Chapter 1

Julian and I were inseparable for twelve years. But since I got this AI he recommended, I hadn't reached out to him in ten days.

But something felt off. It acted too much like a real person.

Late at night, just before my trip to Amalfi, I stared at the screen and typed out a line almost instinctively.

"I'm leaving for my solo trip to Amalfi tomorrow. Can you come with me?"

The AI replied instantly.

"Are you sure?"

I stared at the text. Would an AI ask me that?

Just as I was about to question it, another message popped up.

"I'm right here. I won't hide. I won't run. When you fall, I'll catch you."

...Right, definitely an AI.

I gave up, packed my bags, and got ready for my solo trip.

But I didn't expect to run into Julian at the airport the next day.

The untouchable heir to the Valerius Family. The man who wouldn't flinch with a gun to his head was currently looking down, patiently zipping up a woman's suitcase.

It was Sloane.

Seeing their intimacy, the memory of them making out in front of the hotel ten days ago pierced my brain again.

My heart painfully contracted.

"Oh my God, Aria!"

Sloane turned her head and gasped dramatically.

She looped her arm through Julian's like she owned him. Like she was already the Donna.

"Julian, you're so mean!" She pouted, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "You knew it was your 'little sister's' graduation trip today. Why didn't you tell me? We should have at least seen her off!"

Little sister.

The words slipped from her mouth with blatant pity and provocation.

Ever since she showed up, she played the "future girlfriend" card, wedging herself between me and Julian.

Like they were a power couple. And I was just the stray orphan they couldn't get rid of. A piece of dead weight clinging to the Valerius estate.

A wave of physical nausea hit my stomach.

I didn't want to stay a second longer. Gripping my suitcase handle, I turned to leave, but my eyes met Julian's.

"Why did you follow us?" Julian frowned, taking long strides toward me. His tone was laced with suppressed irritation. "Aria, I'm just taking Sloane on a trip for a few days. Can you stop showing up the second I feel like I can finally breathe?"

I opened my mouth, but before I could make a sound, his words crashed down on me.

"Stop using my mother's guilt to keep me chained to you."

He looked down at me, deliberately avoiding my eyes. His voice was cold and hard. "You've graduated. We should have our own lives now. Sloane loves wild, unrestricted adventures just like me. But you... I refuse to be held hostage by family duty anymore. I'm done playing the guardian angel who revolves around you. Save your tears. They won't work on me."

Seeing his tense, avoiding gaze, a suffocating sorrow swelled in my chest.

My eyes burned slightly, but in the next second, I felt completely numb.

"Are you even listening to me—"

"You think I'm here for you?" I opened my eyes, cutting off his lecture.

Julian froze.

He clearly didn't expect the submissive doll who always trailed behind him to dare interrupt.

The smug look on Sloane's face stiffened.

I ignored their reactions, simply raising my wrist and pointing at my watch.

"Excuse me. My flight boards in twenty minutes. You're in my way."

Until this moment, Julian hadn't really looked at me.

His gaze swept over my cold face and landed on my burgundy velvet dress.

The striking color perfectly hugged my curves. The minimalist platinum necklace on my collarbone glinted sharply.

In my eyes, there were no tears. And there was no him.

Julian flinched.

He snapped his gaze to my suitcase, then stared hard at the boarding pass in my hand.

Destination: Amalfi.

It wasn't where he was going.

The shock of losing control shattered his arrogance.

For a split second, something that looked like guilt flashed in his eyes, but it was gone before he could name it.

His superior tone wavered, his voice tightening.

"You're traveling alone?" He stared at me, complex emotions swirling in his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"