Chapter 181

Robert’s Point of View

She was sitting at the table, preoccupied with eating with a strange calmness as if nothing had happened. I felt a mixture of shock, relief, and confusion striking my core. "Alright, Ron... go now," I said in a low voice.

I walked toward her with measured steps until I stood directly in front of her. I looked at her with a bewilderment I couldn’t hide. "You’re here?" I asked.

She raised her head toward me, her features looking ordinary as she chewed her food. Then she said grumpily, "Where were you? I couldn’t find your car... did you leave and abandon me?"

I grew weary of this reversal of facts. "How could I have left and abandoned you?" I asked, trying to process the situation. "I was there waiting for you!"

"No, that’s not true!" she insisted, setting her fork down. "I didn’t find your car, so I had to come in a taxi."

I stood frozen.

Did she really not run away? Did she actually take a taxi and come here by herself? I felt a total bewilderment paralyzing my thoughts. "Julie, I didn’t move the car from its spot... you must have missed seeing it," I said, trying to find a logical explanation.

"There was no car!" she said in a sharp tone. "Am I lying?"

I looked at her for a long time, feeling the weight of the mountain on my chest gradually lift. "Fine... the important thing is that you’re back," I said, my voice calmer this time.

Then I added, trying to sound casual, "Have you finished your food?"

She picked up a paper napkin and lightly wiped her mouth, saying with a childish pout, "Yes... but what are these dishes you have? No pizza, no hamburgers and you call this a restaurant?"

I couldn’t help but smile at her way of thinking. "Pizza?" I asked, amused.

"You know..." she continued, her face full of disgust, "the waiter brought me a plate of snails! Seriously... snails?"

I laughed inwardly at her innocence, then regained my seriousness.

I gestured toward the exit. "Alright, Julie, go to your room now and rest."

Her features shifted instantly, and she knitted her brows in annoyance. "Why go downstairs, to that place? It doesn’t even have a window."

I felt my firm stance returning. "Go down, Julie. That’s my final word," I said in a definitive tone that brooked no argument.

She shrugged with feigned indifference and rose from her seat to walk toward the corridor leading downstairs. I remained standing there, watching her figure as she moved away until she disappeared from my sight.

I put my hands in my pockets and began to think deeply; How did she not escape? How did she come back here on her own despite having the perfect opportunity? "She might react to my touch because she’s a woman, and that’s something she hasn’t experienced before... but to return here by herself? What does this mean?"

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Julie’s Point of View

I entered my room and threw my exhausted body onto the bed. I felt a heaviness in my chest as I remembered Steve my brother whose heart I had broken for the second time.

I never intended for that, but I had no other choice; staying with him meant his death. Suddenly, I jolted upright and whispered sharply, "The Professor!"

I stood up quickly and went into the bathroom, locking the door as if I were committing a crime.

I pulled the phone from my trouser pocket; its design was beautiful and it looked very expensive. I opened it curiously and headed straight for the contacts list. I found only one number saved under the name "Edward."

Really? Did he save his name so simply without a title? Without writing Professor Weston? I also discovered that he had topped up an internet bundle for me. I felt a glimmer of joy. "Oh, this is great!"

I went to the Google browser and began typing rapidly: "How to attract a man who is cold, a killer, and owns a girl-rental club?" I stopped and stared at the sentence, a shiver of embarrassment running through me. I really am crazy! I deleted the sentence immediately and wrote instead: "How to seduce a cold man."

I hit the search button and began reading the results with intense focus:

Use spontaneous touches: Touch his shoulder, thigh, or face spontaneously and quickly. "Sounds like good advice... yes, I can do that."

Smile and say something mysterious, then change the subject. "What does that mean? I didn’t understand this part at all!"

Try telling him about something you like in his body, then play with your hair. "What is this nonsense?"

Leave your shirt buttons open and wear short clothes, but try to appear bothered; close your shirt buttons when he looks at you and cover your thighs so he knows you aren’t an "easy" type.

I closed the phone quickly, my chest heaving. What are these methods? I don’t think any of them will work with a man like Robert. I looked at the mirror with a broken expression and said to myself, "Really, Julie? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be impressed by this man? He told you he only pities you, and now you’re looking for a way to seduce him?"

Suddenly, the phone screen in my hand lit up and vibrated; Professor Weston was calling! I swallowed hard and answered in a very low whisper, "Hello, Professor..."

"Hello, Julie. I wanted to check on you," he replied in his calm voice.

"Thank you, Professor, I’m fine," I said, clutching the phone.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing," I answered curtly.

"Hmm..."

I added gratefully, "Thank you, Professor, for buying the phone for me."

"No need to thank me," he said.

"I am truly grateful to you, Professor," I said from the bottom of my heart.

His tone of voice shifted then, and he said seriously, "Julie... don’t call me Professor."

I froze in my tracks, a sense of confusion seeping into my limbs. "What?... What should I call you?"

"Call me Edward... just Edward," he answered calmly, making my heart tremble.