I instinctively paused.
In that moment, a faint glimmer appeared in Julian’s eyes, like he had grabbed at a lifeline. His tone softened, even carrying a trace of grievance—
“Aria… my stomach hurts.”
He was giving me an opening, a way to show care.
But who said that just because he offered a way, I had to take it?
I slowly lifted my gaze and looked up at him, a faint, sardonic smile curling on my lips.
“Julian, if your stomach hurts, you call the doctor. Not me.”
I saw him freeze for half a second—then, I could almost hear the sound of his heart breaking.
All his hope and expectation had become a ridiculous joke in the face of my indifference.
His body wavered, and with a sharp pain, he sank to his knees.
His hands still clutched the railing, gripping it as if it were the last lif
