“… to pose as a robber, and wait for him to play hero and rescue me.”
I said slowly, “The Blackwoods. Truly, not a decent one among them.”
Just then, the door was kicked open. Julian strode in, but his face instantly changed when he saw the scene in the
I tilted my head, smiling at Julian. “Your cousin has a nice physique. I quite like it.”
room. “You two…”
“What did you say?!” Julian snarled, grabbing my wrist and pulling me up. His eyes locked onto Henry. “Did you try to seduce her?!”
Henry gave a helpless shrug. “If that’s what you want to believe, sure.”
Julian lunged, throwing a punch. “Damn, you hit hard!” Henry cursed. Tied up, he could only take punch after punch.
Finally, Henry was half–conscious, completely resigned to his fate. “I’m gonna tell… tell my uncle…”
Julian finished beating him, then called the hotel staff to get him to a clinic. I watched, cold and detached
Once the room was tidied, was just Julian and me again. I finally looked him in the eye. “I don’t know if you just don’t understand plain English. I wasn’t playing hard to get, I wasn’t trying to make you jealous. I said I had someone I liked because I wanted you to give up, because I don’t like you anymore, and I don’t want to be entangled with you. Do you understand?”
He froze. I pointed at the spot where Henry had been lying, and the long–suppressed anger and disappointment erupted. “You had him drug my coffee so you could play hero and rescue me. Julian, don’t you find yourself utterly despicable? I feel sick to my stomach, disgusted that I ever liked you!” My voice rose so high it crack- ed, and by the end, I was dry heaving.
He tried to come closer, to help me, but I recoiled several steps. “I don’t like you anymore,” I sneered, looking at him. “Stop deceiving yourself. If you’re talking about feelings, all I have left for you is hate and disgust.”
“Are you serious?” Julian’s eyelashes fluttered. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you disliked it so much. I won’t…”
I let out a bitter laugh. Did he think I was only angry about him having Henry drug my coffee and trick me? I threw the letters Seraphina had sent me that morning, along with her personal trinkets, in his face. “Julian, we won’t have a future.”
He stood there, his voice raw. “It was just an act. I just wanted to make you jealous.” Julian’s eyes widened in fear. “I’ll make Seraphina pay for this.”
I scoffed. “Anything you did has nothing to do with me. Stop bothering me.” He tried to explain, but his chest felt crushed by a giant boulder. “You… you’ve fallen for
Henry?” he whispered.
“Neither of you are worthy of my affection!” I snapped. “Stop torturing me. Every second you’re near me, I feel physically sick.” He tried to approach me again. With- out thinking, I smashed a glass, picking up a shard and pointing it at him. He walked forward, letting the glass pierce his skin, blood streaming, his fingertips still
reaching for my cheek.
“What will it take for you to forgive me?” he murmured.
“Disappear completely. Never bother me again.” I turned my head away. He fell silent. The metallic tang of blood filled the room. I watched the blood spreading on
the floor.
“If you die here, I’d have to deal with your body. Too much trouble,” I said blandly.
“I was wrong. I just… wanted so badly for you to care about me,” Julian said, lowering his gaze, his lips pale. “No one ever taught me how to love someone.”
I didn’t want to argue with him. He pressed his lips together. “I will compensate you to the best of my ability.” With that, he turned away, a solitary, desolate figure.
“Julian,” I said. He turned back, a flicker of hope in his eyes.
“Wipe up your blood. You can’t expect someone else to clean your mess, can you?”
The hope in his eyes flickered. Then died. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, dampened it, and crouched down to clean the floor. I glanced at him, then said
languidly, “Close the door on your way out.”
Julian quietly mumbled, “Okay.”
Only when I heard the door click shut did I look up. The room was empty, tidy, and the floor clean and smooth.
