."

Just then, a weak voice came from the hospital room, "Mom, how can you speak like that about my fiancée?"

Everyone was immediately stunned and looked towards the bed.

Nobody knew when Jared had woken up, and was now slightly turning his head, displeased, looking at his own mother.

"Son, you’re finally awake!"

Leona couldn’t care about anything else, rushing to the bedside excitedly.

But Jared sat up by himself, even took off his oxygen mask.

He even wanted to pull out the IV, but considering it might squirt blood and scare Juliana, he gave up.

This whole operation left everyone momentarily stunned.

"Son, you’ve been badly hurt, lie down, I’ll call a doctor immediately." Leona said.

Jared looked at her calmly, "Mom, I’m fine, but you shouldn’t speak so harshly to my fiancée."

Leona was stunned again.

Victor stepped forward in shock, "Jared, do you know what you’re saying? When did you... How long have you been together?"

Jared recalled carefully and confidently said, "That day on the mountain, I set off fireworks just for her. At that moment, I proposed to her and she agreed."

Juliana couldn’t hold back and softly refuted, "No, you only suggested dating, I didn’t agree to you."

After her words, Jared’s peaceful expression suddenly changed.

"You’re lying! You agreed then, why not admit it now? Is it because you’re afraid of my mom? But we clearly agreed."

He seemed like a different person, sweeping everything off the bed and nightstand to the ground, even pulling out the IV.

Leona hurriedly tried to stop him, "Son, what’s wrong? Stop hurting yourself!"

But Jared didn’t listen.

Fortunately, doctors rushed into the room in time to help Leona control Jared.

But under great restraint, Jared didn’t stop struggling; after a few jolts, he suddenly stiffened and fell down.

The doctors immediately began resuscitation.

Leona was so frightened she cried hysterically, losing her composure.

After a thorough examination, the doctor’s expression was grave, "The patient has a memory disorder caused by a hematoma pressing on the nerves, leading to an obsessive cognition of Miss Jacobs—this is a psychological defense mechanism after the trauma. Forcing corrections may cause an increase in intracranial pressure, and in severe cases, can be life-threatening. He must absolutely avoid stimulation."

"How long will this condition last?" Leona asked.

"Recovery can be swift, in a few days, but it could also take months, or even longer," the doctor said.

Victor was silent for a moment, frowning, "So you’re suggesting we play along for now, acknowledging Juliana as his fiancée?"

"No way!"

Elias’s face remained as usual, but his voice was slightly lower than normal.