The Bound Between Us

Chapter 426
The harsh light had the man on the bed instinctively shielding his eyes. He grumbled irritably, “Get out.”
“What on earth are you doing here? Where’s Herman, my grandson?” Grannie Anita stared at the man in front of her in disbelief.
Wasn’t this Herman’s hotel room? Why was Joseph the one lying on the bed?
At the flick of the light switch, Julie had already burrowed under the covers out of embarrassment. But when she heard the
unexpected voice and saw that it was Joseph, not Herman, she gasped in shock. “Oh my God! Why is it you, Joseph?”
Julie was shell-shocked. She thought it was Herman. How did it turn out to be Joseph?
Joseph had been roused by the commotion and sat up, gazing at the two people in the room, equally stupefied.
He knew Herman was wining and dining with Mr. Jarod from WOW Corporation tonight, so he had followed him. When he saw
Herman being escorted back to his room, he entered as the door was left ajar.
Once he stepped into the room, Joseph noticed the peculiar scent. He lost control. His body was burning up. When Julie
appeared, he didn’t even recognize her, using her to relieve his discomfort.
To ensure everything would go smoothly, Grannie Anita had arranged for an aphrodisiac fragrance to be placed in the room. It
was originally intended for Herman, but Joseph had unwittingly walked into the trap.
When Joseph realized it was Julie, he didn’t act surprised. Instead, he smirked, “You smell rather nice.”
Julie was livid. She grabbed a pillow and started to hit Joseph. “You bastard, I’m going to sue you.”
Joseph dodged her attack, sneering, “If I remember correctly, you were quite cooperative. You can’t claim innocence when you’re
wearing that perfume. It was consensual. What are you suing me for?”
Julie felt a wave of guilt and disgust. She had intended to give herself to Herman, and she couldn’t accept this outcome.
Grannie Anita interjected when she heard Julie’s threat to sue Joseph, “Julie, calm down. This has already happened. Making a
scene won’t do you any good. I will handle this.”

Joseph was a descendant of the Salstrom family. Grannie Anita had been encouraging Feiman to bring him back to the family,
but Feiman hesitated because of Katelyn’s feelings. Whether he was officially acknowledged or not, Joseph was still a Salstrom.
Julie couldn’t just sue him.
Regardless of how things had turned out, Julie had lost her virginity to a Salstrom.
Grannie Anita signaled for Joseph to leave as she tried to console Julie. Joseph had no time to deal with Julie’s meltdown, and
he didn’t even consider taking responsibility for what happened. He just quickly dressed and left.
“Joseph, you bastard!” Julie screamed. She wanted to chase after him but realized she was still naked. Then she hid back under
the covers.
Just then, a familiar voice came from the doorway. “Well, this is unexpected. I didn’t realize you and Ms. Brown were... involved.”
The voice... came from Herman.
Hearing Herman’s voice, Julie wished she could disappear. How could she let Herman see her like this? But she couldn’t hide.
What if Herman misunderstood her relationship with Joseph?
Julie quickly got dressed and rushed out to explain, only to see Anastasia standing next to Herman. At that moment, Julie felt like
she was going crazy. “Why are you here? Did you set me up, Anastasia? You’re so cruel.”
Anastasia scoffed, “Ms. Brown, who you choose to sleep with has nothing to do with me. I’m just here to pick up my husband.
Don’t go around biting people like a rabid dog.”
Anastasia had no sympathy for Julie. She had wanted to confront Julie earlier that day. Although she didn’t know why Julie
ended up with Joseph, she was satisfied with the outcome. It was a case of hoisting oneself with one’s own petard.
Seeing Julie disrespect Anastasia, Herman’s face darkened. “Are you saying that your encounter with Joseph wasn’t
consensual, Ms. Brown? Is there more to this story? Perhaps we should call the police and let them sort this out.”
His words silenced Julie. She couldn’t possibly involve the police.
It would be humiliating. Once it was exposed, what would she do if her story w spread?
She had used the aphrodisiac perfume, and she had worked with Grannie Anita to hotel room key. Even if the security footage
was reviewed, it would just show her wi entering the room. If she claimed she was coerced, who would believe her?

And if word got out that she was raped, it would ruin her reputation.
Being known as the woman who was “raped” versus the woman who “spent the night with her boyfriend”, Julie knew which one
sounded better.
Grannie Anita was too scared to leave the room. How was she going to explain this to her grandson?
But Herman wasn’t going to let Grannie Anita off the hook. He called out to her, “Granny, it’s getting late. You should be heading
home.”
Hearing Herman’s voice, Grannie Anita felt guilty as sin. After a long pause, she finally emerged from the room, stammering,
“Herman, what are you doing here?”
Herman stared at Grannie Anita with a blank expression, pretending to be ignorant. “Why aren’t you resting at home, Granny?
Why are you here?”
Grannie Anita chuckled nervously, “I heard you had too much to drink. I was worried about you, so I came to pick you up.
Weren’t you supposed to be staying in room 1122? How did you come in from outside?”
Grannie Anita would never admit to plotting against her own grandson.
Herman’s voice was frosty, “Grandma, you must have misremembered. I’m in room 1123. It’s quite late. Let me take you home.”
“Must be my old age playing tricks on me,” Grannie Anita chuckled, a bit flustered. “No need, I’ll have the chauffeur drive me. I’ll
be on my way.”
She shot Julie a look, hinting for her to keep her mouth shut. She left the scene with the chauffeur.
Julie was left in a mix of anger and frustration. There was no way she would admit that she and Grannie Anita had conspired
against Herman. Not in front of him, anyway.
After Grannie Anita’s departure, which was followed by Herman and Anastasia, only Joseph and Julie remained.
Leaning against the door frame, Joseph shot her a mischievous grin, “Shall we continue where we left off? Once or twice, it’s all
the same, isn’t it?”

He had a fair idea of what had happened and it was quite a surprise. He hadn’t anticipated that Grannie Anita and Julie would
resort to such a clumsy scheme to trap Herman.
Julie glared at him furiously. “You jerk, why did you have to show up and ruin everything?”
The thought of losing her virginity to Joseph made her blood boil. It didn’t matter that they shared the same last name or that he
was quite handsome and fit.
Joseph was suddenly intrigued. He shut the door, with a smirk tugging at his lips. “You seemed quite enthusiastic earlier. Didn’t
enjoy yourself?”