My Deskmate A Movie King Faked Cancer For Cash Chapter 24

My Deskmate A Movie King Faked Cancer For Cash Chapter 24

Nobody knew how Julian survived the days after Hazel passed.

He turned off his phone, shut out the world, and spent his days drinking alone in their apartment.

Piper came by a few times, knocking until her knuckles bruised, sitting on the hallway floor until midnight before finally leaving.

Eleanor had food delivered, but the containers just sat outside the door, turning cold and untouched.

Eventually, Piper sent a heavy cardboard box.

The shipping label was simply addressed: *To Julian.*

He sat on the entryway floor and tore it open. Inside were neatly wrapped gifts, spanning from age twenty-five to one hundred, each packaged in brown paper with a hand-written tag.

*Age 25: A tie clip. To match that blue suit you wore last year.*

*Age 26: A new shaver. Don’t get lazy, keep yourself clean-cut.*

*Age 27: A letter. Open it.*

*Age 28: A fountain pen. For your scripts.*

…

*Age 40: I bet you’re losing some hair by now. Here’s a nice hat.*

*Age 60: Reading glasses. They’re round and cute, don’t complain.*

*Age 80: Can you still walk? If not, just sit in a rocking chair and read.*

—

*I sent a box of books.*

*Age 100: Julian, make sure you live to a hundred. See the rest of the world for me.*

At the very bottom of the box was a stack of handwritten cards. The handwriting on the later ones was shaky and uneven, as if she had barely possessed the strength to hold a pen.

Yet every single card ended with a clumsily drawn heart.

Julian read them one by one, from twenty-five to one hundred, before collapsing over the box, sobbing uncontrollably.

The next day, he started eating again.

He poured the alcohol down the drain, went outside to feel the sun, and accepted a new film role.

At the press conference, a reporter asked why he was returning to the screen.

He went quiet for a moment before speaking into the microphone.

“Someone asked me to see the world for her.”

The room fell silent, followed by a wave of gentle applause.

That night, he went home, unknotted the woven leather bracelet from his wrist, and tied it gently around the base of his bedside lamp.

He lay down, watching the leather band sway slightly in the warm light, and closed his eyes.

In his dream, someone tapped the back of his hand.

—

He turned around. Hazel was standing beneath the old oak tree in her high school letterman jacket, smiling at him.

He walked over, and she stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear, her voice soft and sweet.

“Julian, find me earlier in the next life.”

He nodded.

When he opened his eyes, the morning sun was spilling through the window. The bracelet hung quietly on the lamp.

Julian sat up, pulled the silver band with their initials out of his drawer, and slid it back onto his ring finger.

He picked up his phone and posted a single photo.

It was the snapshot of their kiss against the golden mountain sunrise.

His caption was only three words:

“Wait for me.”