Chapter 259:

Julie’s POV

When Robert cornered me between his massive frame and the cold, solid wall, I felt as if the air had been vacuumed right out of my lungs. The pressure of his body against mine was so intense I felt my bones might fuse with the concrete behind me. His breath, which had caressed my neck with such warmth just last night, was now searing exhaling a rage I couldn’t comprehend. And his eyes... My God, those eyes held a terrifying frost. It was a strange, hollow look, devoid of any shred of mercy, as if I weren’t the same woman who had been in his arms hours ago.

The Robert who whispered words of love in my ear was gone; in his place stood a predatory beast.

"I... I only came to check on you..." I said, my body trembling and my lips barely able to move. "Robert, my heart wouldn’t let me leave you like this."

He growled in my face, leaning in until I felt the sparks from his eyes scorching my skin. He roared with a tone that shook my entire being: "What did I tell you inside?! Were my words not clear enough?! Did I not tell you never to set foot in this room again?!"

I swallowed hard, a bitter lump in my throat, feeling tears gather behind my lids. "Robert... please," I pleaded. "Is all this anger because I lied about the training and Marcus? Tell me, is the lie what changed you like this?"

His response came like a slap, delivered with a lethal coldness I never imagined from him: "It is none of your business what goes on in my head... and you have no right to ask."

He suddenly released my shoulders with a force that sent me reeling, brushing his hand off as if touching me burned him or as if I were some repulsive insect he needed to discard. He pointed his forefinger toward the open door and commanded, "Get out of this room... now.

But I didn’t move. Something in my chest refused to surrender. My heart was thumping wildly against my ribs, and I found myself crying out in stifled agony, "What is wrong with you, Robert?! What happened in those hours you were out?! Why are you treating me like a nobody?!"

He lunged at me again like a panther, clamping his thick palm over my arm so hard I let out an audible gasp of pain.

He yanked me toward him until my neck twisted, and whispered in a low, terrifying voice: "You will say ’Mr. Robert’! From this moment on, your tongue shall never utter my name alone again... is that understood, Julie?!"

In that moment, I felt like I was falling into an endless nightmare.

Was I dreaming? Was it possible that the man who possessed my body and kissed every inch of me had changed so much? "Mr. Robert?!" I asked in shock, tears streaming down my face. "Have you gone mad? Just last night you were fucking me with such desire... you were screaming my name in your arms... what happened to you?!"

An icy stillness settled over his face a coldness that shattered what remained of my soul. He spoke words that cut my heart like a blade: "Yes, I fucked you last night. It was one night, and it’s over. This filth will never be repeated, Julie... Now, get out before I lose my temper!"

He flung the door open with even more violence and shoved me out, slamming it in my face with a force that shook the walls of the club and the walls of my shattered heart. I stood in the corridor, lost, feeling the pain in my arm from his grip and a greater pain in my dignity, which he had crushed under his boot.

I turned to flee from my disappointment, only to collide with Olivia’s gaze. She was standing at the end of the hall with a blatant smirk of malice. I began to walk with faltering steps as she watched my breakdown. When I reached her and started down the stairs, she spoke in a mocking tone dripping with venom: "Oh, Julie... you little pig. It seems Mr. Robert has tossed you out like trash, hasn’t he? Did he get bored of fucking your cheap body that quickly?"

I ignored her barking completely; my pain was too vast to respond to filth like her. I finished descending the stairs, my legs shaking and my vision blurring. I headed straight for Max’s room. I entered without knocking, and the moment I saw him, I collapsed, sobbing so hard my chest felt like it would burst.

Max jumped up in alarm and rushed over to me. "Julie! What’s wrong? What happened?"

"It’s... it’s all over," I said between the jagged sobs that were choking me. "Robert left me, Max!"

"What are you saying?!" he replied, shock freezing his features. "How could he leave you after everything between you?!"

I slumped into the chair like a lifeless corpse. "He kicked me out of his room... he warned me against touching him or even going near him... and imagine... he told me to call him ’Mr. Robert’! Can you even process that level of humiliation?"

"But why?!" he asked, bewildered, trying to piece it together. "There must be a powerful reason for such a reversal!"

"I don’t know," I answered, wiping my tears with a trembling hand that still bore the marks of his grip. "Just last night, I confessed that I had been lying to him about my training with you and Marcus... I told him I was training for real combat so I wouldn’t feel guilty toward him. I wanted to be completely honest with him."

"Just that?!" Max said in utter disbelief. "A lie about training turned him into this monster?!"

I shook my head in bitter despair. "Yes... that’s what I told him. And that doesn’t seem like enough of a reason to treat me with this much cruelty, does it?"

Max tried to wrap his head around the situation. "Well... Robert is a complex man, and maybe he sees lying as betrayal, but to end everything like this... it’s very strange. It doesn’t make sense."

"The problem isn’t his anger, Max," I said with a bitterness that tore my throat, tears burning my eyes again. "The problem is the look of contempt I saw in his eyes. He looks at me now like I’m disgusting trash like a whore who has outlived her use!"

Max approached me slowly and placed a brotherly hand on my shoulder. "Calm down, Julie... gather your strength. We’ll find a solution to this madness. There must be something we don’t know."

"How can I be calm, Max? Tell me how!" I cried, my voice broken. "I love him... I can’t process what happened. Can he really leave me this easily? As if I were nothing in his life?!"

Max narrowed his eyes, trying to connect the threads of this chaos. "Okay... think carefully, Julie. Did anything else happen? Any detail, any word? Did he get a call or see something?"

"No... nothing strange happened," I replied, completely lost. I gripped the necklace he gave me last night with trembling fingers; the cold metal reminded me of the heat of his false promises. "Look... he brought me this necklace last night. He put his hand around my neck and said words that would melt stone. He said he wanted me by his side forever, and also..."

"What else?" Max asked curiously.

I felt my cheeks burn with shame. I was embarrassed to tell Max the details of what happened between me and Robert, but the pain was stronger than the shame. "He brought me a gift," I whispered, my voice barely a breath. "The way he fucked me made me think he would never leave me. He possessed me as if I were his soul, and..."

I trailed off, realizing the bitter truth gnawing at my heart; that pleasure was nothing but a farewell I hadn’t understood. "Then how did it come to this? How can he leave you and despise you like this, Julie?" Max asked.

"Maybe because I didn’t suit his style," I said bitterly, looking away. I couldn’t face the pity in his eyes. "Maybe my body didn’t satisfy his ego enough."

"What do you mean?" he asked, baffled.

"I have to go now," I answered quickly, moving toward the door to escape his questions and the truth of my weakness. "I can’t stay any longer."

I left Max’s room and went upstairs, my body heavy as if dragging mountains of worry. I entered my room and locked the door. I began pacing back and forth, my mind painting painful conclusions. Did he leave me because I felt pain last night? Did he see me as too weak to handle his power and his violence? Yes, surely that’s it! He wants a woman who can endure his tyranny, and I failed him with my tears and pain.

I remembered his appearance; he was drinking whiskey heavily, still in his wrinkled clothes from last night. That means he didn’t sleep. Maybe he doesn’t actually want to leave me? Maybe he’s just furious about my lie he sanctifies truth and hates deception.

I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. "I will find a way to get Robert back," I told myself with desperate resolve. "I’ll do the impossible. I’ll endure anything, but I won’t let him go."

I left my room and went to the top floor. I saw Robert emerging from his room in a luxurious black suit that emphasized his cruel aura and powerful build. He was heading toward the office with confident strides that echoed in the hallway. I let him enter, then slipped in after him, my heart thumping like a drum. He sat in his executive leather chair, and I approached the desk, my body shaking and my hands interlaced. "I want to talk to you... please, listen to me," I pleaded.

"From now on," he said coldly, not even bothering to look up from the papers in front of him, as if my presence were worthless, "you will respect the fact that you are merely an employee here. Just an employee to me."

I froze, my eyes widening in shock. Was he really putting all this distance between us? Was he wiping out every intimate moment with the word "employee"? "Robert..." I whispered.

He suddenly shot me a sharp look that felt like a spear through my chest. I quickly corrected myself, terror taking over: "Mr. Robert... I’m trying to explain..."

"I don’t like excessive chatter," he interrupted in a gravelly, final tone that brook no argument. "And I don’t like seeing your face around me during my working hours."

I felt a stab to my pride that made me feel small. "But I’m still your personal assistant," I said with clear anxiety. "My place is to be by your side."

He leaned back in his chair, interlacing his fingers tightly, and gave me a look that sent shivers through my entire body. "No... you aren’t anymore. I have changed your duties."

"What?!" I asked, my mouth hanging open in shock.

He looked at me with pure contempt a look that made my heart stop for a second. He spoke words I hadn’t expected even in my worst nightmares:

"You will become a maid here. A maid in the club. That is your true place, and it’s where you belong."