My Alpha Didn’t Want Me… Until I Disappeared Chapter 02

My Alpha Didn’t Want Me… Until I Disappeared Chapter 02

I lowered my eyes, cutting off her wild fantasy.

“Stop dreaming. There are plenty of Carters in New York.”

“So, are you going to Julian’s birthday gala tomorrow?”

“No.”

She looked a bit disappointed by my answer.

However, she seemed even more intrigued by my past connections.

The autumn wind blew with a harsh chill, sweeping up fallen leaves at the street corner.

I pulled my coat tighter around myself, unconsciously raising a hand to touch my cold neck.

Under Blair’s relentless questioning, I finally opened up about the past I had deliberately tried to bury.

“I used to have a crush on Julian when I was a teenager.”

“It was a complete, utter failure of a crush.”

It started during Orientation on the first day of my freshman year.

My classmates took the stage one by one, introducing their interests and hobbies with confidence and grace.

I suddenly lowered my head in deep embarrassment.

My family was dirt poor.

My mother died giving birth to me.

My father carried the heavy burden of the household entirely on his own.

During my sophomore year of high school, my father was suddenly diagnosed with cancer. My brother, Jonah, resolutely dropped out of school to work and earn money.

Yet the astronomical medical bills every month still suffocated our family.

When it was my turn to walk up to the podium, my palms sweated from anxiety.

My stuttering, nervous introduction successfully amused the fraternity guys in the audience.

“Where did this country bumpkin come from? She’s actually wearing a floral dress. Isn’t that outfit way too outdated? Can she even keep up with the times?”

“I saw her when move-in started. Her family looks like a total charity case. Two of the wheels on her suitcase were broken, and she couldn’t even afford to replace them…”

“She can’t even get through a basic introduction. Just get off the stage, stop wasting our time!”

I pinched the hem of my dress helplessly, my face burning bright red.

That dress was bought by my father and brother right before the semester started.

I told them it was too expensive and that we shouldn’t buy it.

But my father had smiled warmly as he paid. “It’s fine, sweetheart, don’t worry about the money. Wear something nice on your first day to leave a good impression on your classmates.”

The dress wasn’t cheap. It cost two hundred dollars, which amounted to two weeks of my living expenses.

As I turned around to walk off the stage in sheer humiliation, a booming voice echoed from the crowd.

“Who says it’s ugly? It’s not ugly at all. In fact, I think it looks great.”

Looking toward the voice, the entire room went dead silent.

Julian was slouched casually against the back of his chair, chewing gum.

As he spoke, his eyes were locked firmly on me.

At that exact moment, the rest of the world seemed to lose its color.

All I could see was the boy’s bright eyes and the smirk playing on the corner of his lips.

Blair nodded thoughtfully, shaking my arm with excitement. “So that’s when you fell for him?”

“A guy that gorgeous stepping in to save you when you were mortified… honestly, I would’ve fallen for him too.”

I took a calm sip of my tea.

But it wasn’t quite like that.

My first meaningful interaction with Julian didn’t happen until the winter break.

I was working a shift at a car wash to earn tuition money when a loud argument suddenly drifted over.

A black SUV slammed its brakes right in front of the car wash.

Immediately after, a beautifully wrapped bouquet of flowers flew out of the window, striking me right on the head as I bent over to adjust the machinery.

“Julian, what the hell is your problem? I came back to patch things up with you, and this is how you dismiss me?”

Julian let out a careless scoff.

“Nicola, I only picked you up from the airport because I didn’t want to disrespect your parents and make things awkward for them. What makes you think I’d just sit around waiting for you to come back?”

“We agreed to go to Columbia together, but you left the country without saying a single word. What, you have the right to chase your dreams, but I don’t have the right to chase love?”

Nicola gave a bitter laugh.

“Love? Don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for someone else.”

Julian turned his head, his eyes landing directly on me as I rubbed my sore forehead.

He suddenly smiled.

“Do you really think you’re my only option?”

“Nicola, let me tell you something. From this moment on, I could be with absolutely anyone else besides you.”

With that, he stepped out of the vehicle, pulled a black velvet box from his coat pocket, and tossed it carelessly to me.

“It’s yours.”

Tears streamed down Nicola’s face from sheer anger.

“Even a girl working at a car wash by the side of the road is fine?”

Julian replied flippantly.

“Yeah.”

Crying, Nicola climbed into a taxi and vanished into the heavy traffic.

She didn’t look back, so she never saw that Julian’s gaze remained glued to her retreating figure the entire time.

From that day on, I became Julian’s little shadow.

Because he wanted me to play along in a fake relationship with him.

As long as I played the part well, he paid me.