“Let’s not make assumptions.”
Julian sighed and got to his feet. “Okay. Let’s get this over with.”
The doctor ran his gaze over Julian but made no comment on his appearance. It was just as well because Julian didn’t have the energy, nor the inclination, to change into something more appropriate to meet his father and Angela.
He was wearing his favorite pair of worn jeans and a long-sleeved white T-shirt. It would have to do.
Slipping his feet into his Doc Martens, he left the room with the doctor.
“Are we meeting in your office?”
“Yes, I’ll instruct Marcus to have them join us once we’re there.”
Julian assumed Jude was with them, and probably another bodyguard or two. He hoped it would just be Duncan and Angela for this meeting because he didn’t need even more people to witness what was to come.
When they reached his office, Dr. Carlisle said, “Did you want to talk at all before I have Marcus bring them here?”
Julian shook his head. He just wanted to get it over with so he could return to his room.
The doctor hesitated for a moment, then picked up his phone and instructed Marcus to bring Duncan and Angela to his office. He didn’t hang up right away, listening to something Marcus said.
“Just the two of them,” he told him.
Julian was relieved to hear that. Though he supposed that Jude would want to be there for Angela as her fiancé, not necessarily as her bodyguard, he still didn’t want him there.
When there was a knock on the door, Julian got up from the chair he’d been sitting in and moved to stand beside the desk, shoving his hands into his pockets so no one could see how they trembled.
Bracing himself for what was to come, Julian tried to school his expression to not show even an iota of what he was feeling inside. Once this was over, he’d return to his room and the solace it offered.
His gut tightened as the office door opened, and Angela walked in, followed by Duncan.
Angela’s gaze swept the room, and when it landed on him, she came to a stop. Julian wanted to avoid her gaze, to look anywhere but at her. However, he met her gaze head-on.
When she finally moved, there was no hesitation as her strides brought her to him. She lifted her hands, and he braced himself for a slap. Instead, she reached out and cupped his cheeks.
“Oh, Julian,” she said gently. “It’s okay. I understand.”
Was this a dream? Was this his hope that things would be okay manifesting itself in a dream?
Wrapping her arms around him, she held him tight. Julian froze, then pulled his hands from his pockets and hugged her back.
A sob escaped him, shocked out of him by her actions. “I’m… sorry.”
“I forgive you,” she said. “I forgive you.”
He could hardly believe the words, and he was afraid to let go of her in case it wasn’t real.
Angela held him for several minutes, neither of them speaking. Julian felt the tension that had coiled in his shoulders and chest slowly begin to ease. The storm of emotions he'd been holding back threatened to break free, but for the first time in days, it didn't feel catastrophic.
When Angela finally stepped back, her eyes were bright with unshed tears, but her smile was genuine. "You were just a boy," she said softly. "So young. You made a mistake that any child might have made."
“You truly forgive me?” Julian asked.
“It’s what God would want me to do,” she said, her expression soft… loving. “But beyond that, Iwantto forgive you. You’re my brother, and I love you.”
She loved him? When was the last time someone had told him that they loved him? He couldn’t even remember.
Julian's throat constricted. He'd imagined this conversation a thousand times over the years, but never like this. Never with forgiveness offered so freely.
