His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex-Wife Chapter 313: Complaints About Julian

Iris was taken aback.

She knew Julian was particular about cleanliness, but she never realized it was this extreme.

After all, he hadn't been like that in the past—and he certainly didn't seem that way now.

As soon as Caleb finished speaking, Jenny chimed in to vent. "Seriously, Iris, what Caleb said is totally true."

Jenny went on, "Every time we come back from going out, he makes us sanitize from head to toe before we can even step inside. Fine, changing into clean clothes is whatever—but he's even worse at dinner. He won't let anyone talk during meals. If someone does, he gets pissed. And when he's mad, he starts throwing things and acting out, making everyone miserable."

Gloria joined in too. "Absolutely. The one who really had it rough was Lily. Once she handwashed his shirts for him, and after that he insisted she do all his laundry by hand—plus iron everything. His obsessive, nitpicky standards were so bad even I couldn't take it. And there was that time Lily arranged some flowers for him. After that, he expected her to do it exactly the same way every single day. If one leaf was missing or the colors were off? Not a chance. And if she messed up, he'd get physical with her too."

Luke added, "Iris, everyone's been fed up with Julian for a long time. Usually no one speaks up because they're afraid of him. But now that you're here, they finally feel like someone will listen. They want you to stand up for them."

Iris was completely stunned.

She glanced around the table—no one had even touched their food. It was as if they were all waiting for her to call Julian out and set him straight, like she alone could get them justice and let them air their grievances.

And Julian, the target of all these complaints, just sat there quietly, perfectly composed.

Even after hearing everyone describe his terrible behavior, he didn't seem upset in the slightest. He was unusually calm.

Iris offered a tight, nervous smile and asked, genuinely puzzled, "Why are you telling me all this?"

Frederick let out a dismissive snort. "See? They're on the same side. And you expect her to help?"

Beatrice quickly clarified, "Iris, we don't mean anything by it. We just hope you can keep an eye on him going forward, you know, remind him not to go too far. We're still family—we should try to get along, right?"

Iris felt shocked, almost disoriented, as if the world had flipped upside down.

She was just Julian's exwife. Julian couldn't stand her.

Since when had things reversed? Her, keeping Julian in check?

Julian seemed to have run out of patience too. He asked irritably, "My daughter's hungry. Can we eat now?"

Vivian looked at Iris, clearly annoyed. "We've all said our piece. The least you could do is respond."

Iris was totally baffled by this family. "Respond to what?"

Vivian shot back, "What else? Keep your man in line!"

He's not my man!

Iris opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat.

She wasn't sure if saying that would make everyone angry or crush Julian's pride.

Maybe Julian didn't even care.

Whatever he was thinking, the fact remained—the whole family was sitting there with untouched plates, complaining to her. She had to say something.

After a pause, Iris replied earnestly, "I'll talk to him about it."

Beatrice broke into a smile. "That's all we wanted to hear. Okay, everyone, let's eat."

Slowly, Julian picked up his fork. A faint, unreadable smile touched the corner of his mouth. Without a word, he placed a piece of roast chicken onto Harper's plate.

Iris was still out of it, her mind completely blank.

She was only an exwife, yet everyone seemed to treat her as Julian's wife—and someone with real sway in the family at that.

And through it all, Julian hadn't objected once.

"Eat up." Julian's voice brought her back.

When Iris refocused, Julian had already put some grilled asparagus on her plate.

After lunch, May brought the luggage up from the car to the secondfloor bedroom. Iris followed her inside.

May said, "Iris, a queensize bed might be a little tight with the three of you. Why don't you let Harper sleep in my room?"

Iris hung some clothes in the closet, glanced at the bed, and replied, "It's not tight. There's plenty of room."

May gave a thin smile and said meaningfully, "Kids take up more space as they grow. Really, she'd be better off with me."

Seeing how insistent May was, and then noticing Julian's suitcase also in the room, it finally clicked. Iris quickly explained, "May, Harper and I are staying in here. Could you move Julian's things to another room?"

"This is your home too. Married couples don't need separate bedrooms."

Iris looked down, a little embarrassed. "We're not married."

May smoothed the duvet and gave a knowing halfsmile. "Come on, you have a threeyearold together and you're saying that? A marriage license is just a piece of paper. Find a day when you and Julian can go down to the courthouse."

May said it so casually, but the words landed heavily on Iris.

Remarry?

She'd never even let herself think about it—didn't dare to.

Back then, Frederick had been completely against their relationship and had put her through so much pain and struggle. She'd fought so hard to break away from Julian, from his family.

She didn't want to go through any of that again.

Unless, maybe, Julian still loved her and his family could truly accept her—but otherwise, there was absolutely no way she would marry him again.

And clearly, none of that was likely to happen.

"May, we're not getting remarried," Iris said quietly. "Please take his things to another room."