CHAPTER 78: MAKING IT UP TO CATHERINE

Julian’s POV

After leaving Catherine’s room that night, I opened my door and froze.

Lucy was sitting on my bed. No, she was curled on it, knees to her chest like a terrified child. The moment she saw me, she shot up and ran straight into my arms, shaking so hard her teeth were almost clicking. Her breath hitched against my chest as she hugged me tight, too tight, like she thought I might disappear if she let go.

"Julian," she sobbed. "Where were you? I—I came to meet you but you weren’t—"

"I’m here," I cut her off, pretending I didn’t hear the question. "What happened? Why are you crying?"

She pulled back just enough for me to see her face, and God, her eyes were red and wild with panic.

"I had a dream," she choked out. "About my dad. He... he was trying to kill me again."

Her father. Oh no. That was Lucy’s real story, the one her people liked to romanticize or twist into drama even though it was hell. Her father abused her for years. She snapped one night, attacked him to defend herself, and the world decided she was a monster and a psychopath. They locked her up and threw her away but I knew better.

She was just broken.

I wrapped my arms around her again, grounding her, trying to steady her breathing. "It was a dream," I said quietly. "You’re here. You’re safe."

As I said those words to her, my mind wasn’t fully here. I was thinking of Catherine. She was probably back there, waiting for me.

Fuck.

I led Lucy gently toward the bed and sat with her. She clung to my shirt like a terrified child while I rubbed her back. She talked in little gasps, about the dream, the shadows, the screaming, and I tried to listen. I really did but every few seconds I felt myself drifting back to Catherine’s room.

I kept glancing at the time on my phone. I needed to go. I needed to get back to her before she thought I’d abandoned her.

Catherine overthought everything. She felt everything too deeply. If she thought I chose Lucy over her...

"Julian?" Lucy whispered suddenly.

I blinked. "Yes?"

"Don’t leave me." She grabbed my hand. "Please. I tried closing my eyes again but... I keep seeing him."

Shit.

"Okay. I’m not leaving," I lied instantly. "Just stay here. I’m going to lock the door."

She relaxed a little and lay down, still gripping my fingers like a lifeline.

I sat beside her until her breathing evened out and her body softened. Soon her eyes fluttered closed and her hand finally loosened around mine.

I waited for a few extra minutes and when I was sure she was asleep, I slowly pulled my hand away, stood up, and tried to leave but her fingers shot up, clutching my shirt with surprising force as she sat upright with a gasp.

"Juliannnn? Don’t leave!" she cried.

Her eyes were full of terror, like she was drowning.

I froze.

How the hell was I supposed to walk out now?

"I’m not," I murmured. "Lucy, I’m here."

She collapsed back into the pillow, still holding a fistful of my shirt.

I had no other option than to stay.

All I could think about was Catherine. She trusted me. She was going to let me be her first and now I had fucked it up. Gosh! What do I do now?

Morning came but I barely slept. Lucy kept jolting awake, whispering nonsense, gripping my shirt, pulling me back down every time I tried to get up. By morning, my neck hurt, my back hurt, my head hurt and still, the only person on my mind was Catherine.

I knew I needed to fix it. I needed to explain why I didn’t return. So the best way to do that was to go to her.

I walked to her room before brushing my teeth, or showering, or even thinking straight but the very moment she opened the door, that cold expression in her eyes punched me straight in the chest.

She was mad at me. I saw that disappointed look she had. It hurt more than I expected.

"Catherine, I’m sorry. I didn’t come back last night because something important came up," I told her quickly.

That was a Half-truth. I couldn’t tell her the rest. If I told her the reason was Lucy, she would overthink it and assume a hundred things that weren’t even true.

Her eyes hardened. I talked a lot of other nonsense but she clearly wasn’t interested. She slammed the door in my face.

My jaw clenched. I really messed up.

Talking to her didn’t help, but I still needed to make it up to her. I needed something... anything... that would make her realize I didn’t mean to abandon her, so I grabbed my keys and left the house.

I didn’t even know where I was going. I just drove around until I found a boutique. I walked inside and paced every aisle like a lunatic.

Nothing felt right.

Catherine wasn’t the type of girl you could buy just anything for. She wasn’t into designer bags or flashy jewelry or random perfumes. She was simple, soft, and too stubborn for her own good.

I walked out of the first boutique empty-handed and into the second, still not finding anything that would impress her.

Then the third. By the time I hit the fourth store which was a supermarket, of all places, I wanted to kick something.

I have known Catherine for a while now. Long enough to memorize the sound of her laugh. Long enough to recognize her footsteps. Long enough to know the look she made when she was mad at me, yet I had no idea what she liked.

And that felt... wrong. I should have known.

"This is a bad idea," I muttered under my breath as I stepped out into the parking lot. "This is the stupidest idea—"

But I did it anyway. I called Ethan.

The line barely rang twice before his voice blasted through. "Why does the king call for me? I thought he had forgotten my existence."

"This is not the time for jokes, Ethan. I need your help."

He scoffed. "DON’T tell me this is about Catherine."

Oh! This fool! How could he always tell?

"Shut up," I snapped. "Are you going to help or not?"

He burst out laughing. Actually laughing. The idiot sounded like he was choking. "Oh my goodness. I’m right. You’re hopeless! You’re a hopeless romantic!"

"For fuck’s sake, Ethan! You’ve not even heard me out. I’m not being romantic! I’m trying to—"

"To impress her," he finished smugly. "I don’t need to hear anything. Catherine is the only one who can actually make you ask for help. I might really have to visit that girl and give her a special thank-you card."

"Shut your mouth, fool. You are so..."

He kept laughing. I rubbed my temple and seriously considered driving into a ditch.

"Where are you?" he finally asked.

"Outside some shitty supermarket."

"Name?"

I looked up at the billboard. "Made For You."

"Oh! Perfect. I’m near. Don’t move. I’m coming to assist you in whatever way you want."

And of course, because my life wasn’t pathetic enough, Ethan showed up three minutes later, walked straight to me, and smirked like he was standing at my wedding altar watching me marry Catherine.

"So," he said with that stupid wink, "the one whose heart has been captured in love."

"We are outside, man. Shut up."

"No, until you admit that you’ve fallen in love."

"I’ve not!"

"Absolutely."

I glared at him and he grinned wider.

"Alright alright. I’ll cut you some slack for now. What happened this time and what can I do to help?"

I didn’t have time to explain. "I’ll tell you later but for now, I’m trying to get something for her, something she’s going to really love because she’s currently mad at me."

Ethan gave me a weirdly serious look, placing his hand on my shoulder. "Julian, that girl is always mad at you. You’d better find a way to stop annoying her because once she gets used to you being annoying, she will get to hate you for real."

What the hell is wrong with this dude! I’m trying to get Catherine not to be mad at me and he’s making me feel worse than I already am.

"Do I now have to always remind you that I’m your best friend? Catherine doesn’t even give two shits about you but you keep speaking for her. Are you gonna help or not?"

He laughed again, pointing to my face. "You should see your face now. Jealousy is written all over it."

I shook my head in disbelief and annoyance, before pushing past him. He hurriedly walked behind. "Wait up! As a lady’s man, I’m the only one who can help you pick something out princess is gon like."