Chapter 16
“Jules, getting a tattoo really hurts,” Dylan said.
His voice carried a trace of humility. Along with the slight trembling of his body and the redness around his eyes, he was a picture of sorrow and vulnerability that tugged at the heart.
“I’ve always loved you. I know you blame me for not protecting you back then, for being hesitant when I chose you. Look, I’ve even had this tattoo redone for our sake.”
However, Julia was completely unmoved by his pleading.
“It hurts, does it?” Her gaze fell on the tattoo.
The slight concem in her words lit a flicker of hope in Dylan’s heart. Unfortunately, the next sentence that followed crushed that hope completely.
“But what does that have to do with me? Dylan, I didn’t ask you to get that tattoo. I don’t need you to prove your so–called love.”
The indifference in her eyes was like a sharp blade that ran straight through his heart. In that moment, Dylan felt as though there was an insurmountable chasm between them.
He instinctively stepped closer, trying to bridge the gap and salvage their relationship, restoring it to what it once was. However, Julia wasn’t going to let that happen.
A man’s cold voice cut through the tension. “Sir, please mind your manners.”
His well–defined hand grabbed Dylan’s outstretched arm firmly as he tried to reach for Julia.
The man stood there in his white shirt, exuding a laziness like the sun on a winter day. At the same time, his presence felt like the distant starlight of a fall night.
It had nothing to do with his almost flawless looks. It was his eyes–glacial and emotionless. One look at them could freeze one’s soul. The cold from that hand seemed to creep into Dylan’s bones through that contact.
“Miles, when did you get back? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Unlike Dylan’s shock, Julia’s voice lifted with delight when she saw the man. Her tone was full of surprise and joy.
“I just got back. I wanted to see you first, so I came straight over.”
Only when Miles Wilson heard her voice did he let go of Dylan’s hand. As he turned to face her, all the icy sharpness in his demeanor melted away in an instant. Miles smiled faintly, but he did not forget about Dylan, who stood beside Julia. Miles took Julia’s hand and stepped back, putting more distance between her and Dylan.
“Since when is my identity any of your business?” Miles said to Dylan.
Dylan’s eyes widened in disbelief. His heart slowly filled with anger and jealousy as he looked at Miles.
He stared hard at Julia, his gaze filled with skepticism as he questioned her, “Who is he?”
No one answered him.
Neither Julia nor Miles even glanced at him. They simply walked off together toward the office building.
“Jules, wait!”
Dylan panicked when he realized that they had no intention of acknowledging him. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed Julia’s wrists.
He said with a trembling voice, “You brought him here just to provoke me, didn’t you? I know I was wrong in the past. You can yell at me or punish me all you want, I’ll take it all. Just… please don’t joke about things like this…”
Julia paused when she felt his hand’s warmth on her wrist. She lowered her gaze to where he was holding her and felt a sudden wave of irritation surge within her. She forcefully yanked her arm free, stepped back, and finally lost her composure.
“What exactly do you want? What reason would I have to pull such a joke on you? Dylan, please don’t assume everyone treats love as casually as you do!”
The rejection and hostility in her eyes were like a thorn piercing into Dylan’s heart, causing a sharp and suffocating pain. But above all that, he couldn’t bear the fact that she was leaving him.
He moved in closer, his eyes filled with a desperate and pleading look.
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“Jules, you clearly love me. How can you-”
“Love?”
Julia cut him off, annoyed by the absurdity of his words. Her eyes were filled with mockery that sent a chill down his spine.
He froze as she continued, “Dylan, of all people, you’re the least qualified to talk about love.”
Dylan had never imagined he would one day see Julia like this.
She was no longer the outgoing and cheerful young woman he had first met, nor the silent, reserved woman who had once moved into the Schneider household. When she looked at him at that moment, all he could see was unbridled rage.
He couldn’t understand what was going on. His lips parted as if to explain, but no words came out.
His silence didn’t soften Julia’s heart in the least. All it earned was a cold snort from her.
“What are you trying to say with that pitiful expression? Don’t tell me you’re about to say I was too heartless, and that’s why I left you?”
Chapter 17
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