Chapter 119

Chapter 119
Violet's POV

"Go sit over there." Julian pointed to a row of benches in front of a massive cylindrical jellyfish tank nearby. "I'll get you something to drink. Want ice cream?"

"Vanilla, please." I nodded and walked obediently to the bench.

Julian turned toward the food court several dozen meters away. His tall figure remained striking even in the crowd.

I sat on the bench, watching the pink-blue luminescent jellyfish drift up and down in the tank, feeling more relaxed than I had in a long time.

I pulled out my phone and opened my photo album, looking at the silhouette photo Julian had just sent me. I couldn't help smiling.

Just then, a burst of loud, giggling voices came from the passage on my right.

"Oh my God, that shark was huge! Sienna, did you get a picture?"

"I did, I did! I'm posting it on Instagram."

Hearing that familiar name, my smile froze instantly.

I looked up toward the voices.

Sienna wore a flashy sequined jacket, coffee cup in hand, laughing and chatting with several members of her orchestra clique as they walked this way.

My heart clenched violently. Blood rushed to my head.

Panic seized control of my body like a reflex.

I stood up from the bench almost immediately, clutching my black tote bag.

My first instinct was to run—to hide behind the massive support column nearby before they spotted me, or turn and disappear into the crowd on the other side.

I didn't want to run into them here, didn't want to face Sienna's snide mockery, and especially didn't want her to see Julian when he came back carrying ice cream.

My foot had already moved one step toward the column.

But the moment my shoe scraped the floor, I stopped.

Lily's text message suddenly exploded in my mind: "You're in a legal, consensual relationship! Completely legitimate! Why are you running?"

Then Julian's low voice from the restaurant echoed: "To me, you're the best girl in the world. You don't need to change anything."

I bit down hard on my lower lip. My fingers gripped the bag strap so tightly my knuckles turned white.

Why should I run? I was here on a date at the aquarium. I hadn't done anything wrong.

My relationship was clean—no affair, no shameful transaction.

Why should I scurry away like a mouse the moment I saw Sienna?

I hated that version of myself that was always retreating.

I hated the Violet who used Julian's protection as a shelter but didn't even have the courage to face her classmates.

If I never dared take this step, how could I possibly deserve Julian's unconditional devotion?

I took a deep breath of the aquarium's cool, moist air.

I pulled my foot back.

I straightened my spine and stood before the massive jellyfish tank.

The deep blue glow illuminated my wine-red knit dress.

I didn't move another step. Instead, I raised my head and looked calmly at Sienna and her clique as they drew closer.

Sienna was tilting her head, talking to the girl beside her. When her peripheral vision caught me, her steps stopped abruptly.

She looked me up and down, her expression shifting rapidly from shock to undisguised jealousy.

The other girls in her group stopped too, their gazes sweeping over me like searchlights.

"Wow, look who it is." Sienna clicked forward in her heels, a sharp, cold smile twisting her lips. She and her group spread out naturally, half-surrounding me in front of the jellyfish tank.

Her gaze landed on the edge of my turtleneck, where a mark hadn't been completely hidden.

It was from this morning in the hotel suite, left when Julian had lost control.

Sienna's eyes lit up instantly, as if she'd caught something damning.

"Violet, you really went all out with your look today." Sienna stepped closer, staring fixedly at my neck, her tone dripping with malicious mockery. "What's this? Not practicing violin in your dorm on the weekend—out on a date at the aquarium instead? Where's that shady boyfriend of yours? Why isn't he with you?"

Looking at her provocative face, the instinctive panic inside me miraculously vanished.

"Where he is has nothing to do with you." I stared back at her coldly, voice steady. "Sienna, you're so interested in my private life you even need to know where I go on dates. Are you jealous of me?"

"Jealous of you?" Sienna burst out laughing as if she'd heard the funniest joke in the world. She turned to look at her group, and they joined in with shrill laughter.

"Violet, do you really think that highly of yourself?" Sienna's smile vanished abruptly, her expression turning vicious. She pulled her phone from her designer handbag, swiped the screen a few times, and shoved it in my face.

"Look at this."

I glanced at the screen reflexively.

It was a secretly taken photograph.

The background was the resort hotel restaurant where Julian and I had eaten breakfast this morning.

In the photo, I sat in a booth with a man across from me.

Due to the angle, only the man's broad back in a dark shirt was visible, along with my profile as I looked down at my food.

My heart skipped a beat. Who took this photo? Niamh? Someone else in the restaurant?

"This morning at the Four Seasons resort on Long Island." Sienna withdrew her phone, looking at me with complete disdain. "That level of hotel—the top-floor suites cost thousands per night. How could a poor student who works part-time jobs to survive possibly afford that?"

She crossed her arms, her tone certain and venomous. "Stop pretending this is some innocent romance, Violet. This man who won't even show his face is definitely some gross sugar daddy, right? You're sleeping with old men for money, to stay in Manhattan, and you have the nerve to talk to me about jealousy?"

The girls around her immediately showed disgusted expressions, pointing and whispering about me.

Hearing her filthy accusations, the anger inside me finally burned through the last thread of restraint.

"Sienna." I stepped forward, staring her down without backing away, eyes sharp. "You seem awfully familiar with sugar daddy arrangements—you even know exactly how much hotel suites cost. Sounds like you've done your homework."

I gave a cold laugh and delivered the most cutting words in the calmest tone: "What's the matter—do you have one yourself? Is that why you assume everyone's like you, selling themselves for designer bags?"

The words hit Sienna's sore spot precisely.

Her spending habits had always far exceeded her family's means, and there were already ugly rumors about her circulating at school.

Sienna's face turned livid, her features twisting with rage.