He Wanted Me Hidden, I Became Untouchable Chapter 02
Betrayal and resentment hit me at the same time.
I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.
Blood began to drip from my fingertips onto the floor.
My brother’s frown deepened. This time, his voice was certain. “You know Julian Ashford?”
I didn’t deny it.
Julian and I had met in Baycrest.
Three years earlier, I’d hit a wall with my painting. Around the same time, my brother was sent to Baycrest on a rural assignment, so he brought me along.
He was busy from morning to night.
By the time I had explored the entire city, he still hadn’t found a spare minute for me.
That was when I met Julian.
That day, I wandered around with my sketchboard in hand until I stopped at a small park.
Baycrest was in the middle of a major redevelopment project at the time, and government officials were always showing up nearby. That day, Julian stood among the crowd in a hard hat, a white T-shirt, and jeans, completely out of place beside all the people in suits.
So I failed to notice how respectfully everyone treated him.
He stood in the middle of the group, speaking with confidence and occasionally letting out a soft laugh.
When the sunlight hit his shoulders, he seemed to glow.
I was so captivated that I couldn’t look away. By the time I came to my senses, I’d already sketched the man’s profile on my sketchboard.
That was the first time I met Julian Ashford.
At the time, I thought it was nothing more than a chance encounter, and I was already sorry it would end there.
I never expected our second meeting to come so soon.
I rear-ended a car, and the owner turned out to be Julian. He climbed out of the driver’s seat with a tight frown and walked straight toward me.
I thought he was coming over to yell at me.
Instead, the next thing I heard was his deep, gentle voice.
“Are you hurt?”
I fell for him right then and there.
It was love at first sight for me. The moment I saw Julian, I couldn’t make myself walk away. Later, whenever he took me climbing, he would ask, “If I didn’t look like this, would you still like me?”
He always demanded an answer, even though he never seemed to care what it was.
That was why, to this day, I had never said, “Julian, I fell for your looks, but I stayed for who you are.”
Maybe it was for the best that I never said it. Otherwise, everything that happened today would have been even more painfully ironic.
After that, we exchanged phone numbers.
Neither of us contacted the other first.
Two weeks later, Julian got drunk one night. The bar owner called me.
I took a cab to the bar almost immediately.
I was terrified that if I arrived even a minute late, someone else would take advantage of him.
Guys could be vulnerable when they were out alone too, especially beautiful guys like Julian.
I didn’t bring Julian home. I didn’t dare.
My brother hated every man who came near me, so I had no choice but to keep my relationship with Julian a secret from him.
Julian was a quiet drunk. He didn’t cry or make a scene. He just sat there, almost unnervingly still.
Several times, I thought he had fallen asleep. But whenever I glanced over, his deep-set eyes were still fixed on the TV, unblinking.
Then the clock struck midnight.
Julian finally whispered, “Happy birthday to me.”
A moment later, he fell into a heavy sleep.
I couldn’t put the feeling into words. It hurt. Something heavy seemed to press down on my chest until I could barely breathe.
In the end, I sat in the living room all night. When I woke the next morning, I told Julian how I felt.
He didn’t seem surprised. He smiled and said yes.
As we slowly got to know each other, I learned that he had noticed me the first time I appeared in the park.
Our second and third encounters had both been carefully arranged by him.
I was so angry that I refused to speak to him.
Julian came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. Then he caught my earlobe between his teeth and murmured, “Baby, I just liked you too much. I had to find a way to run into you.”
“I wanted you to love me. I wanted you to choose me.”
“I lied to you about a lot of things, but that really was my birthday.”
The hurt in his voice finally broke through my anger, and I let my guard down.
I loved Julian, so I was willing to back down.
After three years together, our relationship was steady. We almost never fought, and Julian indulged me without limits. Even when we disagreed, we usually ended up making up in bed.
Even a week ago,
that man had been lying beside me on the wooden bed in our rented apartment, holding me gently from behind.
His soft lips had brushed my ear as he whispered,
“Luna, you’re the best thing this world ever gave me.”
“I love you so much.”
Who could have imagined that Julian Ashford was married?
After a long silence, my brother swallowed and fixed his eyes on me.
“So all those times you told me you were spending the night at a friend’s place, you were with Julian?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
His expression darkened another shade.
He lowered his head and finished the drink in his glass before saying hoarsely, “What are you going to do now?”
I didn’t answer. I only gave my brother a reassuring look.
Then I turned and walked straight out.
Julian wanted me to marry someone from the Ashford family, so I would give him exactly what he wanted.
I only hoped he would never have cause to regret it.
