Chapter 12
After Batu left, Julian furrowed his brows, a frown tugging at his face.
Then, in a low voice, he muttered, “Zara, I want to kiss you.”
Zara blinked, sure she had misheard him.
“What did you just say?” she asked, her voice filled with confusion. She couldn’t quite believe what she had just heard.
And then, as if on cue, in the middle of the bustling crowd, Julian leaned in.
And kissed her.
For a moment, everything around them seemed to blur–the distant calls of street vendors, the chatter of passersby, even the biting northern wind that whipped through the air.
It all faded away.
It felt… surreal.
Like the world was spinning, but they were standing still in time.
Julian pulled back, his voice low and mischievous. “Zara, I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Zara exhaled sharply, trying to catch her breath.
“You did do it on purpose,” she replied, her heart racing.
But the truth was, she didn’t really know what this kiss meant. She wasn’t someone who liked to think too much, especially not about feelings. When she was Landon’s caged canary, he always called her a fool. So, if something was too complicated, she’d just shut it out of her mind.
But Julian’s voice broke through her thoughts, as he leaned in again, his breath warm against her ear. “Zara, do you know why I kissed you?”
She didn’t know. But she wasn’t about to admit that.
Julian’s smile widened, revealing his little tiger teeth, and he chuckled softly. “Because I like
you.”
The excuse Zara had been ready to use to brush it off crumbled. She felt heat rush to her face, and for the first time, she didn’t know what to say.
The next day, Zara’s flower shop officially opened, and she was absolutely thrilled. The sun was shining, and the day felt like a good omen, one of those rare moments when everything seemed to fall into place.
Batu, as enthusiastic as always, brought people to the shop, not just for the atmosphere but to make sure her business got a solid boost.
Since she was in such a good mood, Zara decided to offer free flowers to anyone who came by that day. Money wasn’t a huge concern for her.
She was just happy to see people smiling, their faces lighting up with surprise as they
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picked out a bouquet.
That same night, they headed to the Emerald Lounge for Julian’s birthday celebration.
She had promised him she would be there. Zara was the kind of person who kept her word.
When they arrived, it was just Batu and a few close friends. The crowd was small, but the energy was lively.
Julian had clearly dressed up for the occasion.
Under the soft glow of the lights, his usual casual clothes had an air of quiet elegance. There was a shyness to him tonight, a certain tenderness in the way he looked at Zara that made her heart skip a beat.
“Zara,” he said, his voice soft.
His friends, clearly not used to seeing Julian in this way, couldn’t help but tease him.
“This is definitely true love,” one of them remarked, raising his glass in a playful toast. By the end of the night, most of them had gotten a little tipsy, and so had Zara. She wasn’t in much better shape, leaning heavily into Julian’s arms, soft and docile.
She even wrapped her arms around his neck, murmuring something incoherent.
Worried about her, Julian sighed. He shouldn’t have let her drink so much tonight. But, honestly, this was the first time in a long while that Zara had been so open and affectionate with him.
The sound of dried leaves crunching underfoot echoed in the quiet of the night as they walked, the moon hidden behind dark clouds. In the stillness, the thoughts swirling in Julian’s mind felt far more raw than he’d ever expected.
“Zara, were things bad for you in Silvercrest? Were they really that bad?” he asked, his voice uncharacteristically serious.
Zara, a little tipsy, lazily glanced up at him, then tightened her arms around his neck, not even seeming to notice the sweat that clung to them both.
Then, in a quiet, almost wistful whisper, she spoke, “Let me tell you something. Over the years, I lost seven children. He… he made sure they were gone.”
Julian froze.
His chest tightened as he processed her words. He could feel his arms tighten around her instinctively, but his voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper.
“What else?” he asked, almost afraid of what she might say next.
Zara, in her slightly drunk state, ‘didn’t seem to care about hiding anything.
If anything, the alcohol made her a little more open, a little more willing to speak her mind. She smiled faintly and leaned in closer.
“Let me tell you something else,” she murmured. “That woman’s name was Cassidy Martin. She… she cooked my aborted child and fed it to me. It hurt so much… so much. Do you
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think… do you think I won’t be able to have children anymore?”
I
Her words hung in the air, a bitter, lingering sorrow that filled the night with an unbearable weight. The silence between them stretched on, thick with the kind of pain only years of suffering could create.
“And then Cassidy… Cassidy pushed me down the stairs. But he–he carried her away and left me there. He always said that once he had his fun, he’d marry me. But he never did. He… he called me cheap. Said I never listened to him.”
Her voice trailed off, her grip around his neck tightening as she buried her face on his. shoulder.
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Chapter 13
