He Crossed the Ocean for Her, Never 90 Miles for Me Chapter 02

He Crossed the Ocean for Her, Never 90 Miles for Me Chapter 02

After I said it, I turned to leave.

Julian caught my wrist. “It’s late. It’s not safe. I’ll take you home.”

I slipped my hand free. “No. Go have fun.”

The heat was blasting in the car. Neon signs streamed past the window as I stared outside.

I had no idea how long I’d been sitting there when the driver held out a pack of tissues.

“Hey, whatever happened, it’s not the end of the world. Don’t let it break your heart.”

I touched my face and realized my cheeks were wet.

That made two strangers who had shown me kindness in a single day.

I wiped my face and managed a smile. “Thank you. I’m okay.”

When I reached Julian’s apartment building, I let myself in with my key fob.

Sure enough, the orchid had been thrown in the trash again.

I stood there looking at it for a long time.

I’d brought it over three years ago. The clerk at the plant shop had told me that particular variety was hardy and bloomed for months.

Julian hadn’t even looked up. “Just leave it there.”

After that, every time I came over, I would somehow find it by the trash again. By my next visit, it would be gone from there.

I used to tell myself that if I just held on long enough, eventually he would notice.

But some things, once they wither, don’t come back.

I got to my feet and pulled out my suitcase.

When I opened the guest-room door, I found all my things shoved into a corner. A storage bin had a label on top that read [LEAH FOSTER].

There were skincare products, a few changes of clothes, and a dog-eared book.

Every single thing looked like it didn’t belong there.

I was halfway through packing when I heard the front door open behind me.

Julian stood in the entryway, fresh in from the cold night air. He took one look at what I was doing, and his brows drew together.

“You’re really leaving?”

Then he looked down at me.

“Can you stop with the drama? I don’t have time for this.”

“And if you go home, don’t run to my mom and complain again. I’m not dealing with both families getting dragged into it.”

I stopped.

Every time Julian shut me out, it was the same.

I would leave, and he would never come after me. A few days later, I would drag my suitcase back, and all he would say was, “Done with the drama?”

This time, I looked straight at him.

“Julian, if you never wanted me, why did you agree to date me in the first place?”

The cold expression on his face faltered.

Six years ago, one summer, our families had dinner together, and Mrs. Mercer started trying to push us together again.

I wanted the floor to swallow me.

Julian didn’t say a word through the entire meal.

But afterward, he pulled me aside onto the balcony.

“Leah, why don’t we give this a shot?”

I thought he had finally seen me.

Now, his voice was colder than I had ever heard it.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“You knew I loved Caroline, and you still kept running to my mom, telling her how desperate you were to be with me. Leah, you make me sick.”

I slapped him.

He barely moved.

“Julian! I told you from the beginning that my feelings were my problem.”

“I asked you over and over. All you ever had to do was say no, and I would’ve walked away. You were the one who—”

You were the one who made the first move.

You were the one who said we should give this a shot.

The words stuck in my throat. I couldn’t get them out.

At last, the tears came.

For a long moment, the room was silent.

Then Julian crossed the room and pulled me against him.

His voice was low.

“Even if all of this is an act, I forgive you.”

The harder I cried, the more hurt I felt, until I couldn’t even tell what I was crying over anymore.

Was it the six years I had spent loving him all by myself?

Or was it the cruelty of finally knowing the truth?

Then Julian’s phone rang.

He let go of me almost immediately, and when he answered, his voice softened so completely that it barely sounded like him.

“Yeah. I’m coming over now.”

“She’s staying tonight. I’m not making her leave. Don’t worry. Get some sleep.”

He glanced at me and pushed a few tissues into my hand.

“I won’t be staying here tonight, so you don’t have to worry.”

At the door, he stopped.

“Whatever is going on between us, keep Caroline out of it. She doesn’t know anything.”

He paused.

“Leah, maybe we should just go back to being family.”

I watched his back as I dropped the tissues into the trash.

“You don’t get to call yourself my family.”

Julian froze.

After a long silence, he said, “Whatever makes you happy.”