Catherine's POV
Richard's gaze remained fixed on Julian, waiting for the explosion he clearly expected. He thrived on these moments; pushing his children to their limits just to see how they would react.
Julian's knuckles were white as he gripped his wine glass. For a second, I was certain the glass would shatter and the dinner would end in a bloodbath of broken glasses and spilled red liquid. But Julian didn't explode. Slowly, his fingers relaxed and forced a smile, though it didn't reach his eyes.
"I'm not exploding, Father," Julian said, his voice remarkably steady despite the fury I knew was roiling beneath the surface. "I'm just humbled by the scale of the vision. That's really a very brilliant idea."
Richard raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by Julian's restraint. "Of course, I'm that good, Julian. I expect you to understand that better than anyone."
