Chapter 3
746 Words
I looked at Julian with genuine curiosity.
"I heard from my parents that we weren't even officially engaged? If that's true, what exactly is there to break off?"
It was true. According to them, Julian had bailed before the ceremony even started. We never made it to the stage, so the "engagement" was already dead on arrival.
Now that I'd completely wiped him from my memory, we weren't just exes. We were total strangers.
Julian looked like he'd swallowed something bitter. His face darkened, and he stared at me intensely, clearly searching for some sign that I was putting on an act.
But there was nothing for him to find.
I genuinely didn't know him, and frankly, I didn't care about him either.
I held his gaze without flinching, letting him look all he wanted.
He came up empty.
Defeated, he sighed and softened his tone. "Honey, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have disregarded your reputation and your family's feelings by slipping away in the middle of the banquet."
He paused, then added, "I know you're just pretending to have amnesia to annoy me, to make me regret what I did. But what choice did I have? Shara has nobody else. Her health is terrible. If she gets sick, and I don't look after her, who will?
"Are you really going to make me ignore her life just for the sake of a ceremony? If something happened to her, how could we ever be happy knowing it was our fault?"
I listened to his high-and-mighty speech and almost laughed. Even though I'd forgotten our history, I already knew one thing for sure: I absolutely despised this guy.
He really thought a lot of himself, didn't he? He acted like his presence was some kind of magical cure.
Was he a doctor? Would Shara's condition suddenly improve just because he showed up? Did he not own a phone?
Last I checked, calling an ambulance was a hell of a lot more effective than him standing around looking concerned.
He didn't notice my shift in mood though. He probably thought his little performance had worked.
He doubled down, "Honey, I know you aren't that selfish. You'll forgive me, right? Once you're recovered, we'll hold a new ceremony. It will be one a hundred times grander than the first. How does that sound?"
The thought made me nauseous.
A new ceremony? Why was he so delusional that he thought I'd ever agree to that?
I shook my head. "No."
I had zero intention of getting tangled up with a guy this clueless.
Julian looked stunned. "What did you say?"
I looked him dead in the eye, enunciating every word. "I said no. I don't know you, and I definitely don't want to continue any engagement."
His face went from confused to livid. He stood up, looking at me with pure disappointment.
"Claire, I always thought you were a considerate girl. That's why I started this relationship with you in the first place.
"I didn't expect you to be this petty," he continued. "Why are you so obsessed with Shara? You knew she'd been sickly since she was a kid when we first got together. You knew what you were signing up for."
Damn. Was he actually like this the whole time we were together? How did I put up with it?
If my hands weren't currently wrapped in bandages, I would have slapped my past self twice.
Julian was still rambling. "Claire, whether you're faking this amnesia or you're just acting out because of the accident, I don't have a choice. I have to go. Shara could be in trouble at any second. Once you've thought this through and stopped throwing a tantrum, I'll come back."
With that, he turned on his heel and walked out.
I could hear Aunt Lynn, Uncle George, and Julian getting into a heated argument in the hallway. His parents wanted him to stay and take care of me, but he was dead set on running back to Shara.
I pulled the blanket up over my head. I didn't want to hear any of it. If it hadn't been for my injured leg, I would have marched out there and told them all: if he wants to take care of her so badly, let him. I didn't need him.
The idea of a complete stranger taking care of me was already uncomfortable enough.
I certainly didn't need an annoying one doing it.
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