Chapter 13 #2
The pretty, dark-skinned woman narrowed her eyes at Bryce. She opened her mouth but then closed it slowly. “I can’t,” she said. “It’s too easy.”
Her voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it off the top of my head. “Do I know you?”
Julian stiffened, and she blinked, looking at him first. But then her attention returned to me.
“You may have seen me before,” she said cautiously, shifting on her feet. “We went to the same high school, but I’m a little bit older than you.”
“Bianca, this is Kayla Taylor.” Julian gestured to the woman before he pulled me to his side. “She’s my cousin—and my Jiangjun.”
“Jiangjun…” I glanced at him. “Like Matheus, Brayden, and…” Hanah was shifting nervously, and I recalled an earlier fleeting statement about my sister. She was Miles’s Jiangjun. “Hanah?”
Hanah bit her lip and averted her gaze.
“Did you know who I was?” I asked.
“We knew who you were from the beginning,” she said. “However, there’s more to be said, which is a discussion for you and me to have alone.” She gestured around the shop.
She ended with her hand outstretched toward mine. “Your phone?” she asked. “Let me give you my number, and we’ll talk when you’re ready. I’ll tell you everything. They’ll love that.”
“Are you being vindictive?” Bryce asked. “That’s unlike you.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said, holding my gaze as I slowly gave her my phone.
“You talk more now,” Kayla noted, tilting her head. “You always used to hide behind Finn.”
Julian’s arm went rigid, but I ignored him. We all knew about his loathing of Finn.
“I-I didn’t hide that much,” I protested. Even though I too was surprised with the current conversation. With Julian’s presence surrounding me, it was difficult to feel the anxiety that would normally leave me speechless. He was probably doing something, but I’d ask him later.
This was more important. I didn’t understand why this girl felt familiar or why I couldn’t get her voice out of my head. “Why don’t I remember seeing you?” I asked her. “Did you stalk me? ”
Her mouth twisted, but it was Bryce who responded. “Kayla doesn’t stalk anyone. She’s too proper.”
“She doesn’t,” Julian agreed. “Instead, she lurks and lies by omission.”
“Lurks?” A flicker of annoyance crossed her expression, and Kayla glared at him. “Are you for real?”
“Regardless, I have plans today,” Julian continued, gently squeezing my arm. “And I’m not going to let you lot upset them.”
Yes, shopping. Shouldn’t we be nearly finished at this point? I’d already changed into one of my new outfits, purchased on loan from the man beside me. And Julian and Bryce both had some bags that they’d placed on the floor for this conversation.
This didn’t include the items Julian had sent to Damen’s house, as if people existed to do his—or our—bidding.
And again, I was reminded of how out of touch I was with this world.
I was pulled out of my spiraling spiel of self-pity when I noticed Bryce frowning at a ring display.
This reminded me of another slight I’d suffered.
“Hey, you—” I pointed at him, and he looked at me as I ordered, “ Stay .”
His frown deepened as his eyebrow rose. How dare he look confused.
“You can catch up to us later,” I told him, hugging Julian’s arm. “I want to be alone with Julian.”
This would be the perfect opportunity for him to perform his husbandly duties. Lord only knew that he’d been terrible at them thus far. “I wear a size five,” I added.
“You want to be alone with me?” Julian asked, and the corner of his mouth lifted.
I grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling the fabric until he lowered his face near mine. “ I want my ring . ”
“Ah.” Julian blinked in understanding, and his grin faded. “ Jewelry . And shoes. So you do have weaknesses.”
“This has nothing to do with weaknesses,” I informed him, growling. “Bryce and I have a legally binding agreement. He is supposed to offer me a public declaration of his love! That’s how a marriage is supposed to work! This isn’t complicated. I’m a simple creature with simple needs.”
“You’re not even married for real. Besides, does he even know what you’re expecting?” Julian asked, raising his eyes to my fake husband.
Bryce might not be able to hear us, but he seemed to know we were discussing him. In response to our attention turning to him, he bristled slightly, trying to look innocent.
Lies, all of it.
“He knows,” I told Julian. Bryce was more intelligent than he appeared. I, begrudgingly, would admit to that.
“Of course, darling.” Julian nodded, his lips pursed.
“Wow, Maria wasn’t kidding,” Kayla cut in. “Julian, you’re not helping. You can’t just agree with everything she says.” She moved out from behind the counter, hand outstretched toward Hanah.
“What did Maria say?” My face heated—had I done something to her? I thought we were friends.
“I said I’d stay out of this, but I just can’t. You need some serious girl time,” she said, snatching my phone from Hanah’s hands. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Can’t let Maria run the show—she’d probably get you drunk just for fun.”
“Why would it be fun?” I asked. Kayla’s words had taken on a sense of foreboding. I’d known public drunkenness was a rite of passage, but still… There was nothing humorous about throwing up on a bender .
She was typing now and responded without pause. “It wouldn’t be. Someone has got to be the sane one.”
“That’s not nice.” Hanah frowned. “Besides, you’re a bit crazy yourself.”
“You’re biased,” Kayla said, holding my phone to me. “And blind. Haven’t you been paying attention to her plans?”
“What plans?” Bryce—who left the ring display—joined in.
“Girl stuff,” she answered and shoved the phone at me after I’d made no move to grab it. I fumbled, holding it to my chest as she added. “Feel free to text me when things settle down.”
“Now—” She glanced toward Julian, who was watching her with barely concealed surprise. “Didn’t you say you were busy? I’m actually working here. Leave me be.”
Julian’s surprise turned to contemplation, then resignation. “Having you around Bianca would make me feel better.”
“Now you owe me ,” Kayla said, brushing her shoulder as she returned to her previous location.
Julian nodded in response. “Thanks.”
“Stop pouting already,” Kayla said as she sat on a stool and crossed her arms over the glass. “Just don’t be too hard on him?” she asked, glancing at Julian.
Julian’s arm stiffened slightly before, after a breath, he relaxed. “I’ll think about it.”
Without another word, he led me from the store, leaving Bryce behind to talk to the two women. And even though I couldn’t see them anymore, I could feel Kayla and Hanah’s gazes burning into my back.
“Do you think they like me?” I asked, peeking up from my phone. Kayla texted herself from my number, while Hanah added herself as a contact.
There was only sincerity in his gaze as he looked at me. “ Darling, I’m still mad as hell at them, but I won’t lie; they like you very much.”
I bit my lip, returning my attention to the screen. “What makes you think that?”
He steered me to a vacant storefront but didn’t speak again until we’d stopped, and he set the bags he was holding on the floor. My back was against the wall, and he gently touched my cheek.
“Darling, Kayla lied to me to prioritize your well-being,” he said. “She wouldn’t have done that if she didn’t like you.”
The confusion must have shown in my gaze because Julian sighed and continued, “There are those of us whom everyone knows never to cross. For example, Miles allows his Officers a lot of freedom. In comparison, Titus, Damen, and myself are much stricter. For Kayla and Do Yun to lie to me, they must have felt strongly about keeping you secret.”
There was a pause while he seemed to consider something, then he grimaced and added, “As much as I loathe to admit it, Finn too.”
“What?” I asked.
“Finn is an idiot,” Julian said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“He should have come to Damen with his concerns, especially when given the opportunity. Because of that, his actions have affected you , and that’s what I can’t forgive.
That, and his feelings have ventured into places he’s not allowed. ”
“What do you mean?” I tilted my head, the movement causing a lock of my hair to fall over my eyes. “He doesn’t have any feelings.”
Julian’s mouth dipped as he tucked it behind my ear. He studied where his hand touched, and a shadow of anger clouded his face.
“Julian?” Why was he looking at me like that ?
The sound of his name seemed to pull him from his reverie, and he shook his head. “Never mind. Let’s go home. Damen should be ready by now.”
“Ready for what?” I asked as he picked up the bags with one hand and placed the other lightly on my waist, but Julian only hummed in response.
‘ Ready ’ was referencing Damen’s remodeling project.
By the time Bryce, Julian, and I returned, the furniture had been removed from my room, sans a mattress on the floor in the corner, and Damen was painting the walls a soft pink.
“What is this?” I asked, stepping into the room.
Damen, who’d been standing on a small ladder as he trimmed out a corner of the ceiling, made a surprised sound and almost fell to the floor.
“You’re back?” he asked, looking toward me as he caught his balance. “Already?”
What did he mean? I glanced at my phone. “It’s been hours.”
This didn’t seem to mean anything to Damen. “That’s my point.”
I wasn’t sure how long it took him to purchase clothes, but sensible people didn’t need to shop all day. Then again, considering how often I caught him checking out his reflection, I imagined he tried on every item while admiring himself in the dressing room mirror.
I suppose that was the burden the insanely attractive must bear. Shopping must be a nightmare—how would such an individual know what to purchase when nothing makes them look ugly?