Chapter 58

Lucian was immediately displeased. “Are you itching for trouble, Juju?”

Julie giggled. “Sec—”

After a few seconds of silence, Lucian finally said, “Relax, I won’t lash out at you.”

Julie paused and said nothing, so Lucian continued, “Now that you know all about my embarrassing moments, don’t you think it’s fair to share some of your stories with me?”

Julie was caught off guard. “Me?”

“Yes, you,” Lucian affirmed and waited for her to go on.

She opened her mouth and then trailed off. “I don’t really have anything worth sharing.”

“I told you my stories, and it’s only fair if you share yours. Otherwise, don’t you think you’ve gone a little too far?”

Julie felt a twinge of annoyance. “You’re the one who wanted to share! I didn’t—”

Before she could finish, Lucian interrupted. “Who was the one wanting to hear? Who was the curious one?”

Julie muttered under her breath, “What’s there for me to talk about?!”

“Tell me about your college days.”

Julie’s hand holding the phone faltered slightly. Most of her university days had revolved around Zam, who she’d treated as Lucian’s substitute. The mere thought of it made her reluctant to share.

“Nothing much. My college life was pretty ordinary. Just the routine lecture hall, cafeteria, and dorm, all over again.”

Lucian said nothing for a moment, and his silence made Julie uneasy. She straightened up and sighed. “Fine, I’ll tell you.”

“Go on,” he prompted.

“I had a boyfriend in college.”

The other end of the line went eerily silent as Lucian’s expression darkened. “And then?”

“And then he didn’t like me, so we broke up.”

Lucian scoffed. “Are you brushing me off right now, Juju?”

Julie protested. “No, I’m being honest. It wasn’t a proper relationship and was mostly me clinging to him.”

Lucian commented with a rather sarcastic edge to his tone, “Who’s this lucky guy who had the privilege of having you cling to him?”

“How’s that lucky? He was probably annoyed to death.”

“And now?” Lucian abruptly asked.

“Now what?” Julie was puzzled.

“Do you still like him?”

Julie mumbled, “No. I didn’t even like him that much back then.”

The smile on Lucian’s face widened after hearing her reply. “You’re still a kid, Julie. You shouldn’t be dating yet.”

Julie huffed indignantly. “I’m 22! You’re the kid!”

Lucian chuckled softly. “Don’t ever say that in front of a man.”

Julie looked confused. “Why not?”

“Tell you the next time you treat me to a meal.”

Realizing she’d been tricked again, she puffed out her cheeks in frustration. “Bye!” With that, she ended the call still fuming, and turned her attention to her meal.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated with an incoming text. It was from Lucian, who said, “Good night, Juju.”

Scrolling through their chat history, she suddenly realized nearly all their conversations were initiated by Lucian. Her replies had always been short, with noncommittal hums and “uh-huhs.”

For the first time, she realized she’d been distant and even cold, but she didn’t know how else to act around Lucian.

Deep down, she was afraid that if she let her guard down and followed him around again, he might vanish from here without a word just like before.

She’d endured that once, and she wasn’t sure she’d survive if that happened again.