Julien gripped the steering wheel even tighter.
Sydney could see his veins bulging on the backs of his hands.
"Actually, my parents have never shared a bed," Julien said.
Sydney covered her mouth in surprise, "Really?"
"Yes!" Julien nodded, no expression on his face, "My mother wrote that in her diary. She used to keep a diary. My mother didn't love my father, so she couldn't accept him. And my father was a proud man. He never forced himself on her. After they got married, although they lived in the same room, one of them lived in the bedroom and the other one lived in a small bedroom converted from the checkroom. They never had sex, so my mother could not get pregnant. But they had to give an heir to the family, so they went to the hospital and had IVF and had me."
"I can't believe that." Sydney's mouth dropped open in surprise and her heart raced.
What Julien said shocked her.
"Did your grandmother know about that?" Sydney asked.
Julien shook his head, "No. I didn't even know it until I read my mother's diary."
Sydney put her hand on the back of Julien's hand. She felt sympathy for him.
Julien's parents didn't love each other, and they gave birth to Julien to fulfill their mission. It was as if Julien was a tool, and his parents never expected him.
"Julien..." Sydney called out in a choked voice. She wanted to comfort him, but she didn't know what to say.
She was afraid she would accidentally hurt him.
Julien sensed Sydney's dilemma, and he placed his other hand on hers and gave a bitter smile, "Don't worry. Although they didn't look forward to my birth, they were responsible parents. They both loved me. I had a happy childhood."
When Julien's mother was alive, she loved Julien very much. After her death, Julien's father married Velma. And Velma was kind to Julien.
And Julien’s father loved him as much as ever after he married again, so Julien never felt sad about his childhood.
Sydney believed what Julien said was true. He hadn't lied to comfort her.
Sydney sighed with relief, "That's good." Then she continued, "Did your mother not love your father for Dallin's sake?"
'Because she loved Dallin, she couldn't accept Julien's father.'
Julien nodded, "Yes. My mother wrote in her diary that she and Dallin had made a deal. After she married my father and then gave birth to a baby, she would divorce him when the kid grew old enough to understand her. Then she would get back with Dallin. And my mother told Dallin that she would not have sex with my father and that she would get pregnant through in vitro fertilization. She wanted Dallin to do that for her, too."
"Did Dallin agree?" Sydney asked.
Immediately, however, Sydney realized she shouldn’t have asked the question.
If Dallin had agreed with that, there would be no Greta.
"My mother wrote in her diary that Dallin had promised her that he would wait for her until she divorced my father. I still remember how happy my mother seemed on that day according to her diary, but..."
Julien's face clouded over.
Sydney squeezed Julien’s hand gently. "But Dallin cheated on your mother and had Greta with another woman, so when you heard at the police station that Greta was Dallin's daughter and that she was only three years younger than you, you got emotional and angry."
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