Chapter 2

The sound of water in the bathroom abruptly stopped.

But he remained utterly unmoved.

In a panic, I bit down hard on his arm.

He grunted, wincing, and his grip loosened slightly.

I took the chance to push him away, clutching the sheets as I fled the room.

As the door closed, the woman's soft, languid voice faintly drifted out.

"Oh, stop it. If you make them change the sheets again, I'll be too embarrassed to show my face tomorrow."

I couldn't quite make out his answer.

Walking down the silent corridor, my wildly pounding heart slowly began to calm.

It wasn't that I hadn't imagined what it would be like to see him again someday.

But I never expected that after three years, he would hate me this much.

Better if we'd never met again in this lifetime.

Back at the front desk, Chloe leaned over to gossip with me.

"Do you know who that guest in the presidential suite is?"

It was late, and I was tired; I didn't feel like engaging.

But she grew more excited.

"I just looked him up online! He's actually the heir to the incredibly wealthy Kingston family in New York!"

I said flatly, "Snooping on guest information, that's against the rules."

"I was just curious!"

She continued to share.

"Everyone online is still talking about their billion-dollar inheritance battle from three years ago!"

"This Mr. Kingston suddenly fell gravely ill at a critical moment and almost lost his inheritance rights."

"And his first love, seeing him so ill, actually cheated on him at his lowest point."

"Oh, I haven't even told you the craziest part yet. Do you know who she cheated on him with?"

Chloe's chatter buzzed in my ears.

"Yeah, I know."

She raised her voice slightly.

"You know? You saw the news too?"

I slowly turned my head, calmly looking at her astonished expression.

"I don't need to see the news."

"I was his cheating ex-girlfriend."

The expression on her face instantly froze, and it took her a long moment to process.

"OMG."

Meeting Julian was an unusual accident in my life.

I saw something wrong and kicked a pervert right in the groin.

I dragged the pervert to the police station, and Julian followed me the whole way, thoroughly amused.

He waited outside the precinct for me, then got my contact info.

And that's how we started.

The day he confessed his feelings to me.

I asked him why he liked me.

He just smiled without speaking, then after a moment, he took my hand and said,

"I was captivated by the way you kicked that guy in the groin."

Fine, sometimes I didn't understand his taste.

But I liked him just the same.