The Day I Heard His Thoughts I Stopped Loving Him Chapter 01

The Day I Heard His Thoughts I Stopped Loving Him Chapter 01

I was walking home with my childhood friend when I suddenly heard his thoughts.

[God, Nora is so damn annoying. Every single day after school, she’s just there, like I can’t shake her.]

[If I didn’t need the Ashford family’s connections for business, I wouldn’t even waste my breath on her.]

[It’s straight-up pouring outside. I wonder if Olivia even grabbed an umbrella.]

I froze.

Olivia Harper. The pretty scholarship girl who just transferred here.

***

Julian Vance stood before me, eyes downcast, his jaw set in that cold, sharp line.

He hadn’t spoken a word.

But his voice kept detonating inside my head.

[I heard Olivia lives over in the Southside District. The roads there are a mess.]

[I can’t stop worrying about her. I really want to walk her home.]

[Ugh. If only I could find some excuse to shake off Nora…]

My feet stopped moving. I stood there, stunned.

Julian lifted his gaze and gave me a look of flat indifference.

After years of knowing him, I was well aware that he was perpetually aloof and distant, a man of few words. I had long since grown accustomed to that dynamic between us.

But right now, I could see something clear and unmistakable in his eyes: disgust.

Suddenly, a timid voice drifted from the back entrance of the classroom.

“Julian? I… my umbrella broke.”

I turned on instinct. Olivia Harper was standing behind us, though I had no idea when she’d appeared. She clutched a battered floral print umbrella, one of its broken ribs dangling limply.

“Sorry. I know I shouldn’t be bugging you guys like this, but I really can’t let my textbooks get ruined…”

As she finished speaking, she glanced up quickly at Julian, her eyes rimmed red and brimming with a mix of grievance and unease.

She had only transferred in last week and barely interacted with anyone else at school. The fact that she was bold enough to approach him for help actually surprised me. Julian was notoriously averse to inconvenience and never bothered with polite pretense.

Yet this time, after a brief pause, his low voice cut through the air.

“Nora, I can’t walk with you today. Olivia’s got a long haul home, so I’m gonna take her.”

Julian’s expression remained as icy as ever. If I hadn’t heard those thoughts echoing in my skull, I might have actually believed this was some kind of logical decision.

“And what about me?” I asked, my voice laced with mockery.

Julian frowned and then spoke. “Isn’t your driver parked out front? Just use her umbrella for, like, ten steps. You’ll live.”

Without waiting for my agreement, he shoved Olivia’s broken umbrella into my hand.

Seeing my silence, Olivia’s face filled with guilt and unease. She twisted her fingers in the hem of her shirt and said in a trembling voice, “No… that one’s broken, though. I can’t let her take that. God, I’m so sorry. I’m just gonna run for it.”

She made a move to leave, but Julian grabbed her firmly by the arm.

He frowned at me without a word, his thin lips pressed into that same cold, severe line. But his thoughts rang out in my mind nonetheless.

[Great. Here comes the tantrum. I am so fucking sick of this.]

[She’s been pulling this crap since we were kids. Just coasting on the Ashford name and acting like the whole goddamn world revolves around her.]

[I’m done playing along. It’s Olivia I want. Why do I have to spell it out for her?]

[Whatever. I’m not letting Olivia walk home in this.]

I suddenly found it hard to breathe, as if something deep in my chest was slowly cracking apart.

Before Julian could say anything else, I took a step backward. “Just go.”

Julian exhaled in obvious relief. He turned to the side and murmured softly, “Olivia, let me take your bag.”

Olivia glanced at me hesitantly, as if she wanted to say something but held it back. Then she nodded obediently and slipped under Julian’s umbrella.

It didn’t take long for their two figures to disappear completely into the curtain of rain.

I dropped my gaze, then tossed Olivia’s broken umbrella by the back door and walked out into the downpour.

At the school gate, Frank’s car sat with its headlights glowing. He blinked in surprise before quickly popping open an umbrella and jogging over to me.

“Miss Ashford! What are you doing alone? Where’s Mr. Vance?”

“Let’s just go home.”

I leaned back against the leather seat, a bitter ache settling behind my eyes.