Chapter 69

Julie looked up and stared blankly at the familiar sedan parked ahead. Lucian was here, too. She wondered if he knew she’d been taken to the station. Instinctively, she wanted to avoid him and gripped the car door handle. “I’ll stay with my friend, Blaine,” she said.

But just as she spoke, the front door of the black sedan opened. Lucian stepped out, and his calm eyes locked onto Julie. He was wearing his usual Mack coat, and his expression was as unreadable as ever. There was no visible trace of emotion on his face. As their eyes met, his gaze landed on her hand on Blaine’s car door handle. No one knew what was on his mind.

“Julie.” His voice was low and steady, betraying nothing of his emotions. But Julie could sense the faint crease of his brows as he called out her name. She nervously let go of the door handle and tumbled awkwardly to greet him. “What a coincidence. You’re here at the police station, too?”

The words had barely left her mouth before she wished she could disappear into thin air. What was she even saying? It was obvious Lucian was here for her.

“Get in. I’ll send you home,” he simply said before getting into his car.

Julie couldn’t refuse since he’d spoken. She glanced at Amaya, who was fast asleep in Blaine’s car, likely due to the alcohol. Deep down, she grumbled, “How carefree can she be to fall asleep at a time like this? I’m leaving my friend to you, Blaine.”

Blaine waved dismissively with a smile. “It’s no trouble at all. Go on before Luce gets mad.”

Julie paused briefly and lowered her voice to ask, “How did you know I was here?”

“Ask Blaine, not me. I’m off.” With that, Blaine drove off and left Julie stunned in place.

A sudden honk from the black sedan pulled her back to reality. She gave a resigned sigh and made her way to Lucian’s car. After settling into the passenger seat, she politely greeted him. “Sorry for the trouble, Lucian.”

Lucian said nothing as he started the car and drove off. The atmosphere in the car felt tense and awkward. Since he was silent, Julie dared not make a sound either.

When they stopped at a red light, she cautiously stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye. His face was calm but serious. She wondered if he was mad. But why? She couldn’t understand.

“Julie, you’ve got guts, huh?” Lucian suddenly spoke. His voice was tinged with amusement. Julie guiltily lowered her head and avoided his gaze.

Lucian continued driving and asked in a casual yet commanding tone, “Explain. What happened?”

With her head drooped, Julie fidgeted with her hands on her lap and hesitated before recounting the incident. Lucian caught onto one particular detail and asked, “Zachary? The eldest of the Quinn family?”

“I think so. We knew each other before.”

Silence fell over the car once again. Julie decided to break the awkward silence by asking, “How did you know I was here?”

Lucian let out a quiet scoff. “I saw you being taken away in a police car. What do you think?”

Julie’s eyes widened. “S-so, you came to my place?”

Lucian gave a curt hum and offered no further explanation. Earlier, he’d overheard Julie mentioning a nightclub over the phone. He’d been worried something might happen, so he’d dropped a business dinner and driven to her home, only to find she wasn’t there. As he was about to leave, the sound of a police siren caught his attention. He was shocked to find Julie being taken away. He immediately followed the car and gathered information about the situation. Initially, he planned to have her spend the night in detention as a lesson. But he couldn’t harden his heart to do so and called Blaine to handle the ball.

Suddenly, the silence in the air was interrupted by a ringing phone.