Chapter 257
[ 480 words ]
Chapter 257:
He gripped the dark blue velvet box so tightly his knuckles turned completely white.
Caroline pressed her spine hard against the brick. Panic flared in her chest. She had to stop him. If he opened that box, the professional boundary would be permanently destroyed.
“Julian, don’t do this,” Caroline pleaded, her voice tight. “Please.”
Julian shook his head. He opened his mouth to speak.
The heavy black curtain at the end of the hallway was violently ripped open.
The sharp, rapid clack of high heels echoed off the bricks.
Brenna sprinted down the hallway. She was out of breath, her silver dress catching the dim light.
She shoved her way right between them. She planted both hands on Julian’s chest and shoved him backward with surprising force.
“Are you out of your mind?” Brenna screamed at Julian. “Can’t you see she is terrified? She doesn’t want to hear it!”
Julian stumbled back.
𝘋𝗈𝗐ո𝘭oаdа𝖻𝗹e 𝗣𝖣F𝘀 о𝗇 g𝘢𝗹𝗻o𝘷е𝘭s.со𝗆
He looked at Brenna. His face contorted in absolute agony. A tear slipped out of the corner of his eye.
“Then what am I supposed to do?!” Julian roared, his voice cracking with raw, unfiltered pain. “I came here tonight because I thought I wanted to tell Caroline how I felt. But watching her tonight, seeing how she looked at that Evan guy, and then watching you… the way you charged in to protect her without a second thought…”
He stopped, his breath hitching. He looked at Brenna as if seeing her for the first time.
“I realized I wasn’t jealous of Evan because of Caroline,” Julian whispered. “I was jealous because you ran past me to get to her. I’ve been so blind.”
Caroline froze. Her brain completely stalled.
She stared at Julian’s tear-streaked face. Then she looked at Brenna, who was standing frozen, her mouth hanging slightly open.
A massive, absurd realization hit Caroline like a freight train.
Caroline pointed a shaking finger at Brenna. She looked at Julian.
“Julian,” Caroline asked, her voice trembling with disbelief. “Are you saying… it’s Brenna?”
The hallway fell into a dead, suffocating silence.
Julian’s face instantly turned the color of a crushed tomato. All the aggressive bravado vanished. He looked down at his shoes, looking exactly like a terrified teenager.
He gave a tiny, pathetic nod.
The truth crashed down. Julian’s initial interest in Caroline had been genuine, a straightforward attraction to a new, intriguing colleague. But over the months, as he spent more time with her and, by extension, Brenna, his feelings had slowly, imperceptibly shifted. He hadn’t even realized it himself until tonight, when the jealousy he felt seeing Caroline with another man was completely overshadowed by the overwhelming admiration he felt watching Brenna fearlessly charge in to protect her friend. He hadn’t been planning this for years — he had just understood it tonight.
Caroline let out a loud, breathless gasp.
The massive weight of guilt, fear, and paranoia vanished from her shoulders. She felt incredibly stupid for thinking she was the center of this drama.
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