Chapter 120

Chapter 120
Violet's POV

"You bitch! What the hell are you saying!" She shrieked furiously and swung her hand toward my face.

I'd been ready for it. I stepped back quickly, dodging her slap.

"Hit a nerve, did I?" I looked at her coldly. "Mind your own business and stop harassing me."

With that, I clutched my tote bag and turned to leave.

"Stop right there!" Sienna clearly had no intention of letting me go. She lunged forward and grabbed my coat sleeve, yanking so hard I nearly stumbled. "Make yourself clear right now—who has a sugar daddy? Who the hell is that old man of yours!"

Our scuffle was drawing the attention of nearby visitors. Just as I was about to wrench myself free, an angry male voice suddenly cut in from nearby.

"Sienna! What are you doing!"

I turned my head.

Ethan wore a black motorcycle jacket and was striding through the crowd toward us.

He reached us and slapped Sienna's hand away from me, positioning himself between us.

"Have you lost your mind? Making a scene in public?" Ethan frowned, scolding Sienna harshly. "Do you have any decency at all?"

Being reprimanded publicly by Ethan made Sienna's expression even uglier. She pointed at me, trembling with rage. "Ethan, get the situation straight! She insulted me first! And do you even know what she was doing this morning—"

"I don't want to hear your excuses." Ethan cut her off mercilessly, eyes full of impatience. "Apologize to Violet right now."

"Apologize to her? In your dreams!" Sienna completely lost it and started arguing loudly with Ethan, all semblance of composure gone.

Watching them quarrel heatedly in front of the jellyfish tank, I didn't want to stay another second.

While their attention was on each other, I quickly turned, pushed through the gathering crowd, and walked briskly toward the aquarium exit.

I moved urgently, only one thought in my mind: get out of here before they see Julian.

Just as I rounded a corner in the passage, I collided with a solid chest.

The familiar cedarwood scent enveloped me instantly.

"Violet?"

Julian's low voice came from above.

I looked up sharply to find him holding two vanilla ice cream cones, looking at me with some surprise.

"Julian!" I grabbed his coat sleeve like a lifeline.

Without explanation, I pulled him along. "Let's go. Quickly."

Julian didn't ask why.

He let me pull him by the hand, weaving through the crowd and out the aquarium entrance at a fast pace.

Only after we'd stepped outside and I breathed in the cold air did I slow down slightly.

I glanced back to confirm that Sienna and Ethan hadn't followed us out and hadn't seen Julian's face. The taut string inside me finally loosened.

"Thank God they didn't see you..." I exhaled a long breath, murmuring almost to myself.

The moment the words left my mouth, I realized the man beside me had stopped walking.

I turned to look at Julian.

He stood in the early winter wind, still holding the two vanilla ice cream cones that had begun to melt slightly.

He looked at me, and in those deep gray eyes I saw none of his usual composed confidence, nor any anger at being dragged away.

Instead, I saw an incredibly complex emotion.

Disappointment.

Fleeting, yet bottomless disappointment.

My heart clenched violently, as if something had pierced it sharply.

The way I'd just pulled him away in flight, my words "thank God they didn't see you"—everything conveyed one message to him: he was still something shameful in my life.

I'd rather face Sienna's humiliation alone, rather use Ethan's argument as cover to escape, than let Julian openly stand beside me and acknowledge that he was my boyfriend.

He'd done nothing wrong, yet because of my cowardice, I'd dragged him away like he was some dirty secret I had to hide.

"Julian, I..." I opened my mouth to explain, but my throat felt stuffed with cotton. No words would come.

"It's fine." Julian quickly masked the emotion in his eyes.

He handed me one of the ice cream cones, tone still gentle, even soothing. "Eat it. It's melting."

He didn't blame me. He didn't even question me once.

The more understanding he was, the more my guilt snowballed, pressing down until I could barely breathe.

I took the ice cream, head lowered, and followed silently beside him toward the parking lot.

On the drive back to Manhattan, the atmosphere in the car was unusually quiet.

The Maybach glided smoothly along the highway.

Julian held the steering wheel with one hand. His other hand reached across the center console to hold mine tightly.

His palm was warm and dry, fingertips gently stroking the skin on the back of my hand, as if using this gesture to tell me he was still here.

I watched the night scenery rushing past the window, my eyes stinging.

I couldn't go on like this.

I couldn't keep using his understanding as an excuse for my retreat.

He deserved to have me stand openly beside him. He deserved to be shown off to the world.

Just as I was silently making this resolution, my phone suddenly vibrated in my tote bag.

The shrill ringtone shattered the car's silence.

I pulled out my phone. A name flashed on the screen.

Ethan.

I instinctively glanced at Julian beside me.

He hadn't released my hand. His gaze remained on the road ahead, but the tight line of his jaw betrayed his displeasure.

The pressure in the car dropped noticeably.

I hesitated for two seconds before pressing accept and bringing the phone to my ear.

"Violet, are you okay?" Ethan's voice came through the speaker. "Sienna said some really nasty things today. Don't take it to heart—that's just how she is."

"I didn't take it to heart." My reply was cold, devoid of warmth.

Ethan sighed, and his tone suddenly changed, taking on a lecturing quality. "Violet, I know you're still angry with me, but as a man, I understand how men think. If he really cared about you, he would never let you be humiliated in that situation. A man who won't make your relationship public, who won't even show his face—that only means he doesn't like you enough, or he's not serious about you at all. He's just playing around."

I gripped the phone tighter, finding the whole thing absurd.

"Ethan, you've got it wrong." I cut him off, voice quiet but resolute. "It's not that he won't go public—it's that I don't want to. And my relationship doesn't need your judgment. Please stop meddling from now on."

Without giving him any chance to continue, I hung up and immediately blocked his number.

Silence returned to the car.