Chapter 440/A Man without feelings
Chapter 440
Julie’s point of view
He tilted his head slightly, staring down at my face before answering in an infuriatingly calm tone:
"What do you want me to say?"
I looked at him in total helplessness and heartbreak, throwing my hands up in defeat.
"Don’t say a damn thing... Just stay silent like that!"
Spinning on my heel, I marched recklessly toward the heavy front door. I yanked open the door of his luxury car, threw myself onto the leather seat, and slammed the door shut with violent force.
A few seconds later, Robert stepped inside, settling effortlessly behind the steering wheel with effortless, dominant elegance. He glanced at me from the side of his sharp face, his patience clearly wearing thin:
"Why all this rage and drama, Julie?"
I snapped my head toward the side window, staring out at the glass as I answered in a cutting, cold tone:
"Take me to my brother."
Robert exhaled a long, defeated breath, muttering under his breath:
"Ah... Jesus help me."
He turned the ignition, and the powerful engine purred to life, gliding us smoothly through the city streets. I stared at the passing buildings behind the tinted glass, my chest burning with a quiet, furious fire. His cursed coldness was pushing my nerves to the point of nausea! Couldn’t he understand that I was a woman who desperately needed to hear a warm word? Needed to hear that he missed me too?! How did he spend four entire years without me?! Did it never cross his mind, even for a split second, to just say "I love you too, Julie"?!
His deep voice shattered my burning train of thought as he eased off the accelerator:
"There’s a store right here. Let’s get you some clothes."
I didn’t answer, nor did I look at him.
The car glided to a halt, and he stepped out to open my door. We entered the boutique looking like a bizarre, pathetic sight him carved in an expensive, perfectly tailored suit, and me barefoot beside him, wearing thin, rumpled pajamas!
The store clerk greeted us with a stammering welcome, her stunned eyes darting nervously between the two of us.
Robert gestured dryly toward the racks.
"Pick something out," he instructed the clerk.
I ignored his presence entirely, stomping toward the pants section.
Pulling out a pair of black trousers, my eyes caught the price tag an astronomical figure that cost as much as a kidney! I grabbed a soft pink blouse to match, along with a pair of white sneakers, and headed straight for the dressing room.
Changing quickly, I stepped out while adjusting the collar of the blouse, saying flatly:
"This works."
Robert brushed past me quietly toward the counter, pulling out his card to pay the exorbitant amount without so much as an eyelash flickering. We stepped back out to the car, and as he held the door open, he spoke in a businesslike tone:
"Tomorrow, you’re going shopping to buy everything else you need."
I didn’t offer a reply.
We got back into the car, driving for several long minutes until the vehicle came to a stop before a massive estate surrounded by soaring security walls.
I stepped out instantly, taking in the heavily armed guards stationed at the wrought-iron gates. The moment they recognized Robert behind me, they snapped to attention with tense deference, immediately swinging the heavy steel gates open.
I sprinted toward the main entrance, my heart squeezing in my chest as I called out at the top of my lungs:
"Steve!... Steve!"
The door to one of the inner rooms snapped open, and Steve’s stunned figure appeared in the threshold. His eyes dilated in sheer disbelief.
"Julie?!" he gasped.
I launched myself at him with all the strength left in my body, jumping straight into his arms. He lifted me off my feet desperately, and I locked my arms around his neck like a vise, letting out a choked laugh buried in tears:
"I missed you so much!... Are you okay?!"
He tightened his grip around my back, reassuring me instantly:
"I’m fine... Are you okay, little sister?"
A sharp, deliberate throat-clearing echoed across the foyer. Robert’s deep, authoritative voice cut through the air behind us like a blade:
"That’s enough... Get down."
I froze in absolute shock. Was he seriously commanding me to step out of my own brother’s embrace?!
Steve snapped his head up, his warm expression instantly hardening into a black, murderous glare as he spotted Robert leaning against the doorway.
"You bastard!" Steve spat with pure venom.
Setting my feet back on the floor, Steve surged forward, his fist balled to strike Robert square in the face.
I lunged between them in a split-second reflex, planting both palms firmly against Steve’s chest to hold him back with everything I had.
"We made up!..." I screamed desperately: "...Steve, we made up!"
Steve stopped dead in his tracks, staring down at me with wide, uncomprehending eyes.
"What?!" he breathed out.
I swallowed hard, confirming frantically:
"We’re good now, Steve. We made up!"
His eyebrows pulled together in rising anger and heartbreak.
"He hurt you, Julie!..." he yelled, his voice cracking: "...Have you forgotten everything he put us through?!"
I shook my head violently, clutching his hand tight.
"It was just a misunderstanding!... All of it!"
Steve searched my eyes with intense, ruthless scrutiny.
"Are you lying to me?" he demanded.
"I’m not lying..." I answered firmly, looking right into his eyes: "...I’m telling you the complete truth."
Steve exhaled a ragged, disoriented breath.
"Are you sure about this, Julie?"
I offered a soft, fragile smile, lacing my fingers through his.
"Yes, Steve..." I said clearly. "...I love Robert. And he proposed to me today."
I raised my left hand proudly before his face, flashing the brilliant green emerald gleaming on my ring finger.
Steve’s eyes locked onto the green stone, his lips parting in total, paralyzing shock.
"I... I don’t even know what the hell to say!" he stammered out.
"Say congratulations!" I urged with a warm smile.
Steve let out a heavy, defeated sigh, uttering flatly:
"Congratulations, Julie..."
Slowly, his dark gaze shifted past my shoulder, locking onto Robert, who stood behind me with absolute composure.
"And does he know..." Steve asked casually, "...about Ethan?"
Terror seized my chest, paralyzing every nerve in my body!
(Oh, my God... Steve is going to ruin everything! He’s going to blow my lie sky-high!)
𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
"We can talk about this later, Steve!" I panicked, shouting in total disarray to cut him off.
But Robert’s deep, steady voice rumbled behind me, solid as stone:
"Yes. I know."
Steve shook his head solemnly, delivering a devastating sentence that brought the gates of hell crashing directly over my head:
"My deepest condolences, man."
Robert’s icy pupils dilated in sharp, severe shock. He lowered his head toward Steve, his gaze shifting into a lethal threat as a razor-sharp hiss cut through the dead air of the room:
"What the fuck do you mean... condolences?!"