Chapter 5

I laughed. "Ms. Quinn, we’re all adults. There’s no need to play these twisted little games. If you want him, go and fight for him. There's no need to go out of your way to show off to me how 'special' you are to him."

With Chloe's face turning ugly, I walked straight past her.

When I returned to the room, Julian was looking for me. "Where did you go? You were gone so long."

"Ran into Ms. Quinn and had a chat."

I sat down and took a sip of tea.

Julian frowned. "What did you talk about?"

"Nothing much." I smiled faintly. "She just told me you have a hidden photo album on your phone and the password is her birthday."

A look of awkwardness flashed in Julian's eyes. "Wendy, let me explain…"

"No need to explain." I interrupted him. "That's your privacy. I respect that."

Julian stared at me, trying to find even the slightest trace of displeasure on my face.

But he only saw a vast calm, like a pool of water that had suddenly lost all ripples—so calm it made one panic.

"Wendy, you’re really acting very strange."

Julian Sterling's throat tightened. He picked up his coat. "Let's go. We're going home to talk about this properly!"

"But the birthday party isn't over yet..."

"Let's go!"

Giving me no room to argue, he pulled me up, said a quick goodbye to the others, and led me out of the private room.

The moment we got into the car, someone knocked on the window.

Julian rolled it down. Chloe Quinn was standing outside, her long hair lifting gently in the night breeze.

Biting her lip, she said, "Everyone's already leaving, and I can't catch a cab. Could you give me a ride if it's on your way?"

Before Julian could speak, I pushed my door open. "Of course. Ms. Quinn, why don't you take the front? The view's better."

Chloe froze, whatever excuse she had prepared catching in her throat.

She looked at me, a flicker of confusion in her eyes, but slid into the passenger seat anyway.

As the car rolled through the night, Chloe kept talking, reminiscing about their college days, bringing up every little memory she shared with Julian.

Julian offered only the occasional brief response, staying silent most of the time.

Chloe couldn't help glancing at me in the rearview mirror, only to find me staring intently at the night scenery outside the window, my profile completely calm and unbothered.

Her expression grew melancholy as she continued, "Sometimes I really regret it... If only I hadn't gone abroad back then..."

"It's in the past," Julian cut in.

A brief silence settled over the car.

Right at that moment, a vehicle suddenly shot out from a side road.

Julian wrenched the steering wheel and slammed on the brakes. The car spun out of control, crashing into the roadside guardrail.

In the violent jolt, Julian's instinct was to throw his arm out to shield Chloe in the passenger seat.

Sitting in the back, I was thrown forward with crushing force, my forehead slamming hard against the back of the front seat.

Agonizing pain flared, and warm liquid began trickling down the side of my face.

"Wendy!" Julian turned, his face instantly draining of color when he saw the blood covering my face. "How bad is it? Are you okay?"

I wiped at the blood blurring my vision with the back of my hand. "I'm fine... Drop Ms. Quinn off first."

"You're bleeding like that, and you're—"

"I'm really fine. I can just take a cab to the hospital myself. Ms. Quinn was terrified. You should hurry and take her home to rest."

With that, I pushed the door open, stepped out, and actually walked over to the curb to hail a cab, leaving without looking back.

Julian stared blankly as the cab pulled away, only snapping back to reality when he heard Chloe's soft whimpering.

After dropping Chloe off at home, Julian rushed straight to the hospital.

The emergency room nurse told him that my wound had already been treated and that I had left.

He drove home. Opening the front door, he found only a small nightlight glowing in the living room.

I was leaning back on the sofa, gauze taped across my forehead, my face pale.

He strode over quickly and knelt before me. "Why did you leave on your own? Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

I opened my eyes and said mildly, "Weren't you supposed to look after Ms. Quinn? Her father just passed away, and she's emotionally vulnerable. She needs you more."

"Wendy!" Julian finally snapped, grabbing my hands. "What on earth has been wrong with you lately? Is it because Chloe came back? Are you upset? I told you, she and I—"

"I know." I pulled my hands back gently. "The two of you are in the past. You're only looking after her because her father just passed away and she has no family left in this city. I understand all of it."

"Then why are you..."

"Julian," I looked at him and suddenly smiled. "Do you remember how I used to get mad whenever you spent time with Chloe, and you'd always tell me I was too sensitive, too unreasonable?"

Julian froze.

"Now I'm reasonable, I'm not sensitive, and I'm not mad anymore." My smile was faint. "Isn't this what you always wanted?"