Chapter 14

“Don’t you have anything to ask me, Julie?”

Julie paused. What should she ask? Should she ask him why he broke his promise to wait until she was an adult? Should she ask why he left the country? Should she ask why he got married? Should she ask why he lied to her? But the courageous and lively girl she once was had long been eroded by the years.

Julie struggled against his grip: “L-Let go of me!”

When Lucian saw how strongly she was resisting, he sighed. He was the one rehashing things. He released Julie’s wrist and shifted his gaze to her bandaged finger. “Does your finger still hurt?”

Julie lowered her gaze and looked at her finger. The bandage had a cartoon design. He obviously carried this around for a little kid. Instantly, Julie felt asphyxiated again. She wanted to ignore him.

“Julie.” Lucian reached out and ruffled her hair. Sounding helpless, he said, “I’m talking to you, Julie. What a rude little kiddo you are.”

Julie was speechless. Who was he calling a kid? She was not a kid. Seemingly triggered by him calling her a “little kiddo,” Julie got angry and smacked his hand away. She glared at him and insisted, “I’m no longer a little kid!”

Watching the little outburst, Lucian felt like the lively girl he once knew was back. He raised an eyebrow, seemingly in a good mood. When Julie saw him smiling, her anger intensified. Wanting to ignore him, she reached for the door handle, but the door was locked.

Julie turned to Lucian and demanded angrily, “Open the door. Let me out!”

Lucian smirked. This kid had a temper. He reached over and helped Julie open the door.

Once the door opened, Julie got out of the car in a flustered manner and stormed toward the entrance of her campus. She had only taken a step forward when she heard Lucian calling out from behind.

Julie paused, turned her head, and rolled her eyes at him before asking in an upset tone, “What now?”

He strode over to stand in front of her. “You haven’t given me your number.”

“There’s no nee–” Before she could finish, Lucian handed her his phone. “Give me your number.”

Lucian looked like he wouldn’t let her leave without her number, so she gave it to him. After he got her number, Lucian grinned with satisfaction. He looked at her and laughed. “Our little kiddo’s all grown up now.”

Julie was speechless. This guy must be addicted to calling people “little kid.” She shot him an annoyed glare before turning and heading for the university’s entrance.

Lucian watched her leave, his eyes on her for a long while until his phone rang. He glanced at it briefly before answering.

“Mr. Fuller, I’ve done the background check and sent the files to you via email.”

Lucian gave a brief, indifferent answer before hanging up. He then turned and got into the car.

“Mr. Fuller, are you returning to Fuller Mason?”

“Take me to the company.”

On the way back to her dorm, Julie received a text from Lucian: “Hey, kiddo, get a good rest tonight. Goodnight!”

Julie stopped and stared at the text for a few seconds. She didn’t reply, putting her phone away before heading to the dormitory. When she arrived at her room, she unexpectedly bumped into Megan.

Julie frowned. If she remembered correctly, the Dance Department office was next door. What was she doing here?

Chapter 14

Julie was planning to ignore Megan when Megan called out to her.

“Julie, can we talk?”

As Megan asked, she scanned Julie from head to toe. Ever since she got back together with Zayn, Megan felt he no longer treated her the same. Over the past few days, whenever she asked Zayn out, he said he was busy with work. Back when he was pursuing her, he visited the university every day to take her out to eat. They had only been together for half a month, and he had already changed.

Julie stared at her with a poker face and said, “Sure.”

“Are you still clinging to Zay–Zayn?”

Julie was taken aback for a moment before amusement took over.

“Clinging to him? You must be out of your mind.”

“Then why hasn’t he contacted me? I’m pretty sure you’ve been talking shit about me to him.”

Julie just stared at the 19-year-old in front of her. Suddenly, she felt Megan was not only immature but also a real menace.

“Don’t you know what kind of person Zayn is?” Julie asked.

Stunned, Megan put a hand to her neck and said, “Of course, I know him. He’s my boyfriend.”

Julie laughed and shook her head. Megan’s expression stiffened before she asked, “What are you laughing at?”

“The reason why Zayn no longer reaches out to you is because he’s grown tired of you. All his previous relationships never lasted more than a week. You did pretty well, though. At least you guys made it to two weeks before he got bored of you.”

The more Megan listened, the more contorted her face became.

“What nonsense is this? When Zay–Zayn was pursuing me, he told me he wanted to marry me, so stop trying to create a rift between us.”

Julie smirked and confidently said, “Zayn will never marry you. Stop wasting your time on him. It’s not worth it.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she walked into her room without giving Megan a chance to respond. Megan stood there, staring intently at Julie’s door. Her grip on her bag tightened. She could tell Zayn was distancing himself, but she wasn’t willing to accept the truth.

She had finally made a good catch. She wasn’t going to let it go easily. Just wait and see. She would definitely be an exception.

When Megan returned to her room, her roommates asked, “So, Meg, where’s your boyfriend? Why haven’t we seen him around?” Back then, when Zayn was pursuing her, he made it a point to let everyone know. He regularly had flowers and luxury items delivered to the dormitory. He would even personally come to campus and take Megan out for fancy meals. His actions made everyone envious of Megan. It was impossible not to admire or be jealous of her treatment.

Megan’s expression stiffened. “My Zay–Zayn has been really busy at work lately.”

“I see. I thought the two of you had broken up.”

“Why would we?”

Megan felt somewhat guilty saying this. She could tell her roommates were jealous of her boyfriend, wishing for them to break up. She didn’t want to give them that satisfaction.

Megan dialed Zayn’s number in front of her roommates. The call went through. She used a coquettish tone and asked, “Zay–Zayn, have you been missing me?”

Zayn’s tone was still indifferent. “What’s up, Meg?”

Megan used her nasal voice and pretended to sound aggrieved. “We haven’t met for a few days now. Don’t you want to see your little cutie pie?” She had been the one calling Zayn these days. Every time, he gave her the same frigid attitude. He would even be dismissive sometimes. It would be a lie to say Megan wasn’t worried.

“Be good. I’m busy.”

“You say that every time. My roommates are saying we’ve broken up.” Her grip on her phone tightened after she said this. She immediately regretted it. If Zayn just decided to break up with her after hearing those words, how embarrassing would it be for her?

“Zay–Zayn, are you upset?” Megan asked cautiously.

Zayn’s mellow voice came from the other end. “No, I was just ordering some milkshakes for you and your roommates. I’m really swamped these few days, babe. Be good. I’ll come find you once I’m done with all this work.”

Hearing this lifted Megan’s anxiety.

“Alright. You should also look after yourself, Zay–Zayn. I love you.”

“You too. I’ll hang up now.”

Not long after the call ended, the milkshakes were delivered to the dorm. She gave her roommates a cup each. “My Zay–Zayn ordered this for us. He’s busier these days. He’ll treat us all to a meal after he’s done with all his work.”

All her roommates looked at each other before thanking her half-heartedly.

Megan leaned against her bed as she took some photos of herself with the milkshake. Then, she sent them to Zayn. “Zay–Zayn, I’ve received the milkshake. I like it a…”

The read receipt showed the message was read, but there was no reply. Megan felt a little disheartened. She had to do something. She had to keep Zayn on a tight rein.

Since Zayn had sent milkshakes, she decided to send him a homemade lunchbox. After all, the only thing the wealthy lacked was people who would treat them with sincerity. Immediately, she clicked into Amazon and ordered some crockery.