The Day I Heard His Thoughts I Stopped Loving Him Chapter 04

The Day I Heard His Thoughts I Stopped Loving Him Chapter 04

My father didn’t reject the project outright. Instead, he deliberately Ignored the Vance family’s Increasingly urgent.

follow-ups and let them stew in their own anxiety as the waiting dragged on.

Back at school, I took the initiative and asked my teacher to reassign my seat. While I was moving my books, Jullan

glanced up at me. His thoughts rang in my cars with perfect clarity.

[She’s finally moving. Thank God. At least now I’ll get some actual peace and quiet around here.]

[She went after Olivia this time. That’s a line. I’m gonna freeze her out even longer now. Let her really sit with what she

did.]

[Still… she wouldn’t try anything with Olivia while I’m not around, right?)

His worry was wasted energy. Over the next stretch of days, I didn’t approach Julian at all. I stopped walking home with him after school entirely. I gave him all the space and freedom he could possibly want. Oblivious to the real reason, he

simply assumed I was just being moody and throwing a fit.

Meanwhile, the flirtation between him and Olivia Harper grew more and more flagrant by the day. He’d spend hours patiently tutoring her and would stand with her during detention whenever she was late.

On Olivia’s birthday. Julian went so far as to give her a custom-made necklace, an engraved pendant with both their

initials etched into the crystal.

At first, my classmates shot me looks full of pity and veiled amusement. After all, Julian and I had known each other for

over a decade and had been practically inseparable.

Rumors about a potential marriage alliance between our families had been floating around our social circle for years. But once they realized I genuinely didn’t care about anything Julian and Olivia were doing, everyone lost interest in

watching the drama unfold.

This state of affairs continued for about two weeks. His father Harrison Vance, having waited in vain for any response

regarding the project, began tightening the screws on Julian.

The proposals the Vance family had submitted remained stuck in limbo, and even their social invitations were being

politely declined by the Ashford household.

On top of that, the land parcels the Vance family had put up as collateral were still waiting on a fresh injection of

capital to recoup their losses.

Harrison’s patience finally snapped. He showed up at the Ashford Estate with Julian in tow.

In the living room, Julian sat with his head bowed, his jaw clenched tight, saying absolutely nothing. But his thoughts

drifted over to me anyway.

[All our investors pulling out at the same time? Yeah, right. There’s no way that’s a coincidence. The Ashfords definitely

made some calls. Had to.]

[And Nora? No way she pulled this off on her own. Please. That old man Ashford is definitely running the show. Pulling

her strings.]

[When you really think about it, it’s just jealousy. She’s pissed I’m spending time with Olivia, so she’s stooping to this cheap, underhanded bullshit to try and make me crawl back.]

[I don’t get it. The Vance family has plenty of weight. We’re not some charity case. We don’t need the Ashfords to survive.

So why the hell does my father keep forcing me to kiss Nora’s ass?]

Seeing that Julian remained stubbornly silent, Harrison took the initiative and slid a file across the coffee table to my

father. “Mr. Ashford, here’s the revised proposal for the East River Commercial Plaza Project. We’ve restructured all the

terms from the ground up. Please, let me know if there’s anything you’re not satisfied with.”

My father accepted the file and set it aside on the end table without so much as glancing at it. “Harrison, since you came

all the way here to ask, I’m not going to dance around the issue. The Ashford family will not be investing in this project.

Furthermore, we will be gradually divesting from all existing collaborations with Vance Enterprises.”

Harrison Vance’s face drained of all color. He scrambled to explain. “Mr. Ashford, come on. Our families go way back.

There’s history here. It doesn’t have to get to this point.”

“I know you’re upset about… everything that’s been going on with the kids. That’s exactly why I brought him here today.

Dragged him here, actually. This ungrateful son of mine.”

He turned toward Julian and barked, his voice spiking in volume. “Apologize! Now!”

Julian’s fists balled up so tightly his knuckles went pale, his face twisted into an expression of profound humiliation. But

he didn’t dare disobey his father’s direct order. After a long, shuddering breath, he forced the words out through gritted

teeth. “Nora. I’m sorry.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Julian’s thoughts flooded with resentment and outright loathing. He clearly

believed that by swallowing his pride and offering this apology, I was supposed to graciously accept it and let things slide.

I merely swept a cool, indifferent glance over him. “And your apology means what to me, exactly? Is it gonna add any

actual value to the Ashford family?”

Julian stared back at me in stunned disbelief, completely at a loss for words.

Beside him. Harrison Vance took a beat to recalibrate before forcing an ingratiating smile onto his face.

“Nora, please. Don’t stay mad at Julian. You have my word, I’ll handle this myself. I’ll set things straight. I won’t let

anything… anyone… damage what our families have. And that Harper girl? The Vance family will deal with her. We’ll

have her..”.

He hadn’t even finished his sentence when Julian cut him off abruptly. “What does any of this have to do with Olivia

Harper?”