Chapter 4

A faint shift crossed Julian’s face.

He looked at me, and a hint of thought flashed through his dark gray eyes.

"Tyler’s online girlfriend?"

"Ex-girlfriend."

I corrected him.

Last night I had sent Tyler a breakup message, but he hadn’t replied.

Coming here today was just me putting a close to my first love.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze dropping from my face and pausing at the faint muscle lines visible in the slit of the red dress.

There was nothing frivolous in it. He was only confirming some fact.

"How long did it take you?"

"One year and two months."

He nodded.

"Good stamina."

"You saw the betting pool in the channel."

I looked him in the eye. "I need to get in. If you think taking me inside would hurt your image, I can go in by myself."

"Since I drew the punishment, I don’t have a habit of running from it."

Julian straightened up, buttoned his jacket, and held out his right arm to me.

"Let’s go."

I placed my hand in the crook of his arm.

The muscle under the fabric was solid and powerful.

We walked side by side toward the ballroom doors.

Behind the heavy double doors, the noise was so loud it felt like it could blow the roof off.

Luke’s voice could be heard clearly even through the door.

"Five minutes left. If Chloe still doesn’t show, the betting pool gets settled right now!"

"Tyler, you really cleaned up on this one. Not only did you dump a huge headache, you also picked up a free thousand bucks."

The waiter at the door saw Julian and immediately bowed respectfully before opening the door.

The light from the crystal chandelier poured out instantly.

The noisy ballroom fell silent for a second the moment the door opened.

Everyone instinctively looked toward the entrance.

Julian was at the center of Harbor City’s social circle, so every move he made was already under a spotlight.

But at this moment, once those gazes landed on me in his arm, they all froze.

I clearly saw that several guys not far away, each holding a glass of wine, had their mouths hanging open wide enough to fit a pool ball.

Luke’s phone was still held up in livestream mode, the camera pointed straight at us.

"Julian’s here..."

Someone muttered under their breath.

"Who’s that beauty beside him? Is she some other rich family’s daughter?"

"That red dress looks like a Milan runway couture piece this year. Damn, you’d need an insane figure to pull that off."

I lifted my chin slightly and held onto Julian’s arm, walking down the steps one by one.

Wherever I passed, people automatically made way.

I walked straight toward the center of the hall.

Tyler was standing with his back to me, whispering and flirting with Serena.

When he heard the strange silence around him, he turned around.

The instant our eyes met, a clear flash of shock appeared in Tyler’s eyes.

He even let go of Serena’s hand and subconsciously adjusted his bow tie.

He didn’t recognize me.

Not only did he not recognize me, he lifted his chin slightly and came over on his own.

He ignored Julian beside me and stared straight at my face.

"Lovely lady."

Tyler put on his signature deep, loving smile. "I don’t think I’ve seen you at a Harbor City formal before. May I have the honor of buying you a drink?"