Chapter 4

Eleanor, Julian’s girlfriend, was nowhere in sight.

He looked at me with cold eyes, his voice thin and laced with sarcasm.

“Congratulations, Chloe. So, you two finally made it official, huh?”

My palms were sweating, and I desperately tried to walk past him.

It had been five years since our breakup.

And even now, I couldn't muster the courage to have a proper conversation with him.

Every time I thought about what happened, it was like an unhealed wound being ripped open again.

From head to toe, I felt a sharp ache and a chilling cold.

Julian reached out and grabbed my arm, refusing to let me go.

“What’s wrong, Chloe? Did you do too many shady things back then? Now you can’t even look me in the eye?”

My face went ashen as I tried to push his hand away, my voice trembling uncontrollably.

“Mr. Sterling, we’re over. Please, have some respect.”

Julian chuckled as if he’d heard a hilarious joke.

“Respect? Chloe, how do *you* even have the nerve to talk about respect with me?”

I shoved his hand away, almost stumbling as I fled in a panicked rush.

I ran a long way before daring to stop.

Looking back, he hadn’t chased me.

Julian was right.

To this day, the one person least qualified to talk about “respect” with him was me.