He Was Never Untouchable, Just Untouched By Me Chapter 11

He Was Never Untouchable, Just Untouched By Me Chapter 11

“The last time Mr. Sterling and I ran into each other by Willow Lake…”

I held my breath, bracing myself, but what came next was nothing I expected.

“He asked me all kinds of things about you: your exes, the kind of guys you go for, which classes you hate. He originally wanted to ask Audrey, but she kept shutting him down.”

Vivian tilted her head. “You don’t mind that I answered him, right?”

I shook my head. “I don’t mind. But how do you know so much about me?”

“I’ve been watching you for a long time, Chloe. You just never noticed.”

“You’re magnetic. Everywhere you go on campus, heads turn.”!

I played it off. “I’m just… generally well-liked.”

“When I started here, I was all skin and bones.” She paused. “Family stuff. I used to hug the walls, keep my

head down.”

“Then we both got picked for the ballroom dance competition. Our team took first, and everyone was

hugging and screaming.”

Vivian’s voice went soft. “I didn’t have friends. I was standing off to the side, clapping by myself.”

“Then you just appeared. You grabbed me, dragged me into the middle of it, and took all these photos of

me.”

I searched my memory and pulled up a few scattered fragments.

“From that day on, I never stopped watching you.” Vivian paused. “Because of that, Mr. Sterling almost saw

me as a rival.”

I stared at her. “He what?”

Vivian’s eyes crinkled. “It’s been cleared up.”

Julian’s text came through right then.

[Audrey’s at the hospital. On my way to get you.]

Vivian stood. “Since Mr. Sterling is on his way, I won’t keep you.”

I hesitated, then said it anyway. “Vivian, your feelings for Julian…”

“I’m envious of him, honestly. He’s built something incredible, and on top of that, he has you.” She smiled. “I want that for myself someday. The success part. On my own terms.”

I squeezed her shoulder. “You will.”

The live comments blew up.

[HOLD ON. So the FL doesn’t even like the ML?)

[But they’re so similar! They were literally made for each other!]

[Being too similar IS the problem. Even if they got together, they’d spend every night lying in bed talking

about Chloe.]

[Why does the FL HAVE to be in love with the ML? Vivian’s entire arc is about her ambition. Not every story

has to be about romance.]

[The side character is literally a siren. Audrey loves her. Vivian loves her. Julian loves her. I’m about to fall for her too. She’s a walking ball of chaos and sunshine, and nobody is safe.]

The comments flew past too fast to read.

The readers had revolted, apparently, and petitioned hard enough to force the plot to bend.

I wasn’t going to be disfigured.

But that was also the day the live comments vanished for good.

The last few had flashed by too fast to catch: something about (headboard banging noises] and [eyes rolling

back] and [using his abs like a water slide]…

I hadn’t thought much of it at the time.

Then I lived through every single one of them, night after night.

I finally snapped. “Julian, are you a literal dog?”

Even after being told off, Julian had the nerve to look wounded

“Baby, you said you liked obedient puppies. Am I not obedient?”

“I’m just scared you’ll get bored of me and stop wanting me.”

“Since when am I that fickle?”

“You still haven’t given me a label, though…”

If he hadn’t brought it up, I would’ve honestly forgotten.

But it hit me. He’d already done everything a boyfriend would do and then some, all without the title.

“Julian, let’s make it official.”

Julian, predictably, took a mile.

“Get up early tomorrow, baby. We’re going to the courthouse.”

I tried to pretend I was asleep and hadn’t heard that.

He left a fresh set of teeth marks across my collarbone, and Julian kissed his way over every one, thoroughly

entertained.

“Baby. My baby.”

“I should’ve told you how I felt a long time ago. I wasted so much time.”

“Chloe, I love you. I love you so much.”

He pressed his mouth against my shoulder. “Tomorrow I’ll wear the bunny outfit for you.”

I couldn’t fake sleep after that. I gave up and buried my face in his chest.

“I actually need to sleep, Julian. We have to be at the courthouse in the morning, and I refuse to have bags under my eyes.”

Somewhere between waking and dreaming, I found myself thinking about the names the live comments had given Julian: the untouchable prince who’d climbed down from his tower, or the shameless puppy who’d been hiding behind a cold face this whole time.

It didn’t matter. Either way, he was mine.

(The End)