How could I even begin to describe him?
His face was pale, shadowed by unshaven stubble. Dark circles loonied under his hollow eyes. His hair was a tangled mess, and his clothes were wrinkled and disheveled.
Julian, once the epitome of sophistication and composure, now looked utterly broken.
Even during our hardest days after we eloped, I had never seen Julian look so utterly defeated. He pounded on the hood of the car, pleading, “Violet, get out. I need to talk to you.”
Norman turned to me, his expression serious. “Do you want to step out?”
I shook my head and rolled down the window. “Say it from there.”
Julian hesitated for less than five seconds before abandoning the hood and rushing to my side of the car. “Violet, I was wrong. I know I was wrong.
“You know how much I’ve loved you all these years. I only did those horrible things because I was out of my mind. I couldn’t bear to lose you. Please, I’m begging you, give me one more
“Julian,” I interrupted coldly, my tone sharper than the cutting winter air. “I have just one question for you. Were you aware of what your parents did?”
He froze, his expression briefly flickering with something unreadable before he quickly denied it. “How could I have known? I ran away with you, didn’t I-”
I let out a weary sigh.
“You’re still lying to me. All these years, you’ve been living off your family’s money. Even the funds you used to start your business came from your father. You’ve alw nown what the Ford family did. So, tell me, were you with me out of guilt or because you wanted to keep a potential threat close enough to control?
“Either way, it was never love. So, let’s end this, Julian.”
Without a second thought, I rolled the window up, cutting off his desperate words.
Norman pressed the gas pedal, and the car sped off.
Julian lunged forward, but the edge of the car clipped him, sending him sprawling onto the pavement in a pathetic heap.
“And what about his woman?” Norman asked, his tone laced with unexpected curiosity. Wasn’t she the one swearing she’d stick by him no matter what?”
I chuckled. “She bolted ages ago. Averil was never the type to stick around out of loyalty. Honestly, she and Julian were a perfect match.
However, it looks like she’s already latched onto another married man. Just yesterday, I sent his wife some pictures of their little affair. I imagine the fallout will be messy, dramatic, and absolutely entertaining to watch.”
+25 BONUS
Chapter 30
I’d never pretended to be a saint. My patience back then was nothing more than a mask for my own insecurity.
Norman took one hand off the wheel, resting it casually on my leg. “That’s my
wife.
I smacked his hand away. “Eyes on the road. I’m craving some lemon butter fish for dinner tonight.”
“As you wish, my wife.”
In the rearview mirror, I caught a glimpse of Julian. He seemed to have chased after the car for a while, but he could never outrun it.
I watched his figure grow smaller and smaller in the distance.
By the time he disappeared from sight, I realized I could no longer even recall what he looked like.
I turned to the man beside me.
Somehow, without me noticing, Norman’s face had replaced Julian’s in my mind, etched there as a permanent fixture.
Pulling out my phone, I snapped a photo of Norman’s profile as he drove.
I posted it to my feed with the caption: “Moving forward.”
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