This was a classic trope in certain formulaic stories. The male or female lead does something completely shameless to indirectly show the other's bottomless devotion to them.
In this fanfiction author's eyes, Julian Spencer's despicable methods weren't seen as particularly vile. To the victor go the spoils—it's always been that way.
And Summer Vance's choice was proof of her feelings for Julian Spencer. It also indirectly validated her worth as the main love interest. Only by doing this could she be worthy of him.
This just goes to show that the author was cut from the same cloth as Julian Spencer, with a deep-seated contempt and disdain for female characters.
'What a pitiful and infuriating love-struck fool. You see him as your lover, but he just sees you as a pet and a backup plan.'
That's right, the story didn't end there!
