Chapter 76
Marcus hesitated, and his worry tightened his voice. “Mr. Sterling.”
Julian responded with cold detachment, his face unreadable. “Mr. Shepard, are you afraid I’ll traffic her off into some remote mountain?”
Marcus fell silent. He recalled rumors and ramblings from Alan suggesting a past intimacy between Julian and Sydney. Before that, Julian had seemed like a good brother.
After a moment, Marcus nodded. “In that case, thank you, Mr. Sterling.”
Julian nodded once, then lifted Sydney in a single motion and placed her sideways inside the car.
The sudden movement snapped Sydney into a daze. She scrambled on the leather seat and blinked up in confusion, murmuring, “Marc…”
The car cruised quietly. Under scattered streetlights, Julian’s profile looked harder and colder, impossibly sharp in the gloom. “Do you have a good relationship with Marcus?”
His voice cut through the fog clouding Sydney’s mind, easing her tension with its familiarity. She rested her head against the headrest, hazy but honest. “Yes, we get along. Marc treats me well.”
His gaze lingered on her pale, delicate cheek. His voice grew patient and coaxing. “But Jules doesn’t treat Precious well?”
“Jules?”
It had been years since anyone called her by that nickname. Maybe the alcohol loosened her nerves. She whispered softly, voice thick with resignation, “He… He doesn’t want me anymore.”
Even in her drunken haze, she remembered how coldly he had sent her back to Eloise’s side seven years ago. It was etched permanently in her heart. She had trusted him as family, but he treated her like trash.
“He never stopped caring.” Julian’s expression remained unreadable. He opened his mouth to speak, but her eyes glazed over as sleep took her.
Before drifting off, Julian asked, “Still living at Viridian Garden, right?”
“Not anymore. I’ve moved,” she slurred in reply when he pressed. “Aurum Road, Haven Building 2, Unit 21.”
The car jolted over a speed bump, and her head rocked gently.
Sydney felt uneasy until a large hand cradled her head, and she relaxed into its warmth. She sensed the soft palm on her cheek.
Julian started to withdraw his hand, intending to let her rest on his shoulder, but changed his mind.
Elliot quietly turned the car toward Aurum Road, his tor oddly pleased. “Mr. Sterling, I didn’t expect Ms. Wilson to live so close,”
Julian hummed and replied flatly. “Is that something to be glad about?”
Elliot choked on his excitement. It was just an impression. Maybe he had misread it.
Thirty seconds later, they pulled into the parking garage
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Chapter 76
+15 BONUS
The harsh glare from the lights made Sydney raise her arm. She blinked as they rolled to a stop in front of her building. She blinked again, steadying her vision, and recognized her home.
Fragments of earlier conversations buzzed in her mind.
‘That voice…‘ Her whole body stiffened. She turned slowly to the side, locking eyes with a towering figure and an angular jawline. Her gaze climbed to the sharp bridge of his nose and then into those fathomless dark eyes above it.
“Aren’t you madly in love with Caleb? Why are you living separately from him?” Julian questioned.
Chapter 77
+15 BONUS
Chapter 77
