By the timewe reached my room, I was exhausted. Physically, emotionally, mentally. The day had been a whirlwind of revelations that had left me reeling.
Julian opened the door for me, and I stepped inside to find dinner already waiting on the table by the window. Someone had brought up a covered tray while I was gone, and the smell of baked salmon and vegetables made my stomach growl despite everything.
“I'll see you later, Violet,” Roman said from the doorway, catching my eye. He made a subtle gesture near his ear to mimic a phone call.
Right. He'd promised I could talk to my friends. I nodded, and he disappeared down the hallway, leaving me with Julian.
He closed the door with a soft click that seemed too loud in the quiet room. Then he leaned against it, watching me with those intense blue eyes that seemed to see right through me.
“You should eat,” he said. “Your body needs it after being drugged like that.”
“I will,” I said, but I didn't move toward the food. Instead, I crossed my arms and faced him fully. “But first, I need to say something to you.”
His expression shifted slightly, becoming more guarded. “All right.”
“You keep making these smug comments about me being ‘yours’ and saying I’ll change my mind about marrying you. And you refuse to listen when I say I won’t. You act like it’s some cute little inside joke between us, but it’s not.” I took a deep breath before going on, forcing myself to hold his gaze. “I need you to understand somethingright now. I will never,everchange my mind. I won’t marry you, and I will never love you. Not after everything you've done.”
Something flickered across his face. “Violet—”
“No. Let me finish.” My voice was shaking, but I pushed on. “You terrorized me. Forages.How can you possibly think I’d ever move past that?”
He was quiet for a long moment, his jaw tight. Then he pushed off the door and took a step toward me. “Because you know there's something real between us,” he said. “There has been since the moment we met. You felt it too.”
I wanted to deny it. Wanted to scream that he was delusional, that there was nothing between us but fear and anger. But I couldn't.
Because he was right. Therewassomething between us. Something that had made my pulse race even when he was just the dangerous, intense stranger who'd watched me too closely across the quad. Something that made my body respond to his touch even when my brain was screaming for me to run.
But that didn't matter. It couldn't matter.
I drew in another halting breath. “Look, I won’t deny that there’s been a connection between us in the past. But—”
“Thepast?” he cut in, lips quirking in a smirk. “Like when I was fucking you up against that tree less than twenty-four hours ago?”
My face flushed hot, and I averted my eyes. “What I’m trying to say is… whatever there is between us, it’s just physical attraction. Nothing deeper.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it.”
I swallowed hard. “Even if therewassomething more,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “It doesn't change what you did to me.”
The smirk faded from his face, and he closed the distance between us and took my hands in his. “I know I scared the shit out of you, but that was never my intention,” he said. “I only want what’s best for you. I have since I first met you. And all I want from this moment on is to take care of you. Keep you safe. Make you happy.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “You stalked and terrorized me, Julian,” I said. “So whatever it is you think you feel for me… it’s not love or care. It’s obsession. You want to own me and control me like a puppet.”
“I understand where you’re coming from. Really, I do,” he said. “But listen. I didn’t follow you around and put a camera in your dorm because I—”
“You put a camera in my dorm?” I said hotly, yanking my hands out of his grip.
“Shit,” he muttered, rubbing his chin. “I assumed Roman told you about that earlier.”
I shook my head again, stomach roiling at the thought of every private moment being captured for Julian’s twisted viewing pleasure. “This just proves my point even more. You don’t have real feelings for me. It’s just some sick obsession.”
He lifted a palm. “Let me finish what I was saying a second ago,” he said. “I didn’t stalk you because I’m obsessed with you,Violet. I became obsessed with you because I was given the job of stalking you. Don’t you see the distinction there?”
I nodded slowly. “I do, but either way, it’s still obsession. Not love.”
“All of that is over now. You’ll never have to be afraid again. We can start—”
“Julian, stop! Please!” I said, voice rising. “We can’t just start fresh, or whatever it is you were about to say. Because it doesn’t matter how nice you are to me now. I can’t just magically forget what it was like to wake up shaking with fear because I knew someone had been in my room. I can’t forget what it was like to feel watched wherever I went. I can’t forget what it was like to feel scaredall the damn time.”
