The System Admitted Its Mistake—So I Offered Him a Divorce Chapter 09

I asked Rachel to put the word out that Julian and I agreed to divorce because our marriage broke down.

She was to do it quietly, in private.

Before I knew it, another Friday arrived.

I was going to some obscure charity gala.

Word was out that Julian and I were going through a divorce.

This was my first public appearance since then.

Plenty of people were waiting to enjoy the spectacle.

I doubted Julian would come, though.

He didn’t like events like that.

Besides, he was probably busy trying to win Sophie over right now.

I deliberately went bold with my makeup.

I walked into that battlefield without flinching.

I gave everyone a polite smile.

The people waiting to see me humiliated saw how I was acting.

They found it boring.

They clicked their tongues and stopped paying attention.

Luke finished making the rounds.

He came over to me.

“Lil, are you okay?”

I waved a hand.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Hey, Luke, our outfits are almost the same color tonight.”

He looked down at his clothes and laughed.

“You’re right. They really are. Great now we’ll never convince anyone there’s nothing going

on between us. I…”

He didn’t finish.

A voice cut in from behind us.

“Excuse me.”

Luke and I looked up together.

Julian stood beneath the lights.

His black suit emphasized the clean, straight line of his shoulders.

His collar was slightly open, exposing a pale collarbone.

The shifting light defined his brow. His pale eyes stared straight ahead without blinking.

Luke stepped aside.

“Sorry.”

Julian said nothing.

He walked between us, expressionless.

He never once glanced in my direction.

He acted as though he didn’t know me at all.

I took my cue from him.

I decided to pretend I didn’t know him, either.

I lowered my eyes and sipped my champagne.

It was odd, though.

He came alone?

Why didn’t he bring Sophie?

Was his System still a no-show?

That really was unreliable.

The gala continued.

People kept approaching Julian with drinks in hand.

He never handled alcohol well.

Tonight, though, he accepted every drink like a man possessed.

He knocked them back, one after another.

Luke saw me sitting in a corner, bored out of my mind.

He pulled up a chair beside me.

Then he reminisced about embarrassing things we did as kids.

He made me laugh several times.

I wasn’t paying attention to how much I drank.

Glass after glass of champagne stood empty on the table.

I braced a hand on the table and stood.

“Luke, go do what you need to do. I’m going to the restroom.”

Luke nodded and pulled back my chair. “Okay. Take it slow.”

It was my first time in the building.

I wandered around a few times without finding a server.

My dress was too long, and my heels rubbed painfully.

I lifted my skirt with one hand and reached for my phone with the other, intending to text

Luke

The end of the hallway was dimly lit.

Behind me, the fire stairwell door made a faint sound.

I instinctively turned.

A tall figure stood in the dim light.

“Jul…”