Chapter 5

I deleted everything related to Julian from my phone and cloud storage.

Every gift he’d given me over the years went into a huge cardboard box.

I called a courier and had the entire box delivered straight to the Cross family home.

From then on, I stopped looking up anything related to him.

I thought that was probably the end of it.

Unfortunately, Madison still lived in the dorm with me.

She kept bringing him up, always talking about how thoughtful he was and how well he knew how to make someone feel loved.

Julian really was good at loving people.

When he wanted to, he could make any girl drown in his affection.

That affection just happened to have expired when it came to me.

On Valentine’s Day, Madison suggested that we all go out for dinner.

It was a tradition among college roommates that whenever someone got a boyfriend, she had to treat everyone to a meal.

But Julian had never once met my roommates as my boyfriend.

I made an excuse about having a headache and said I didn’t want to go.

Madison wouldn’t let it go. She clung to my arm and wheedled, “Come on, come on. It’s just dinner. Stay for a while. Julian can drive you back afterward.”

I was practically dragged to an expensive restaurant.

Throughout the entire meal, Julian didn’t look at me once.

He peeled shrimp for Madison and carefully picked the strips of ginger out of her crab meat.

Amid our roommates’ teasing, he calmly shared a toast with Madison, feeding her cake mouth-to-mouth.

When cream smeared across the corner of her lips, he leaned down and gently kissed it away.

I lowered my head and mechanically cut into the steak on my plate.

Once.

Twice.

Again and again.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Julian’s jaw growing tighter and his expression becoming increasingly grim.

Perhaps my complete indifference had taken all the fun out of it for him.

After dinner, all my roommates had their boyfriends with them, so none of them planned to return to the dorm.

In the bustling restaurant entrance, I was the only one left alone.

Julian hesitated before walking over.

His voice was awkward.

“...Do you want me to drive you back?”

He probably still thought I was the same girl I’d always been.

The kind who would obediently follow him as long as he offered me the slightest bit of sweetness, no matter how badly he’d hurt me.

Before I could answer, Madison nestled against him.

“Julian, I think I drank too much. I’m so dizzy...Stay with me for a while.”

I curled my lips into a smile.

“No need. Someone’s picking me up.”

Julian’s expression immediately turned cold.

“Suit yourself.”

With that, he put an arm around Madison and walked straight toward the sports car parked by the curb.

Then they drove away.

I stood there as the night breeze swept over me, leaving a dull ache at my temples.

I didn’t feel like calling a cab, so I walked aimlessly along the sidewalk.

When I reached the campus entrance, an electric scooter suddenly came barreling toward me from the wrong direction.

I didn’t have time to dodge.

It slammed into me, sending me crashing to the ground.

The rider cursed under his breath, twisted the throttle, and disappeared into the darkness.

Pain spread through my body.

My fingers moved faster than my mind. Instinctively, I pressed the speed-dial button on my phone.

It rang four times.

On the fifth ring, the call was disconnected.

The dead tone sounded again and again, pounding against my ears.

I held the phone in my hand, sitting stunned on the deserted street.

It was only then that I realized—

The number I’d called belonged to Julian.

The person who used to answer on the first ring and come running no matter how late it was...

He wasn’t coming anymore.

I didn’t cry.

I didn’t call a second time.

I forced myself to my feet and dialed emergency services.

At the hospital, the doctor cleaned and dressed my wounds and gave me a tetanus shot.

I lay on the hospital bed, staring blankly at the IV drip.

Suddenly, the door swung open.

A tall figure stood in the doorway, backlit by the hallway lights.

His broad frame blocked out almost all the light behind him.

The moment I saw who it was, I forgot how to breathe.

I stared at him as he walked toward me, his crisp cedar scent washing over me and enveloping me completely.

“Nora Bennett, aren’t you supposed to be so tough?

“Why did you let yourself end up looking like this?”