115 — The world really does turn.

When the cab finally pulled up next to a nice restaurant, I let out the breath I hadn’t even noticed I was holding. Julian pulls up a little behind, and we watch Laura get out and enter the establishment with elegance. It’s not a five-star restaurant, those extremely expensive ones with a specific type of customer, but it is elegant and modern. Unfortunately, there are no large windows that allow us to look inside, which makes me anxious and uncertain.
I sigh, resting my back on the car seat... “Damn.”
“At least you were right... She really did go to meet someone.” Julian says, tapping his thumb on the steering wheel.
“But we won’t know who she’s meeting with...” I grumble with shrunken shoulders. “Should we go in?”
Julian brings his hand up to my face and strokes it slowly, catching my fearful eyes... “Sure, why not? I’m hungry anyway.”
I give him a bright smile and nod, also receiving the smile that always makes my heart skip a beat. He gestures for me to wait and gets out of the car, turning around, still smiling, to open my door. I get out slowly, touching his hand that rests on the door as I say slowly, “What a gentleman.”
“You bring out the best in me.” He says with a gallant tone that makes me giggle, and he takes my hand, closing the door.
“Is that so?” I say, still laughing, and he raises his eyebrows.
“You know it is.” He starts to lead me into the restaurant, and I can already feel eyes on us. Maybe it’s because of the sports car or simply because Julian attracts attention just by existing, but I don’t feel uncomfortable... In fact, he makes me feel like the luckiest woman in the world.
We enter the restaurant cautiously, and I look around for Laura. Fortunately, I find her sitting at a table further away, at the back, with her head down, apparently tapping on her phone. I nudge Julian with my elbow discreetly while he talks to an employee; he looks in the same direction as me and understands what I’m trying to say without any word. Soon, the employee is leading us towards Laura.
“We can’t get too close, or she’ll see us,” I say softly to Julian as we follow the waiter.
“It can’t be too far... otherwise, we won’t hear the conversation with whoever she’s waiting for,” Julian says slowly, holding my hand tightly but not squeezing it... it’s a reassuring touch, like saying that everything will be okay.
We finally stop a few tables away, not directly in line with her eyes or the person she’s going to meet. Julian pulls out a chair for me to sit on and sits down in front of me. My throat is dry, so I order cold water while Julian orders a salad... He really is very focused on keeping his physique; his commitment to diet and training is truly desirable, as I love junk food and couldn’t follow him.
“Don’t you want something to eat?” Julian asks slowly after thanking the waiter, who takes off to prepare our orders.
“I don’t think I can...” I mumble impatiently, looking at Laura, who keeps her eyes down. “I’m too nervous to eat.”
Julian opens his lips to say something, but his eyes widen slightly. He looks past my shoulders, and I’m tempted to turn around, but he stops me with a slow gesture, “No, don’t turn around... He may see us.”
*He...?*
My heart skips a beat, and I swallow hard.
“You were right, Angel... Laura was getting help...” Julian rests his eyes on me, but I don’t prolong our eye contact because I can finally see...
“Jackson,” I say through my teeth, feeling flames of hatred burning in my chest. “That asshole...”
“Let’s wait,” Julian says calmly, but I know he’s angry too because the muscle jumps in his jaw.
I watch as Jackson approaches Laura’s table, stopping in front of her. Laura lifts her head and smiles at him, a smile so bright that it would fool me too if I didn’t know how she really is. But apparently, Jackson doesn’t know Laura’s true face, as he smiles at her like a lovesick fool.
I feel my stomach twist.
Jackson sits down and takes her hands over the table. His voice is muffled by the distance and soft chatter around us, but I can still hear, *“Hello, my love... How are you? It’s been a stressful day... I hope you’re not feeling too bad.”*
Jackson’s sweet voice is so strange to my ears that I’m surprised... I didn’t even know he was capable of being kind.
*“Today was really stressful, but thanks to you, everything worked out.”* I can barely hear Laura, but these words make my stomach twist even more. It’s funny how her voice turns soft, and the way she speaks changes completely when she’s trying to please someone else. Everything about Laura changes according to her mask.
It makes me sick.
*“What about the baby? I’m sorry you had to go through something so difficult.”* Jackson says, and my eyebrows gradually frown.
*“Our baby is fine, my love...”* Laura smiles and strokes her belly under the table... *“He’s lucky to have such a caring father!”*
Our baby? Wait...
Isn’t this Eric’s child?
Laura’s words stun me, and I think Julian notices because he immediately grabs my hand as well, drawing my confused, resentful eyes...
No... it can’t be...
“Angel,” Julian calls out slowly as my eyes meet his again.
“But Eric...”
“It’s okay,” Julian says firmly, bringing comfort to my desperately beating heart, almost tearing through my chest.
*“It’s finally over...”* I hear Laura’s voice again and look at them, noticing the affectionate way she strokes Jackson’s hand with a silly smile on her lips. *“We made it... Everything is over.”*
No.
It’s not going to stay that way.
I let go of Julian’s hand and quickly pick up my phone, typing so fast that I end up getting the letters wrong and have to erase everything and start again because I’m shaking, shaking so much that I can barely hold it properly.
“What are you doing?” Julian asks slowly, and I feel his eyes burning into my face, but I don’t dare raise mine...
I just keep them locked on my phone, on the message I’m typing, while I say, “I’m sending the address to Tyler. I’m sure he’d love to know what’s happening now.”
“Tyler?” Julian’s voice sounds harsher, but I just keep typing a summary of what’s going on and that Laura is with another man in a restaurant, the real culprit of the stalker problem.
Then I press the SEND button — and Tyler sees it at the same moment.
I keep my eyes locked on the screen, holding my breath inside my lungs, and the answer comes quickly as he didn’t think twice before sending it,

**Tyler (Owner), 5:23 pm:**
*I’m on my way.*

“Tyler is coming,” I say slowly and finally raise my eyes, finding Julian with eyebrows so furrowed they make his face stiff, making my heart skip a beat because whenever he gets angry like this, I end up regretting it at the end of the night.
“Did you call him?” Julian crosses his arms, and although his voice isn’t really angry, I know he’s not happy about it. The way he relaxes his back in the chair, with a serious countenance, really makes me uncomfortable, even though he’s handsome anyway.
“No, I didn’t.”
“But you sent the address, isn’t the same thing?” He moistens his lips, still with his arms crossed, looking at me with his chin slightly lowered, just like a sulky child.
“He’s always wanted revenge on Laura, and this seems like the perfect opportunity for him to pay her back.” I open my lips to answer him further, but the waiter arrives with the orders, leaving as quickly as he comes, giving me room to say, “She’s deceiving that guy, don’t you see?”
“And now you’re pitying him?” Julian retorts, watching me intently as I moisten my dry throat with water. But he doesn’t give me time to argue because he adds, “Don’t forget that he’s helping Laura.”
I spy Laura and Jackson at the other table. Now he’s bewildered while Laura is ordering what seems to be the most expensive thing on the menu, using the excuse that the baby is in the mood.
“Is she even pregnant?” I ask harshly and turn my eyes to Julian, who remains silent without turning his attention away from me — which unsettles me and makes my voice sound softer than usual when I say, “She’s fooling everyone around. To Jackson, she says the baby is his... While to Eric and me, she says it’s Eric’s. And I’m sure that neither of them is aware of the other. She’s fooling everyone!”
“There could be many others, and we don’t even know about them.” Julian shrugs.
“Exactly, you’re right... But I don’t care about that. I need actual proof that Laura is involved in the stalker thing.”
“I could just fire her, Angelee. All our problems would be solved if I’d done that from the start.” Julian sighs, brushing his hand across his face.
“The world isn’t a fairy tale, Julian. She may have spread rumors and lies about me, slept with my boyfriend, and betrayed my trust during those seven years, but I wouldn’t destroy a person’s life and career for something like that. I don’t want to abuse my father’s influence or yours... I don’t want to turn you two into dictators who act partiality.”
Julian’s gaze softens gradually, and he finally uncrosses his arms, “All right, I get that. But did you really need to call this guy now?”
“What’s the matter?” I blink a few times, noticing that he looks... bothered.
“This is the first time we’ve been out now that we’re together — together.” He clears his throat and looks away, past my shoulders, like searching for some interesting point beyond my face... And my smile lights up.
*He’s surprisingly cute even without wanting to, huh?*
“This isn’t a date, Julian,” I say slowly, noticing that he shudders slowly and clenches his teeth to the point where the muscle jumps in his beard. “I want our first date together to be special.”
His eyes finally land on me again, shining with something I can’t exactly decipher.
“What do you think of Saturday?” He asks, and I catch myself giving a silly laugh.
“Again with the Saturday thing?” I prop my elbows on the table and hold my chin in my hands, looking straight into his face, admiring the smile that’s also threatening to sneak onto his lips.
“Forget it, Saturday’s too far away... Maybe tomorrow?” He moistens his lips again and leans over the table, shortening our distance, which now seems surprisingly painful.
I open my lips to answer him, but I hear a sudden commotion and heavy, fast footsteps. Julian is looking past my shoulders with his eyebrows raised... And I start to turn away, but I don’t need to because I see what all the commotion is about.
Honestly, I have no idea how he got here so early, but...
“Oh, look what we have here!” Tyler’s voice sounds loud, even at this distance, and it makes me hold my breath. “Who is your new puppet, Laura?”
Inevitably, my eyes land on Laura... and her pale expression and widened eyes bring me terrible satisfaction.
Yes, the world really does turn, Laura.
Now it’s your turn to get a taste of what you have done to everyone.