Chapter 390 Stop Having Illusions
Rachel and Julian took the elevator to the underground garage together. Suddenly, he said, “It’s raining heavily outside, so don’t drive your car for the time being. I’ll send you home.”
As he said that, he walked ahead on his own. She looked at his back and halted her tracks. “Julian, let’s talk.” His figure froze slightly.
He parked the white car in the garage corner with the windows closed. Although it was late fall and not hot, the air in the vehicle was stuffy.
Rachel frowned as she sat in the passenger seat. “Julian, I want to know what you are doing.”
“I’m worried about your safety when it rains. So what’s wrong with me picking you up?”
Rachel looked at Justin incredulously as she heard his response. “I said I can go back by myself. I’m an adult, not a child. It’s just raining.”
“Are you blaming me for being meddlesome?”
“Julian, do you have to talk like this?”
“How do I talk?”
“Sarcastic and bitter!”
The words echoed firmly in the car.
She had always been blunt with her words, especially with her friends. She silently looked at the man in the driver’s seat, who she considered her best friend of the opposite gender besides Hans. If anything, Julian could be regarded as her benefactor.
Meanwhile, he also looked back at her. His usual warm eyes were filled with suppressed emotions at this moment. Finally, after a long time, he took a deep breath and said, “Rach, I’m sorry. I apologize. Today was my fault. I did something wrong. I’ve been in a bad mood recently. Let’s not talk about this, okay?”
All of a sudden, she felt a sense of unspeakable suffocation. I would rather he quarrel with me now than reluctantly apologize.
“I’ll send you home.”
His voice pulled her back from her thoughts. But then, she held the steering wheel. “Wait a minute. I’m not asking you to apologize to me. We are good friends.”
Although she tried her best to explain patiently, her frown betrayed her inner anxiety. “Why did you say that I’m your fiancée in front of Justin?”
Julian’s hand on the steering wheel slowly slipped, and he did not speak for a long time.
After a long while, he leaned on the back of the chair and looked at Rachel. “Rachel, if I remember correctly, you said that you never want to have anything to do with Justin in your life. You said you dislike his pestering. Isn’t this the easiest way to stop him?”
“Maybe, but I don’t like to lie. Besides, it’s not fair to you either.”
“What if it’s true?”
She was startled by his words.
“W-What do you mean?”
“I wish for you to be my girlfriend, fiancée, or even my wife. Is that clear enough?”
At that instant, Rachel felt panicked.
It was six years ago when I met Julian. At that time, he was so nice. Just like Hans, he was a light shining into my dark world. I never thought that such a person would like me romantically.
After he said his piece, he took her hand like holding up some precious treasure; his movement was very light. “Rachel, I know it’s not easy for you to let go of many things, but I’m willing to accompany you on your journey if you would have me. I hope you can give me a chance to take care of you and your children.”
Perhaps the word ‘children’ triggered a particular place in her mind, and Rachel suddenly came back to her senses. She abruptly withdrew her hand and was scared to look into his eyes. “I’m sorry, Julian.”
Just like that, his hand was left hanging in the air, slightly stiff.
“I’ll just drive back by myself.”
She hurriedly pushed open the car door and got out of the car immediately.
“Rach!” Julian called her from behind.
Although she paused her footsteps, she did not look back. “The rain isn’t so heavy, so I’ll just drive by myself. You, too, pay attention when you drive home.”
“Rachel!” Julian raised his voice suddenly. “Are you uncomfortable because I lied that you are my fiancée? Or because I said that in front of him?”
There was a big difference between the two.
Her back stiffened slightly, and she left in a hurry without answering the question.
At this moment, Rachel just wanted to escape from this scene that made her feel uneasy quickly. She knew that running away was shameful, but everything happened so suddenly that she didn’t know what to do.
The rain did pour heavily. According to the weather forecast, there would be constant rain for a week due to the typhoon.
She drove out of the garage alone.
At this time, Justin had just come out of the elevator with a to-go container in his hand when he saw Julian was making his way toward him.
“You’re not leaving yet?” Justin looked at Julian in surprise. Then, he looked behind him reflexively. “Where’s Rae?”
Julian’s facial expression was gloomy, as if he had changed into a different person. Then, Julian punched Justin before he could react, and his fist made direct contact with Justin’s cheek.
“Ugh!” Justin grunted in pain. His entire body staggered to the side and knocked over the stainless steel trash can. The to-go container in his hand fell to the ground, and that caused all the fish and chips to scatter against the pavement.
“What right do you have to call her that?” The sound of Julian’s roar came from overhead.
Justin raised his head in disbelief, but all he received was another punch.
However, Justin had been trained since he was a child. After receiving two punches, Justin quickly returned with a punch of his own.
With that, Julian also fell to the ground, and his glasses fell out to quite a distance.
Then, Justin got up and kept a safe distance. “Julian, have you gone mad?”
Julian panted and stood up against the wall. He glared at Justin angrily, his warm eyes now bloodshot. “Am I crazy, or are you crazy? How can she still have a meal with you in peace despite being tortured so much by you back then and witnessing your devilish state?”
“Are you talking about Rae?”
“I said, don’t call her that! You’re not worthy!”
Once again, Julian’s growl echoed in the huge garage.
Justin was startled again, and his cold eyes contracted. “Do you know what you are talking about?”
“Of course, I know! You’re the one who doesn’t know what you’re doing!”
“I just had a meal with her. We have a daughter together, Charlotte. So even if you and Rachel are engaged and will get married in the future, I will still go back to see Charlotte.”
“Do you think such words will convince yourself or me?” Julian sneered, “Justin, I know you too well. You are a person who will do anything to achieve your goals. In fact, your memory has already recovered, right? However, you are still pestering Rachel. Don’t you dare think I don’t know what you’re up to.’
In an instant, Justin’s facial expression froze.
“I warn you. Stay away from her! Stop having illusions! She can’t be with you anymore!”
Julian gave him a cold stare, then bent down to pick up his glasses and drove away.
Justin’s temple throbbed abruptly amid the loud roar of the engine.
After an unknown amount of time, Justin picked up the to-go container that had fallen on the ground and threw it into the trash can. He happened to see himself in the reflection of the elevator. There were several apparent marks of a fight under his eyes. When he saw the nearly visible bruises, Justin thought, It sure didn’t take long for the bruises to show up.
He raised his hand and touched the bruises, making him gasp in pain. Then, his pale fingers brushed the corners of his lips, and he saw blood on the tip of his fingers. What a shock! Julian definitely did not go easy on me with his punches.
