Chapter 53

Juliette's POV:

What are you doing?

Let me go!

Who are you?

Emmett!

Mom! Dad!

Jace...

Help me!

Please...

Somebody, please help me...

Zachary Udolf Sullivan.

Why did you save me today?

Zachary get me out of here, please! I can’t breathe, I will never trust you. You killed my Emmett. You are a murderer.

Z—Zachary he betrayed me.

I hate you Em—Nicholas.

I can’t keep this necklace, Zachary. It belongs to your family and I do not belong to your family.

Zachary! You douche!

What? You all knew about Emmett being Nicholas from the beginning?

Dad, how could you?

I am stuck in a marriage deal.

Zachary is not the villain. Nicholas is...

Zachary you monkey! I’ll kill you.

How do I look?

Loana and Zachary?

Zachary is my husband.

Zachary loves you?

Loana Ularu...

But Zachary, she started it all...

He doesn’t believe me.

Oh my God!

I am going to die today...

Vito?

Nicholas?

Save me...

Please...

Zachary?

I think I’m in love with him.

But he doesn’t love me.

Dad let’s get back home.

Kiara! I can’t forget him.

I am sorry Kiara. I’ve caused you a lot of pain. I’ll try to move on.

Zachary?

You left me.

I have fallen for you.

I am here to take you back, whether you like it or not.

Juliette...

From the day I met him to the very present moment, everything replayed in my mind. I felt my body heat up as I felt his wet lips on mine. Placing my hand on his chest, I knew I had two options: I could stop him and push him away, or I could let him do whatever he wants.

But that’s not correct.

He should know what I feel for him.

Sure, he told me that he doesn’t care what I feel for him, but still he should know.

But then, I need to know about him and Loana.

Am I the person who came in the middle of their relationship?

I felt him touch the side of my face as he got on top of me properly and moved his lips softly. I stayed still.

Not because I didn’t want to kiss him, but my body wasn’t listening to me. I felt his finger on the side of my neck as he kissed me passionately. Slowly and steadily.

His lips were melding against mine as he fastened his pace, and soon enough, my body arched up to his touch as I felt the shiver and tingles running all through my body. No wonder my face heated up and I could literally feel the blood rush to my cheeks. Mustering up courage, I let myself to be kissed by the man I loved and slowly, I tried to follow him. I opened my mouth for a bit, but then he left me.

As I looked into his eyes, he looked into mine, as if he was trying to search for something. His eyes roamed over my face, and then ended on my swollen lips, as I opened my mouth to exhale and inhale. His breath fanned on my face, and soon enough I felt his cold finger on my eyebrow, as he trailed his finger on the scar that I had because of a guy who accidentally threw his baseball bat in my direction.

“Juliette,” he whispered. My name rolling off of his tongue made me want him more. I was hot to my core, and damn the man didn’t have any idea how I felt.

“What about Loana?” I heard myself ask.

“What?” he asked with furrowed eyebrows, but then I realised what I just did.

Damn!

“Miss Ularu?” he questioned as he lifted his body up and sat next to me on the bed, looking down at me with confusion.

Should I ask him?

Well, the words have already left my mouth.

“Yes, Loana Ularu,” I said as I used my elbows to lift myself up, and I sat next to him, pushing the loose strands of my hair behind my ear.

“What about her?” he asked slowly.

“Aren’t you...together?” I asked and fidgeted with my fingers.

I waited for him to reply, but after two to three seconds when he didn’t open his mouth, I turned to looked at him to find him already looking at me.

“What?" I asked slowly, confused by his state.

“Pardon?” he said and I inhaled deeply before asking once again

“Aren’t you toget—”

“Who do you think I am?” he snarled, making me gasp. He glared at me and hastily got off the bed rubbing his face.

“But I...” He turned around swiftly and bent down, putting both of his hands on either side of me, looking straight into my eyes. His actions made me bend backward a little, but then his behavior confused me even further.

“Why have been so stuck up with her?”

“What is your problem with her?”

“You even fought with her the last time—” I cut him off.

"I? You are saying that I fought with her? How judgemental of you Zachary! Do you even know what she told me that day? She was the one who provoked me,” I argued, glaring back at him and emphasizing my words, letting him know I was telling the truth.

“And you! You even raised your hand on me that day!” I felt the sides of my eyes stinging as I remembered the day.

“Juliette I—” He withdrew his hands from my sides as he took few steps backwards.

“Forgive me for that!” he said apologetically, as I hugged myself and turned my head to the side.

“But you were so wild. You weren’t behaving like a normal person and you were out of control,” he said raising his tone and I snapped my head towards him.

“What? ME? Wild?” I questioned pointing a finger towards myself.

“Oh really? What exactly do you know, that you think I was the one who behaved wildly?” I sneered and took an intimidating step towards him in anger, which caused him to take another step back.

“Whatever it was, I’m sure that it wasn’t big enough for you to use ur claws at her,” he remarked and that angered me even more.

“Oh yes! Of course! I am so stupid!” I laughed hysterically, rubbing my forehead.

“Of course you take her side. You trust her blindly without even knowing what happened that day,” I said and he gasped. His mouth formed an ‘O’ to speak, but no words came out.

“What are you saying? Juliette...” He touched my arm and said as calmly as he could.

“Where are you taking all this?” he asked, and I jerked his hands away as I snapped at him.

“You think I am exaggerating, without any reason? She said you slept with her, and that you love her!” I pushed on his chest as I felt my eyes getting watery.

“What?” he said, astonished with what I blurted out.

“Yes! She said I was in the middle of you two. You love her and she loves you. She even showed me the love bites on her chest, which enraged me that day. But still, I expected you to hear me out but what did you do? You raised your hand on me. Before her. You proved her correct and you made a fool of me in front of everyone,” tears spilled down my eyes as I covered my face using my palms.

“What?”

“What?” I repeated after him and wiped my tears away as I looked back at him.

“I am a fool. I should’ve known that I was the one wh—" He cut me off.

“So, this was the reason you decided to leave?” he asked and I looked up at him.

“You thought I loved her?” he asked once again as I pursed my lips and rubbed my palms on my pants.

“Do you even remember what I told you this morning?” he questioned, taking a step closer to me.

“I fell for you,” he repeated his words and I felt my heart beat fastening.

“I said I fell for you,” he repeated once again.

“You!” he snapped all of a sudden, pointing his finger at me, which made me yelp in my place in shock.

“If I were to be in love with her, then I wouldn’t have fallen for you, dammit!” he growled and punched his left hand in the wall in anger.

“Zachary!” I leaned forward to take his hand, but he stopped me, showing me his hand to stop.

“You let another woman come in between us? You decided to leave just like that! Do you have any idea how I have been since you left?” he complained, and his face marred with sadness.

“But Zachary, I had to leave anyhow because of the dea—”

“Don’t tell me these stupid things. You and I both know that we weren’t bound by that stupid deal. It was just for your protection, nothing else. And Miss Ularu, I took her side only because I respect her father, who is my former business partner. I thought you two just had a misunderstanding, and I tried to stop you two, but you were lunging at her as if you were ready to kill her. I thought if you harmed her then I would have a bad impression on her father, but never really thought that it could have been this serious. Fine! I agree, what I did was not correct, a mistake. I shouldn’t have raised my hand on you, hell I still curse myself for that, but you... You shattered my heart into pieces,” he said, and the anger that I felt subsided into worry.

“You could have asked me, hell you could have confronted me. You were married to me, and even though we didn’t share the same feelings, still I couldn’t cheat on you. I expected you to ask me if it was related to our life. Every time I told you you could ask me anything, you thought I was always asking you about Nicholas. All you ever think is Nicholas! Nicholas! Nicholas!” he sneered and his face contorted with anger, scaring me.

“How many times did I ask you not to leave?” he took a menacing step towards me.

“Huh? Tell me! How many times did I ask you not to leave?” he asked, and I remembered the day when I was packing my stuff to go back home with my father. He did try to stop me. Not directly, but indirectly.

“Answer me!” he snapped catching me off guard.

“Zachary I...” No words formed in my mouth, as the burden of guilt felt on my shoulders.

“Did you ever think that maybe, Ularu was lying to you? You are an idiot...You fight with me for every single thing, but you can't confront me about her. Hell, you could have asked me directly if I liked her. Did you really never notice how I felt for you? I have been in love since I met you, and every time, you ignored my feelings. Did you ever realize why I cared for you?” he asked and I exhaled as the words sank in.

“Zachar—”

“Once again! You showed me that you felt nothing for me. I am the only stupid one who has always longed for you. And I believe that I will always be the only one,” he said the last part slowly, but I heard it. Before I could say anything, he turned around and walked out of the room.

“Zachary! Wait!” I ran after him.

“Zachary please listen to me!” I begged, running after him, but as I was about to touch his arm, he turned around and snarled in my face, showing me a warning finger.

“Don’t touch me,” he said, his voice laced with poison, which hurt me.

“Za—” He didn’t even let me finish, because he opened the door and walked out slamming the door shut after him.

“Zachary!” Tears fell down my cheeks as I stood there feeling hurt, because I was the reason for the pain he felt.

“I told you!”

“I fucking told you to not believe her. She is a cheap woman, and that type of woman would go to any extent to break healthy relationships,” Kiara yelled at the top of her lungs, pointing an accusing finger at me while I sobbed, wiping the tears away using a tissue.

“I have hurt him badly Kiara,” I sobbed and hiccupped.

“All this while, I thought he was the one who hurt me, but every time...every freaking time, he proved me wrong. He has always saved me and he has always loved me damn it. I am so stupid. All this while I have been the one who hurt him, and now he is in pain...oh my God! What am I going to do now Kiara? Tell me! Please tell me!” Holding her arm, I pulled her towards me, but she jerked her arm away from me.

“Sit and cry and watch as that bitch takes your prince away from you!” Kiara said sarcastically, but that made me cry even harder.

“Oh Kiara,” I sobbed.

“Please stop now,” she threw her hands in the air as she took the seat in front of me on the sofa.

“Why are you so heartless? You are being mean to me!” I wept as she rolled her eyes at me.

“You deserve this actually!” She remarked, and I hid my face using a tissue, sobbing hard.

“Okay fine! I am sorry,” she exhaled and inhaled deeply before speaking. “So what now? Did you tell him that you love him too?” she asked and all I did was shake my head.

“Of course!” she groaned and threw her head back as she rubbed her head using her long, slender fingers.

“What will I do now? He is not even picking my calls. I am gonna lose him once aga—”

“Oh shut up!” she snapped at me, which made me lift my legs up as I sat hugging and burying my head in my hands.

“He is not picking your calls. Did you try to send him a text message?” she asked and I hummed in response.

“So he didn’t reply. Okay!” I watched as she got up from her seat and walked towards the glass sliding door.

“When I opened the door for him last night, he looked so happy. You ruined everything, dammit!” I heard her mutter, which made me sob even more.

“Okay! Okay! Now stop! I didn’t mean that!” She made up an excuse and stood there, thinking of something.

“That guy!” All of a sudden her face lit up, and her eyes widened up as if she realized something.

“What is his name again?” she questioned.

“Who?” I questioned with my throaty voice.

“That guy! That guy who came with him that night in that club, your bodyguard!” she said and I realized what she meant.

“Willi?” I asked and she nodded clapping her hand.

“Yes! Yes! Willi...Call him and please don’t tell me that you don’t have his number,” she said and I reached for my phone.

“No, I don’t have his number,” I said as I opened my contact list and heard her groaning. “I have Max’s number,” I said, as I showed her Max’s number and watched as her sad face lit up once again.

We called Max who was still back in Romania and asked him for Willi’s number. He even argued and yelled at me asking me to return back. I’m sure Zachary would have killed him for his behavior, but I didn’t really care because I felt how much he worried about Zachary. I asked him to forgive me and finally got Willi’s number after listening to his half-hour lecture. Then it was Willi’s turn to lecture me. Every sentence he said had the word ‘heartless’ in it, which was only directed towards me.

I had to apologize to him too, and then after another half-hour lecture, he told me the address of Zachary’s penthouse and told me that he would be attending a business party in two hours.

“Everyone is just making me feel as if I am the villain here,” I told Kiara after Willi the lecturer hung up on me after warning me not to break Zachary’s heart again.

“Huh!” Kiara scoffed at me before walking away.

“Wow,” I muttered.

“Are you out of your mind?” Kiara snapped at me as she pulled my dress.

“Take this dress off right now I am telling you!” she pulled me by my arms.

“No! What’s wrong with this dress?” I asked as I looked at my green sheath dress. The dress had a plunging neckline and the dress had waist cut-outs.

“Wear something red! You need to look hot and sexy, and my dear, RED is the definition of sexiness. Red means sexiness,” she argued, but I argued back.

“I want to wear this green one.”

“Zachary is correct! You are an idiot!” she exhaled and inhaled deeply.

“At least wear something black. You look good in black!” she said, but I shook my head and turned towards the mirror to look at myself.

Okay! The neckline is too plunging.

My hair was in wavy curls and my makeup was minimal, with eyeliner, mascara, and light red lipstick.

“Why are you so obsessed with green today? You look like a tree!” she remarked as she sat on the bed.

Because it’s his favorite color...

“I just feel like wearing this today,” I said smiling at my reflection.

“Whatever you wish!” I heard her whisper, which made me chuckle at her. As I looked at her through the mirror, she huffed out and gave up. She smiled back at me and whispered, “All the best,”

As we walked towards the door I reminded her to thank Tess, who had given me her car keys.

“Juliette!” I turned around when I heard Kiara calling me from behind me.

“Make sure...” she yelled, but stopped.

“Make sure?” I questioned furrowing my eyebrows at her.

“Make sure you don’t use a protection!” she yelled shamelessly. The passer-by looked at her and then at me, giving us ‘that’ look.

“Kiara!” I snapped at her.

“What? Think about it! If you—” I put my hands on my ears, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks as I turned to leave. As soon as I removed my hands from my ears to open the car door, she yelled, “If you become pregnant, then he will have to remain with you. You know! You got the power. Pull his leash—”

“My God Kiara!” I snapped at her and showed her my middle finger, which made her laugh.

“Hysterical hyena!” I muttered, but smiled at her childishness as I put the car in gear and sped up on the drive way.

“I am coming, Zachary. Wait for me. I’ll make it up to you,” I smiled as I drove in his direction.