4. The Day and The Night

I was waiting for the mysterious man who contacted me by phone. I still kept the thing safe, hoping Julian wouldn't find it. I had turned off the ringer, just in case whenever he called, the secret cell phone wouldn't make a sound that would attract anyone's attention.

I was in an unfamiliar place, so not attracting attention was the only way to survive.

My eyes repeatedly glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. An hour had passed, and the sky was turning orange, which meant that night would soon come. However, I saw no sign of the mysterious man's arrival.

Had he forgotten his promise? Or did he not make our meeting a priority?

I heard the sound of the doorknob, which made me stand up. Not long after, footsteps entered the room, and I found only disappointment. The man standing there was not the mystery man, but Julian.

"What else did you come for?" I asked in a snappy tone. Since his arrival last time, I no longer respected him. His words and behavior did not deserve to be called a man for lightly committing harassment against me.

"I wanna see how my wife is doing. Why can't I?" Julian replied with a sickening grin that made me reluctant to look at his face. "Why do you look surprised? Are you expecting someone?" He circulated his gaze to the corner of the room.

"N-no. Your arrival was too sudden. It's only natural that I'm surprised." I tried to hide my face so Julian wouldn't see my annoyed expression. "You've seen the state I'm in. Can you leave me now?"

The man flinched, not doing as I asked. He then patted his hand, followed by several waiters coming in with the food.

"I would like to enjoy dinner with you. The people here are curious about what my bride looks like. Don't let them think I'm marrying a Barbie doll." He smiled wryly. "Arrange everything nicely and serve Miss Carra's favorite dishes! Hm, I mean, Ms. Levion."

The servants carried out Julian's orders impeccably. Everything was neatly organized, and they stood in the corner of the room as if that was the rule the Levion family made.

I stared at them awkwardly, speechlessly. Is this the Julian I've spent the night with at The Emirates? Why don't I believe him at all?

"Eat. Don't just stare at it because it won't go into your mouth by itself," Julian said while enjoying dinner. Unfortunately, since the beginning of being in this place, I didn't have the slightest appetite for food.

"Where are my friend and bodyguard?" I asked, without even touching the food.

"They're where they should be."

"Where?"

BRAKK!!!

Julian got up and looked at me with a glare. He didn't seem to like the question I should have asked in the first place. And, of course, he was obliged to provide information regarding the question I just asked.

"Can't you just enjoy the food in front of you without asking?" he said with his jaw visibly hardening. I just pursed my lips and nodded. I didn't want any punches thrown at me. I didn't want Julian to act out of control.

Just as I was about to put food in my mouth, a few people walked into the room as if they were family members and free to come and go.

I glanced at them disapprovingly, but it differed from Julian's reaction.

"Please take photos and videos of us while enjoying dinner. Don't forget to insert a dramatic sentence to show how special I treat my wife," he ordered, which was answered with nods from the men.

Before long, several men were pulling out a lot of equipment from their large bags.

"What the hell is this?" I asked, turning to Julian, who looked so calm.

"Don't pretend not to know, dear. You're a celebrity, why don't you know about their equipment? Do you not know what they're gonna do?" He chuckled. "Of course, taking material for the media. All your fans should know how your fairytale dream wedding is going. You're fortunate to have a handsome and wealthy husband like me."

Cih! I'm not willing and not happy at all. I regret why I spent the night with you, asshole!

"Eat up, and don't forget to put on your prettiest expression and smile."

I sigh and let Julian do whatever he wants while my head keeps spinning, thinking about the fate of Mariana and Ray. What happened to them this time?

***

Julian's departure saved me from my room. Having to put on an act all day made me sick. I didn't know how he could calmly do this when he said he didn't want this marriage.

Are men good at lying?

I got up from the bed with an uneasy feeling, moved towards the door, and tried to open it, but in vain. The door was locked, and I had no idea how the mysterious man would meet me later.

What if he didn't come? Would he break his promise? Because it was pretty late, but I saw no sign of his arrival.

Anxiety began to creep into the bottom of my heart. I was in an enclosed space without anyone knowing my whereabouts, and I never saw the conditions outside. Plus, I lost my assistant and bodyguard without knowing where they were. How could I go on living?

Was it Dad who had arranged all this? Doesn't he know the man he set me up with is problematic?

It was enough... I couldn't possibly wait for the mysterious man to come. It was too late, and even if he could open the locked door from the outside, he wouldn't do it because I was sure the man didn't know what he would do to me.

There was no way he could get me out of here. The security is too tight. Even outside my bedroom window, several guards were standing by for twenty-four hours without a break.

Knock, knock, knock!

I jumped to my feet when I heard the knock. My heart grew restless as the knock sounded repeatedly, and at the last moment, it was quiet outside again.

Was it Mariana? Or was it Ray? Or... ah! There was no way that man was coming. I'm not sure he would do that.

Click!

The door opens, and I step back because one possibility that will happen if the door opens is that Julian will enter the room and again do something that I don't like.

There was no mistaking it. Julian was standing in the doorway in his pajama pants with no top, revealing his broad chest with fine hair. Exactly how it looked when I spent the night with him at The Emirates.

Julian stepped towards me, and as time passed, his face, obscured by the dim light, now appeared before me, only with a different look. He no longer looked ruthless and cunning, but the look in his eyes showed another feeling that I couldn't interpret.

"Zane..." he called, which stunned me for a moment. Is this Julian? The cold and cunning man who constantly hurls scathing sentences with a fierce tone toward me? Why is his voice so much heavier and softer tonight?

"Why did you come here? Wh-what do you want?" I asked, still alert, because I saw another flash in his eyes. An unstoppable passion that Julian might unleash on me tonight.

"You don't recognize me?" he asked, with a louder and clearer volume that made me think.

I remember! That mysterious man. And yet, why would he—?

"Y-you're not Julian?"

I couldn't continue my sentence because Julian had grabbed me suddenly and, silenced me with a deep kiss, and managed to make me lose my sanity a little at that moment.

Julian didn't say much but lifted my body and rested it on the table in the room, giving an erotic touch that I couldn't resist because suddenly, my brain seemed to replay the events that happened at The Emirates.

Julian's touch, his deep, passionate kisses—it feels exactly like the one he gave me at The Emirates, and I can't forget the scent of his body that is emitted.

He DAMN intoxicated me!

He is indeed the same Julian as before. But how could that be? Julian, I know my husband was a ruthless asshole! But this man was the other way around.

Are they different people? Or is it one person with two personalities?

I let Julian continue the game. The kisses changed to an erotic touch on my skin. He traced his hands freely down to my core and swiped his finger to my clit.

Moans and groans filled my room, which slowly heated up. Julian lifts my nightgown, then pulls down his pants and slides his into mine. He served me and moved rhythmically until we both climaxed and when I woke up in the morning, he was no longer by my side.

He disappeared as if swallowed by the earth, replaced by another Julian in another room like a nightmare.

Could what happened last night have been a dream or just my delusion? Or is it a reality I can never remember clearly because secrets are yet to be revealed about two different Julians?

Julian by day, who was the devilish asshole, and Julian by night—the angel, the mysterious man in shining armor.