You Only Loved The Version Of Me That Needed Nothing Chapter 06

You Only Loved The Version Of Me That Needed Nothing Chapter 06

The car’s heater slowly thawed me out. I pulled out my phone – a few unread messages waiting beside a pinned chat. 

I scrolled through them. None of them were urgent – just the kind of small, steady messages that meant someone was thinking about me. 

I shared my location, and before I could lock the screen, his call came in. I picked up. 

A beat of silence – like he hadn’t expected me to answer that fast. “You made it out alive?” 

I sank into the seat and watched Riverton blur past the window. The city hadn’t changed much. Neither had I 

– except it didn’t hurt to look at it anymore. 

“Yeah. Everyone went out for another round. I didn’t feel like going, so I’m heading back to the hotel.” 

“Did you actually eat anything, or just drink on an empty stomach? Was it awful?” 

I couldn’t help smiling, drawing his name out. “Arthur. Do I sound five?” 

But I answered anyway. “I ate, I didn’t drink much, and… it was fine.” 

“‘Fine‘ means not great.” His voice was low, the kind of quiet that made everything around it softer – even the static on the line. 

“How do you know?” 

“Because when you’re actually happy, you don’t stop talking. You tell me everything – what you ate, who you saw, who said something dumb. You laugh so hard you can’t finish a sentence.” 

I pressed my lips together and my eyes started to sting. “I ran into Julian today.” 

The words came out flat and thin. I didn’t need to 

explain who Julian was. I just needed a second to steady myself. 

Arthur Sterling didn’t push. He stayed on the line, breathing on the other end, waiting until I was ready. 

“At the reunion, someone saved the seat next to me. 

For Julian.” 

“And everyone kept making jokes about us…” The more 

I talked, the tighter my throat felt. 

At the time, I’d told myself it didn’t matter. Old 

classmates, old jokes – no point turning it into a 

scene. 

But something about Arthur’s silence made it feel safe 

to stop pretending. Everything I’d swallowed at that 

table came rushing up at once. 

“They said I’d never find someone as good as Julian. 

And they said I was nothing special.” 

I sniffed, and my voice came out small and stubborn. 

“I’m not. I’m pretty.” 

Two seconds of silence. But not the kind I knew too well 

— not the kind where I had to hold my breath and 

guess what the silence meant. 

This was the kind where someone goes still because they’re listening – really listening. “Who said that?” 

“Why? You gonna hunt them down and beat them up?” 

“That would be assault. I’m a law–abiding citizen.” 

A laugh slipped out of me, shaky and still wet around the edges. “Okay then, law–abiding citizen. What’s the plan?” 

“I’ll remember their names. And I’ll make sure they don’t get a plus–one to the wedding.” 

“You’re ridiculous,” I murmured, but I was smiling. 

Just like that, the knot in my chest loosened. 

“Hazel.” He said my name like it was the only word in 

the room. 

He wasn’t trying to make me feel better. He was stating a fact he’d already settled in his own mind. “You’re beautiful.” 

“They have no taste.” I pressed the back of my hand against my eyes and watched streetlights streak past the window, one by one. 

“Arthur. I miss you so much.” 

“…I know.” 

With Arthur, “I know” was never just words. I didn’t know how many hours of sleep he lost that night, but the next morning, as soon as I opened my eyes – 

A screenshot of a flight itinerary. Landing in Riverton 

tomorrow morning. I blinked at the screen, still 

half–asleep, and sent back one question mark. 

His reply came back instantly, shameless as ever. [You practically begged me to come.] 

[In your dreams. Don’t flatter yourself.] I typed it fast, 

as if typing faster made it more convincing. 

I set the phone down, pressed my arm over my face, and smiled into my elbow like an idiot. 

Across from me, Chloe took a sip of her iced coffee and gave me a look she’d obviously been saving. 

“Okay, what happened? You look like a lovesick idiot right now.” 

I forced my expression flat. “What? No. It’s just nice outside today.” 

For once, Riverton’s sky had finally opened up – not a cloud in sight. Chloe finished her drink. 

We headed to the bridal boutique I’d booked. Chloe had zero interest in wedding stuff – I’d dragged her along as a second opinion. 

The second we stepped inside, her eyes went wide at the racks of silk and tulle. Five minutes later she was in 

a beaded mermaid dress. 

She gathered the skirt in one hand and spun once. “Well?” 

The memory hit me all at once – high school, the two 

of us on the couch reading romance novels. She used to 

throw a cheap lace curtain over her shoulders and twirl 

around the room just like this. 

I lifted the veil and settled it over her head, smoothing 

it into place. “Gorgeous.” 

“Okay, enough. You’re the actual bride here – go try 

one on.” 

The consultant pulled one for me – lace and satin, clean lines, nothing overdone. Handmade lace traced the neckline and sleeves, just enough to soften it. 

Chloe looked at me and didn’t say a word. Her eyes turned red. She blinked hard and started fanning her face with both hands. 

“Damn it, why do I feel like crying.” 

I laughed and bumped her arm. “What’s wrong with you? Can’t bear to let me go?” 

“You left me three years ago and I’m still not over it, I just –” She swallowed. “I’m just so glad you’re okay.” 

Watching her cry for me pulled my thoughts to 

someone else. I wondered how Arthur would look when 

he saw me in this dress. 

“Hello? Earth to Hazel. Your ears are turning red.” She 

pinched my cheeks and I swatted her away, both of us 

laughing. 

The wind chime above the door jingled. Someone 

walked in. 

I didn’t look up – probably just another customer. 

Then I heard the assistant’s voice. 

“Hi – are you picking up a suit?” 

“No. I’m here for my mother’s alterations.” 

My hands froze. I turned around, and there he was. 

His gaze moved past the assistant, past the rows of white tulle, and landed on me. 

His expression barely changed. He hadn’t always been this controlled – but years in boardrooms will do that. 

Every reaction locked behind composure. But I caught it – his fingers twitched, balling into a loose fist for just a second before releasing. 

“You look beautiful,” Julian said. “It suits you.” Polite. Perfectly polite. Nothing more. 

I nodded. His eyes stayed on me – then drifted down 

from the dress to my left hand. My ring finger. 

Nothing there. I’d left the ring in Northridge too 

afraid I’d lose it while traveling. 

Julian looked away. The corner of his mouth twitched 

– barely a smile, more like he’d reached a verdict. 

“Hazel.” His voice was steady, deliberate. “Is there a 

reason you’re back in town?” 

He knew exactly what he was doing. I was standing in a 

bridal shop, in a wedding dress, with my ring finger bare. 

I understood him instantly. He thought the past three years had been my little rebellion, and now I’d finally gotten over it. 

He thought I’d decided it was time to settle down. And who better than him – the ex who checked every box. 

I didn’t correct him. Not because I wanted to play games – but because I knew Julian. 

Once he’d decided something, no denial would move him. He’d hear a correction and call it playing hard to get. That was Julian – a man whose life had never taught him how to doubt himself. 

“Come on.” I caught Chloe’s wrist. “Let’s change.” 

Chloe shot Julian a look sharp enough to peel paint and followed me into the dressing room. By the time we 

came out, he was gone. 

But my phone had a new notification — a message from a conversation that had been dead for three years. [Hazel, let’s get together soon. I’d like to talk.] 

Chloe read it over my shoulder and scowled. “Are you kidding me? He went silent for three years and now he 

wants to talk?” 

I stared at the screen for a second, then locked it. That 

was the thing about Julian 

he never saw silence as 

neglect. 

In his mind, staying single for three years was a grand gesture. As if waiting was the same thing as love.