"Long time, Juliana." He says smiling
Of course it had to be Justin's friend.
The same one who saved me at the club…
The same one who shut the door in my face when I went looking for Justin years ago.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, unable to hide my shock.
He leaned back slightly, calm as ever. "I could ask you the same thing."
I frowned. "Don't play games."
A small chuckle escaped him. "I'm here to represent my father for the financial review."
"Your father?" I blinked. "Mr. Jonathan is your dad?"
He nodded. Of all the people that could've been Mr Jonathan's son it had to be him.
"I didn't even know he had a son… talk more of it being you."
He laughed lightly. "Well, now you know."
I took a deep breath and straightened. "Alright then. Let's get this meeting started."
The meeting went smoothly.
Too smoothly, considering everything running through my mind.
We discussed the financial records, projections, and everything in between. I tried to stay focused, tried to ignore the past sitting right in front of me.
Finally, it ended.
"Thank you," I said, closing the file. "I'll send my feedback to your father."
"Sure," he replied.
"Pls send my regards to him" I say and he nod
Silence. Both if us just staring at each other, him calm as ever while my thoughts were jumbled. After few minutes, I picked up my things, ready to leave—
"Ask what you want to ask."
I froze.
Slowly, I turned back to him. "What?"
"Ask what you want to ask" he repeats and I frown
"What makes you think I want to ask anything" I say
He smirked slightly. "I can see it in your eyes."
I hesitated.
"It's okay you can ask I don't bite" he says and I sigh
"Fine," I said. "Why didn't you let me see Justin that day?"
His smile faded.
"You hurt him really bad."
I let out a bitter laugh. "I hurt him?"
My chest tightened. "He's the one who left me."
"You think you have the full story," he said calmly. "But you don't."
I stared at him, anger rising.
"He loved you more than anything," he continued. "And what happened… it broke him."
"And what about me?" I snapped. "I was pregnant. He walked away from me. I'm the one who was left to deal with everything alone."
Silence.
"So why do you guys make it seem like I'm the villain? Like I'm the one who's at fault" I asked quietly but he doesn't reply. Maybe he can tell me what Justin was talking about when he said he saw me with another guy
"Alex if you know something pls just tell me. Justin said something about seeing me with some guy, do you know what he was talking about?" I ask hoping he would tell me.
He sighed. "It's not my place to tell you anything. If you want answers… ask Justin."
"That's the problem," I said, my voice dropping. "He's not telling me anything."
Another pause.
I swallowed, then added softly, " I never got to thank you for that night at the club."
"It's nothing. You don't have to worry about it" he says and I shake my head
"Still thank you" I say
He nodded. "You're welcome."
We shook hands.
But just as he turned to leave, he stopped.
"Juliana."
I looked up.
"I know you still care about him," he said. "And Justin… he still cares about you. A lot."
My heart skipped.
"And I don't want to see him get hurt again. So do us both a favour"
I frowned slightly. "What favour?"
"Stay away from him" he said, meeting my eyes, "nothing good will come out of this except the both you getting hurt."
And then he left.
Leaving me standing there—
Confused. He is such an asshole. Who does he think he is, Justin's dad. I'm pretty sure Justin is capable of making his decisions on his own. And he should tell Justin to stay away from me because he is the one chasing after me and not me.
That evening, after a long day, I finally got home.
I had barely settled down when my phone rang.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw the caller ID. Justin .
I picked it up anyway.
"What do you want?" I said immediately.
A soft chuckle came from the other end. "Relax princess. Always so fiesty.I just wanted to know if you got the flowers and chocolates."
I sighed. "Yes. I got them. Thank you."
"You're welcome, princess."
I closed my eyes briefly.
"Stop calling me that."
He laughed. "I told you I won't." He says and I smile a little bit then I remember what Alex told me earlier and I frown
"what do you want Justin?" I ask
"I think I have made it pretty clear" he replies. "I want you princess. I want us back"
I hesitated.
Then took a deep breath.
"Justin… can you be honest with me?"
"I always am."
I ignored that. "Why did you leave?"
Silence.
"What exactly made you walk away from me?" I continued. "From us?"
His voice changed slightly. "It's complicated."
"No, it's not," I said firmly. "You thought I cheated, right?"
Another pause.
"I didn't think," he replied slowly. "I saw proof."
My heart dropped.
"Proof?" I whispered. "Proof of what?"
"That you cheated," he said.
I let out a shaky breath. "I didn't cheat on you, Justin."
Silence.
"I would never do that to you," I continued, my voice breaking slightly. "Even if I was paid a million bucks that time, I wouldn't. I loved you too much."
He exhaled deeply.
"Let's just forget about it," he said.
"No," I said quickly. "I've been thinking about this for years. I need to understand—"
"Juliana," he cut in, his tone firm now and I gasp "Look I'm sorry I have to go. Goodnight."
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone.
Frustrated. Is he serious right now. He sends flowers for his behaviour at the restaurant and then he goes ahead to behave like this. I swear he is bipolar. What proof did he see that made him treate the way he did.
Why does it feel like everything is just… crashing all over again?
The next day, I decided to work from home.
I needed space.
I needed to think.
I was going through some designs when there was a knock on my door.
I opened it—
"Colin?"
He smiled. "Hey."
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you."
I stepped aside. "Come in."
I got him a drink, and we sat down.
"I still owe you an apology," I said. "For how our last date ended."
He shook his head. "You don't have to. I just hope you're feeling better."
"I am," I said softly. "Thank you."
He smiled. "You're welcome. I could take you on another date?"
I smiled slightly. "I'd like that."
We ended up watching a movie together, talking, laughing…
For a moment, everything felt normal.
Then the door opened.
"Julie—"
Stacy froze.
Her eyes moved from me… to Colin.
"Oh," she said slowly. "I'm so sorry I didn't know you had company."
Colin stood up. "That's okay."
"I'm stacy" she replied, then grinned.
He laughed. "The over energetic best frined."
Her smile widens. "So you heard about me" she says eyeing me
"Yeah," he said. "Julie talks about you a lot."
She shot me a look. "As she should."
We all laughed.
After a while, Colin left.
Stacy turned to me immediately.
"Well…" she said, raising a brow. "He's nice and handsome. The pictures don't even do Justice to him" she says
I smiled slightly. "Stace, you have a boyfriend or have you forgotten." I say
"What I can admire can't I" she says and I smile
Then I told her everything.
About the meeting.
About what Alex said.
About Justin.
Stacy frowned. "Why do they keep saying you cheated? You didn't cheat."
"I know," I said quietly. "But… what if there's something I don't know?"
"Then we will figure it out. Together. Okay?" She asks and I nod