Chapter 2

I still went.

People are strange. No matter how rational I try to be, sometimes I just can’t control myself.

Navigating the dimly lit bar, with music vibrating through the floor, I skillfully wove through the crowd and found Julian.

I never understood why he always chose the same booth, or why he liked this kind of noisy environment.

I saw him sitting in the center of the booth, half-asleep in an uncomfortable position. His lowered lashes cast shadows on his handsome, striking face, making him look quiet and surprisingly vulnerable.

Around him, people clinked glasses, laughing and chatting. It was such a lively scene.

Yet he seemed so utterly alone.

“Julian.”

At the sound of my voice, he lifted his eyelids. His gaze cut through the blurred faces and the dim, shifting lights, landing on me.

He spoke, his voice still hoarse, “You’re here.”

I sighed softly, pushing down the ache in my chest, and handed him the hotel key card.

His place was too far, so almost every time he got drunk, he’d end up staying at the same hotel. And he was so stubborn about these things.

Like always going to the same nightclub, always sitting in the same spot, and of course, always staying in his usual hotel room.

As his executive assistant, these daily chores were part of my job.

After three months off, he still assumed I was the same as before.

Julian squinted his tired eyes, signaling the woman beside him to take the key card from my hand.

As she reached out, the swaying light revealed a face that looked somewhat like mine.

My heart clenched.

My mind raced, wondering which new "confidante" this was by his side.

Out of professional instinct, I offered her a friendly smile, but I didn’t miss the flicker of malice in her eyes.

I felt a pang of helplessness, and for a moment, I was lost in thought.

He was about to get engaged, yet he was still hanging out with these other women? Mrs. Eleanor had even tracked *me* down, but she hadn’t reined in this 'confidante'?

Handing her the key card, I felt a strange, undefinable mix of emotions.