Chapter 17

PRUDENCE spent the night with her girls and returned to the villa at dawn. She was too wasted; the last thing she could remember was stumbling at the door. But when she opened her eyes after a few hours of sleep, she found herself lying comfortably on the bed. And what surprised her was that she was already wearing her nightgown.
Her head throbbed with the thought of Julian taking her to bed and undressing her. But he also dressed her afterward, obviously. Groaning, she cupped her head.
“Where is he anyway?”
She jumped out of bed and looked for him. But Julian was nowhere to be found inside the villa. Prudence then looked at the time on the clock and found out it was already two in the afternoon. Ah, he must be somewhere in the beach resort, having fun. It wouldn’t be shocking that he had left her again. Julian was good at doing that. And she didn’t know it annoyed the hell out of her. Perhaps because she despised being left behind by men, in general. That must’ve manifested when her father abandoned her when she was just a kid. However, it wasn’t the time for her to give it so much thought because her stomach was already rumbling. Prudence wasn’t in the mood to go out of the villa, so she just called for room service and had her food delivered.
She tried working after eating her meal but couldn’t focus well. Thoughts about Julian kept flooding her mind again as though it was the only thing she could think of all day. Ah, that made her pretty exhausted for no reason.
Julian… Julian Whitewood… Why did he have to get on her nerves just like that?
Prudence went to the kitchen and opened the wine fridge. Getting herself a drink was the only rational thing at that moment.
She was pouring wine into the glass when she heard the door open and closed. Of course, there was no need to see who came. It was Julian, of course.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
Julian’s voice seemed to roar inside the kitchen when he arrived there.
Sipping her wine, she turned in his direction. He was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved polo shirt that looked tidy despite wearing it all day. Julian seemed so fresh at that moment; she suddenly thought of devouring him.
Prudence choked on her wine and coughed exaggeratedly.
“Are you… alright?” he asked as he sauntered toward her.
“D-don’t!” She raised a hand to put him to a halt. “Don’t come near me. I’m fine.”
She rushed to the sink and cleaned herself from the wine that came out of her nose.
*Damn it…*
Why did it have to happen in front of him?
Prudence was busy attending to herself at the sink when she suddenly felt a hand caressing her back. Her eyes widened in shock when she suddenly felt a strangely calming warmth starting to crawl into her system. Clearing her throat, she straightened her back and turned to face Julian.
“W-what a-are y-you d-doing?” She lowered her head and bit her lip. Prudence was even stuttering in front of him. *Damn it!*
“Well…” He shrugged and sauntered to the fridge.
Julian got a bottle of water that he opened immediately.
“Here.” He handed it to her.
“T-thanks.” Prudence accepted it and chugged it down.
“Have you eaten?” he asked afterward.
“Hm. I ordered pizza and pasta.”
“Was that even a decent meal?” His brows furrowed.
“Well, at least for me.”
He laughed at that, and she found herself gaping at him. It was the first time he saw and heard him laugh as genuinely as that.
Julian stopped laughing.
“What?”
She shook her head hard.
“Nothing. Nothing. I just… thought of something.” She cleared her throat and gestured at him. “Where have you been anyway?”
“Boating.”
“Ah!” She nodded consecutively.
“Don’t you think it’s unfair if you’re the only one who got to enjoy the island?”
Her eyes widened. Julian must’ve found out already that she had a boating escapade under his tab.
“Right.” She forced a smile.
“Perhaps we should go boating together one of these days,” he suggested. “We haven’t had time alone. We’re here to get to know each other, yet all we do is this… annoying one another. Aren’t you getting tired of this, Prudence?” He tilted his head to the side.
Julian suddenly looked very charming to her eyes. Could there be something wrong with her sight? Why would she find him charming?
*This is absurd…*
“Hey!” He snapped his fingers in front of her face, making her flinch. “Are you with me?”
“Oh? Yes.”
He raised both of his brows and folded his arms across his chest.
“I think you’re not listening. What were you thinking?”
“Nothing—”
“By any chance, are you falling for me, Prudence?”
She could feel her soul frantically leaving her body at that moment. Was he a good mind reader? Ah, no, no… it couldn’t be. Perhaps he was trying to… test her?
She scoffed and folded her arms over her chest.
“I think… you’re so full of yourself, Julian,” she countered.
“Why?” The corner of his lip twitched.
“Do you really think I would fall for someone like you?” She gave him a once-over. “You’re not my type of guy.”
His eyes narrowed.
“And what’s your type?”
“Someone who’s the total opposite of you.”
“You mean my brother… Chase?”
She didn’t know if she heard it right, but there was this hint of jealousy in his voice. Well, she couldn’t blame Julian for feeling jealous of his brother. There were many factors to consider. And for some reason, she felt a pang of guilt in her chest for making him feel that way. Prudence didn’t want to hurt him any further.
“Nope. He’s not my type. I hate men like you and your brother.”
“How do you find me then?” he asked curiously.
“You’re…” she paused for a while. Prudence couldn’t think of the right word to say. “You don’t have to know. It’s not that important.”
She walked past him, but Julian quickly grasped her arm and pulled her back.
“I insist,” he said firmly. “I want to know.”
She acted like she was thinking and came up with a lie.
“You’re chauvinistic, egoistic, and—”
She couldn’t finish her sentence when he suddenly cupped her nape and pulled her for a kiss. Prudence froze for a moment before her mind could process what was happening. She tried to escape, but her knees and arms were too weak while her mind was battling with her heart.