The silence in the penthouse is deafening when I arrive. I turn on the lights to make the room feel more alive. I haven’t heard from Julian since the morning, and he still didn’t respond to my texts or phone calls.
I rush to the fridge for food because I’m starving. It’s a miracle that I’m hungry after an entire day of not eating.
I grab some bread from the counter, spread it with peanut butter, and pour myself a glass of orange juice. With one bite and a gulp, relief washes over me.
I go to the bathroom after eating to take a quick shower. I undress, step under the sprinkler, and then turn it on. I close my eyes and let the warm water flow over my head.
I reach for the hair gel, but Julian appears unexpectedly and grabs the bottle. I stare at him. I didn’t notice when he walked in.
He’s naked, his body luscious as always, but his expression is listless.
“When did you arrive?”
“Just now. I heard the shower,” he mumbles. He squirts some hair gel into his palm and joins me. “May I?”
“Yes, please.”
Julian runs his fingers through my hair and rubs my scalp. I close my eyes again.
“Good?”
“Very.” I guess he’s still mine. “What happened?” I take advantage of this pleasant opportunity to ask.
“It’s a long story.” Julian gently rinses the bubbles with the sprinkler head.
“But you’ll tell me, right?”
“I am. Anya, we need to talk,” he says solemnly. My stomach churns, and my heartbeat starts racing.
I turn to face him. “Is it bad?”
“It’s complicated.”
My lips tremble. I wrap my arms around his body. “Don’t say anything.”
“Anya.”
“Are you going to leave me for her?”
His muscles tense. “What? Of course not. Is that what you think?”
“I heard everything she told you. You seemed to trust her. You left without speaking to me this morning.”
“Hey.” He lifts my chin and cups my face. “Does this look like I’m leaving you? We’re naked in the shower.” His lips curl up, amused.
I pout. “It’s not funny.”
“I’m not leaving you,” he whispers, brushing his thumb against my cheek. “What Stella said won’t change how I feel about you… about us. I love you, and she knows that.”
“So, what will you tell me?”
He envelops my waist with his arms. “A few changes. But only after the shower, please.”
I want to ask him a lot of things, like why he didn’t tell me more about his past with her. They were almost like a family.
But I want to believe him. I reach up to his height and kiss him on the lips. He lowers his head to kiss me back.
***
As I wait for Julian to get something to drink, I settle on the couch and look at my inbox.
Lora: Doing okay?
Me: Yeah. Julian’s here.
Lora: Good. I was worried. You didn’t reply to my texts.
Me: Don’t worry. We’re good.
Lora: Thank God. I thought you were crying right now over the news. What did he say?
Me: What news?
Lora: News about Professor’s ex.
Me: There’s news about them?
I look over at Julian. He’s still working on something in the kitchen.
Lora: Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize you hadn’t seen them. It’s going viral on social media.
Me: I suppose that’s what we’ll be addressing tonight. Whatever it might be. I’ll check it now, though.
I close my inbox and scan my news feed. I enter the keywords in the search bar.
News about Stella Pierce and Julian Sebastian.
The screen displays a picture of Julian and Stella. Stella was seen hiding her face from the photographers in the photo while Julian’s arm was on her shoulder to shelter her from the onlookers.
The headline says: RECORD PRODUCER JULIAN SEBASTIAN AND STELLA PIERCE SEEN LEAVING THE MARC HOTEL TOGETHER.
What?Additional images of them taken from various angles show on my screen. I then browse through the comments area, and there’s a bunch of people saying they probably got back together or something because they’re soulmates.
I groan. I’m not going to read the whole article.
I read another headline.
KLAUS WILSON, STELLA PIERCE’S EX-HANDLER, LEFT A HINT ABOUT HIS SUDDEN RETIREMENT ON TWITTER: “It’s time to close the curtain.”
What the hell is happening?
I agitatedly grind my teeth. My chest tightens, and my eyes tear up as the pressure rises. What did I just read?
Although I don’t want to be the suspicious girlfriend, Julian must explain everything, or I’ll lose my mind. Why is it so hard to have a peaceful relationship with someone?
I try to calm myself. It’s not time to be pessimistic. I need to be more forgiving, patient, and understanding. Julian will never betray me. He’s shown that already.
Julian returns to the living room with a bottle of champagne, two glasses, and a selection of refreshments. He uncorks the bottle and pours the drink into the glasses. He hands one to me.
“Thank you,” I mutter and take a sip.
He flashes a faint smile. “You’re welcome.”
Come on, Anya! Ask him about the news. Don’t feel ashamed. “I saw the news,” I begin as he settles beside me.
“I figured that,” he says simply.
“So? What happened? Is that where you’ve been all this time? At a hotel?”
“It’s not what you think.” He drank the champagne straight before pouring the second shot into his glass. “That hotel is where Klaus is staying.”
Yes, yes. That’s it. Julian won’t betray me. “Did you confirm it? Is what she said true?”
“Apparently.” He clenches his jaw and mutters under his breath. “Rafe already has it under control.”
How is it that he seems so unaffected? It bothers me.
“You’re not telling me everything about Stella, are you?”
He exhales deeply. “You’re right. I haven’t been completely open because I didn’t think it was necessary.”
“It is to me, Julian. I tried to keep it all in because you were patient with me, but this is driving me crazy,” I say straightforwardly. “Why didn’t you tell me you almost had a child with her?”
His jaw twitches. “How did you find out?”
“Kristoff accidentally told me. Please don’t be angry with him. That’s not his fault.”
“It’s alright. It’s about time you found out. I’m sorry for not telling you. I had a feeling you’d have a different opinion of me.”
“I don’t give a damn about that! I don’t care about your imperfections. I embrace them. I’m only upset because you left out an important detail, and then I saw the news. How did you think I’d react?” Why do we keep having such issues? Why can’t everything simply be normal?
“Hey, come here.” He takes another swig of champagne, sets the glass down, and pulls me onto his lap. “I’m sorry, I was being selfish.”
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
“Yeah, but the timing was off.”
“I’m sorry about the baby. You may have broken up, but you both lost something important. I know exactly how you feel.”
He strokes my cheek with his thumb. “Yeah, but that was all in the past. Are you all right? Have you calmed down?”
“I’m fine, but if there’s anything else I should know about you and your ex-girlfriend, please tell me now.”
“There is nothing else besides what happened today.”
“Promise?”
“I swear. But I didn’t keep this one on purpose. I was really planning on telling you. Are we good? “
“You know I’d always trust you, right?”
“I know. That’s why we won’t sleep until we discuss what happened today.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “I owe you that.”
“Yes, please,” I mumble under my breath.
“So where were we?”
“About the Klaus guy, and your brother is taking care of it.”
“Let’s continue from there...”