Chapter 90
In the end, Julie reached the end of her patience and broke the silence. “What exactly do you want, Zayn?”
Zayn looked at her quietly. She was showing unconcealed irritation and disinterest—emotions he’d never seen on her face before. He’d often felt Julie loved him deeply, which is why he’d behaved so brazenly. But now the cat was out of the bag. She hadn’t stayed by his side for money; she’d simply considered him a substitute. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He gritted his teeth. “Be frank with me.”
For a moment, Julie’s brain failed to keep up, and she stared blankly. “What?”
“Have you been treating me as Julian’s substitute all these years?”
Julie paused, lowering her gaze. Seeing she wasn’t speaking, Zayn grabbed her shoulder and shouted, eyes reddened, “Well? Tell me! I want you to be fucking straight with me!” Julie remained calm, even in the face of his angry shouting. She lifted her gaze and said, “In the beginning, all I wanted was to watch you quietly, Zayn.”
As soon as those words left her mouth, Zayn instantly understood. Three years ago, Julie had only watched him furtively from afar, silently observing without attempting to talk to him. When had he noticed her? Likely when he and Zachary had agreed to meet to play basketball; Julie had again appeared in the stadium’s audience stand. Zachary had teased him, saying a junior had a crush on him and was stalking him daily. He’d even pointed her out to Zayn. That was the first time he’d laid eyes on Julie. She’d given the impression of being small but well-behaved; at a glance, she looked like an easy target for bullying. He did indeed end up buying her later on.
“Did you really feel nothing at all over the past three years?” Zayn asked, his voice strained.
Julie shook her head. “I don’t wish to lie to you, Zayn. You’re right. I stayed by your side because your mother gave me money, and you also know the other reason why I followed you.”
“So, you really regarded me as a substitute for Lucian? How dare you, Julie?” Zayn asked in disbelief, his eyes filled with anger and disappointment. Julie remained silent, lowering her head, not daring to meet his gaze. Zayn persisted, unwilling to drop the issue. “Say something! Did you really regard me as a substitute?”
Julie inhaled deeply before slowly lifting her gaze and saying calmly, “Don’t you already know the answer to that?”
Zayn sneered, then took a step back. A hint of disappointment flashed through his eyes. “No wonder you were so decisive this time,” he said, almost to himself. “It turns out you were so resolute because you knew Lucian was back, huh?”
Julie opened her mouth to explain that none of this had anything to do with Lucian, but she swallowed back the words. Perhaps it was better to let Zayn assume that; perhaps this was the only way to make him thoroughly give up on her.
Zayn felt a knife stab his heart at the sight of Julie’s cold expression. He’d once thought Julie liked him a little. After all, many people were richer than him. For her to stay by his side for money, she definitely had to have at least some feelings for him. Therefore, she hadn’t left him throughout all these years, no matter how much he bullied, tortured, and ridiculed her. But in the end, he realized he’d been a complete and utter tool, toyed with for so many years.