Zachary watched Julie in silence for a long moment before saying, “To be honest, when I found out you broke up with Zayn, I actually felt relieved.”

She looked at him in confusion.

Zachary continued, “I thought I had a chance.”

She parted her lips to say something, but he cut in, “Talir, let me finish.”

She swallowed her words and just watched him, waiting for him to continue.

Zachary smiled slightly. “It’s me. I like you, and I can’t forget you.”

She sighed helplessly. “Zachary, really, there’s no need for this.”

He shook his head. “Back then, you said I was just looking for novelty and wanted to compete with Zayn. You said that I didn’t really like you, but in reality, the one competing wasn’t me. I still don’t know where I went wrong.”

“It’s been so many years. There’s no need to dwell on who won or lost,” Julie said calmly.

Zachary was not willing to let it go and pressed on, “Is Zayn really that special to you?”

Julie didn’t answer.

In fact, she couldn’t. In front of Zayn’s good friend, could she honestly say that the only reason she stayed with him back then was for his looks? If Zayn found out, with his personality, he’d…

She dismissed the question with a wave. “Love is hard to explain. You’re a good guy, but as I’ve said, I don’t like you.”

Just then, the waiter arrived with the food.

Zachary glanced at the dishes on the table, his lips curling into a smile. “Alright. Enough with the ‘nice guy’ rejection. Let’s…”

After the meal, Julie packed some leftovers.

Zachary teased, “Don’t tell me that’s for Zayn.”

Julie replied indifferently, “It’s not.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Got a new boyfriend?”

“No.”

“I thought that since Zayn’s seeing someone now, you might’ve moved on too.”

Hearing him bring up Zayn again and again made Julie a little irritated. “Can we stop talking about Zayn? We broke up a long time ago.” Zachary raised his hands in mock surrender. “My bad. Don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad.”

Zachary then offered, “Where are you headed? Let me drive you.”

She shook her head. “No need. I’ll grab a cab.”

“It’s rush hour. You’ll never catch one. Are you sure you want to try?”

Julie checked the time and realized it was indeed a bad time to hail a cab.

“Alright. Thank you.”

Then she followed Zachary to the parking lot.

His voice came from the front as she reached for the back seat door. “Sit in the front passenger seat.”

Julie joked, “Your status is overpowering. I’m afraid to sit up front with you.”

Before he could respond, she got into the backseat. Zachary sighed and smiled. “Alright. I’ll be your driver today. Give me the address.”

Just as Julie was about to speak, Zachary interrupted again, “Add me on WhatsApp and send me the address. I’ll set it up on my navigation system.” He then gave her his number.

Julie decided not to argue further. She added his number and sent him the address.

Half an hour later, Zachary pulled up at the Fuller Group building. Looking at the building from the driver’s seat, he asked, “Your friend works here?”

“Anyone working at Fuller Group must be an elite. Let me know if you have time to introduce us.”

Julie responded briefly and politely before walking toward the building with her takeout box.

Zachary watched her walk away, then took out his phone. Opening WhatsApp, he saw her contact on his list and smiled confidently.

He scrolled down, found Zayn’s contact, and quickly typed a message.

“I’m back in town. Let’s catch up when you have time.”