“Please. Let me finish.” I took another slow breath. “I spent all those weeks being terrified of you. Thinking you were stalking me, threatening me, trying to break me down. But despite all that, there was still this… thisthingbetween us that I couldn't explain or control. A pull, I guess. It made me feel totally crazy. Like I was betraying myself by being attracted to someone who was tormenting me.”
I paused, swallowing hard.
“Then, yesterday afternoon, I found out it wasn't all you. The worst parts of it—the blood, the threats—that was actually Cherry. Everything shifted then. I could finally separate the stuff you did from the stuff she did. And when I did that...” I looked down at his hand on my knee. “I realized something. I wasn’t confused anymore.”
Julian’s lips curved into another faint smile, but he didn’t say anything. Just let me keep going.
“Over the past month, you've been one of the most constant, caring presences in my life,” I said softly. “You respected my boundaries. You supported my investigation even though it put you at risk. You protected me without trying to control me. You gave me space when I needed it and showed up when I asked youto. And you protected me before all of that, too. Like… with the whole Kane thing.”
His thumb traced small circles on my knee, the gesture almost unconscious.
“So I stayed,” I said. “Because I’m not confused anymore. And I want to stop running from my feelings.”
Julian was quiet for a long moment, just looking at me with those intense blue eyes that seemed to see straight through to my core. Then he leaned closer, his hands coming up to frame my face with a gentleness that made my breath catch.
“I’ll always take care of you,” he said, his voice low and fierce. “I know I fucked up before, with the way I went about all of this. But I swear to you, Violet, I will spend every day for the rest of my life making sure you never regret choosing to stay.”
Then he kissed me, soft and slow and reverent, like I was something precious he was afraid of breaking. When we finally pulled apart, I was breathless and my heart was racing for entirely different reasons than fear.
Once upon a time, I’d asked Julian what his weakness was, figuring I could use it against him to escape captivity. He’d told me he had none, but now I knew the truth.Iwas his weakness. Always had been. But instead of using that against him as per my original plan, I’d chosen to stay, because I wanted to be with him.
“Thank you,” I murmured. “For always being here for me. Even when I pushed you away.”
“Always,” he said, his forehead resting against mine. He took a breath, then pulled back slightly so we could look at each other properly. “How are you feeling now? About last night.”
The question brought reality crashing back, and I felt my throat tighten. “Well… I'm really glad we got the confession from Cherry. It’s a huge weight off my shoulders. But at the same time, I’m still really angry,” I said, hands clenchingand unclenching on my lap. “You know what makes me the angriest?”
“What?”
“The way Cherry acted like Cal lived some utterly charmed life. As if she didn't have any problems at all,” I said. “It's just not true. Cal had all sorts of issues because of our childhood. That's why she kept herself so damn busy all the time, with classes, gym, theater, volunteering, and everything else. She was trying to forget. Or at least stay distracted.”
Julian's hands slid down to my shoulders. “Because of what happened with your mother's boyfriend. Neil.”
“Yeah. We spent so many years acting like we were fine, even though we weren’t. But Cal took it so much harder.” My voice cracked slightly. “I told you about all the nightmares she used to have, right?”
“Yeah, you did.” He rubbed my back gently. “I get why you two were so affected by what you did, but I stand by what I said yesterday. You were children protecting your mother. Neither of you should’ve been put in that position.”
“I know that logically, but knowing it and feeling it are two different things.” I wiped at my eyes, frustrated by the tears that kept threatening. “Anyway… it just pisses me off so much that Cherry had the audacity to act like Cal's life was perfect and easy. Like she didn't struggle at all, or didn’t work super hard for everything she had.”
“Cherry is a narcissist,” Julian said. “She can’t see past her own resentment to recognize that everyone carries invisible burdens. She decided Cal's life looked better than hers, and that was enough to justify murder in her twisted mind.”
“I know.” I exhaled slowly. “And I know she's going to spend the rest of her life in prison for it. I should feel satisfied by that. And I should feel glad we finally got to the truth. But instead I just feel… really fuckingmad. Mad and sad.”
Julian pulled me closer, wrapping his arms around me. “That's normal,” he murmured against my hair. "Revenge and justice don't feel the same as closure. You can have both and still feel like shit.”
We sat there for a long moment, just holding each other. Then I pulled back slightly.
“Can we talk about you now?” I asked, tilting my head.
“Okay.” Julian’s brows rose. “What do you want to know?”
“Honestly, anything,” I said. “I just realized that every conversation we’ve ever had has been aboutmesince we met. So I don’t actually know much about you.”
Julian's expression shifted, becoming more guarded. “I guess I don’t talk about myself much.”
“Well, I want to know you. I want to know everything,” I said softly. “The way you know me.”
He was quiet for a moment, like he was debating what to reveal. “Yesterday, I said that we’re complete opposites,” he finally said. “But I think we actually have something in common.”
