He Promised Next Life So I Left Today

Chapter 2

It was 1 a.m. when someone started pounding on my hotel room door hard.

I looked through the peephole and saw Julian.

I still unlocked the door.

The second the lock clicked, he squeezed inside and wrapped his arms around me tightly.

Rain dripped from the ends of his hair and trickled down the collar of my shirt.

"Summer, don't. I couldn't find you. I almost lost my mind."

I pushed against him twice, but I couldn't break free. I had no choice but to let him bury his face in the crook of my neck.

That familiar embrace made my head spin for a moment.

Six years ago, when my dad died, my relatives had been fighting over his inheritance outside the funeral home.

Julian had been the one to push through the crowd and shield me in his arms.

He'd been only 22 at the time, but he'd hired lawyers for me, sorted out all the accounts, and hadn't slept for three days.

He really had loved me once.

That was exactly why every wound he'd inflicted on me afterward had hurt so damn badly.

"Aren't you supposed to be celebrating with your fiancée?"

Julian's entire body went rigid.

"I had someone drive her home. Summer, when I'm with her, I can barely breathe. If she cries, I have to comfort her. If she's scared, I have to stay with her. The second she says she wants to die, I don't dare even turn my back on her."

He lifted his head, the corners of his eyes red.

"I'm putting on an act every single day. It's only when I'm with you that I get to be myself."

I stared at him for a long moment.

"So what's your point? You get to enjoy how understanding I am, then use that very understanding to make her feel secure?"

"No." He cut me off, almost panicked. "I just need more time. The Grayson family's engagement is already public knowledge. If I call it off now, Sienna won't be able to handle it, and the backlash will destroy her. After we get married, I'll slowly help her become independent. Once she stops threatening to kill herself, I'll divorce her."

He cupped my face in his hands.

"Until then, we can go back to the way we used to be. Titles are just for show to outsiders. I'll give you all my love."

The words were so absurd that I actually calmed down.

"So what you're saying is, you want me to be your secret lover?"

"Don't put it like that." He frowned, but his voice softened almost immediately. "Summer, you know me. I'd never let you be treated unfairly. Houses, shares, everything the Grayson family can offer you in the future, I can give it all to you."

"Except the basic decency of choosing me openly." I said.

His Adam's apple bobbed. He didn't reply.

I pulled myself out of his arms.

"Julian, I never wanted houses or shares. I want the person I love to choose me and only me. Not someone who says I'm the one he loves most, then runs straight to another woman the second she needs him."

Just then, his phone rang.

Julian glanced at the screen, and his expression changed instantly.

He answered the call.

Sienna's sobs came through the speaker immediately.

"Julian, there's a thunderstorm outside. I can't find you. I can't breathe. I don't even know where my medication is..."

Julian had already let go of me.

"Don't cry. I'm coming back right now. Just listen to me. Sit down first and take slow, deep breaths."

Sienna sobbed, "Is Summer refusing to let you come back to me?"

He instinctively glanced at me.

"No. She won't give you a hard time."

Before he even ended the call, he'd already grabbed his car keys and was heading for the door.

I blocked his way.

"Julian, if you walk out that door tonight, there's no 'us' left. Not ever."

His feet stopped.

I watched his fingers tighten around the car keys.

For that brief moment, I was still waiting.

Waiting for him to choose not to leave me behind. Just this once.

Suddenly, a sharp crash of breaking glass came through the phone.

Julian shoved past me and yanked open the door.

"Summer, she's not in her right mind right now. We'll talk when I get back."

Just before the door clicked shut, he looked back at me.

"Be good. Don't go anywhere."

A trail of muddy footprints stretched across the hallway carpet.

I leaned against the door for a while, then I finally picked up the soaking-wet coat he'd left behind and tossed it into the housekeeping cart.

He always said he loved me.

But the second Sienna shed a single tear, I was always the one he left behind.

This time, I wasn't waiting for him to come back.