Feeling helpless, Aurora had no choice but to answer the call.
“Hello.” She felt that she couldn’t be as composed in front of Julian as she was with Hayden.
“Where are you?” Julian’s deep voice came through.
At that moment, he was standing outside Aurora’s villa. It was not even nine o’clock yet. She had no reason to be asleep so early.
The house was pitch dark. Obviously, no one was home. Given her previous habits of working until midnight without fatigue, he found it unlikely she would be asleep so early. Julian, finding the house empty, felt an emptiness in his heart.
“I’m at a hotel,” Aurora confessed, fearing the repercussions of lying to Julian.
“What? Why? Is there something wrong with your new home?” Julian asked, relieved she hadn’t lied.
Aurora glanced around the pink, girlish room and replied softly, “I still need some things for the new house, and the hotel is more convenient. Where are you?”
“Outside your house,” Julian answered honestly.
“What are you doing out there?” Aurora was taken aback.
Julian, detecting the surprise in her voice, felt somewhat helpless. He had been drinking and suddenly felt a strong desire to see her, even if just for a moment.
He had his chauffeur take him here, only to find she wasn’t home. The cool sea breeze helped sober him up a bit.
“Nothing. I just wanted to see you. It’s getting late. Go to bed early and don’t work too late,” he said with concern.
Aurora, who initially felt nothing, was unexpectedly touched by his words.
He didn’t say much, only that he wanted to see her, and she remembered years ago, adrift in the ocean.
Back then, he had smiled at her from a piece of driftwood during a thunderstorm.
She bit her lip. “Why do you want to see me?”
“I don’t know. I just suddenly felt the urge.” Julian didn’t understand why he felt such a strong desire to see her.
Perhaps it was because she had disappeared for three years and had only recently reappeared in his life, causing him to fear losing her again.
Because he missed her, he wanted to see her.
“Alright, I’m at the Grand Belcourt. Wait for me at the entrance. I’ll be down in half an hour,” Aurora said as she threw back the covers.
She had planned to spend the night there, but upon hearing Julian’s wish to see her, she changed her mind. She seemed to want to see him too.
“Okay.” Julian hung up happily and quickly got into the car. “To the Grand Belcourt.”
“Yes,” the chauffeur saw his mood lift, which was good for him.
An irritable Julian in the car was like a ticking bomb, ready to explode at any moment.
Only twenty minutes had passed when the car stopped outside the Grand Belcourt. “I’m here. You can come down now.”
Aurora checked her watch. Julian arrived earlier than planned. Clearly, he had urged the chauffeur to speed up.
“Okay, I’ll be there right away,” she said, already prepared and slowly leaving with her handbag.
She didn’t inform Hayden, quietly closing the door behind her. Her presence tonight was merely to ensure Susan saw her.
As the elevator slowly descended, her heart began to flutter slightly.
Julian leaned against the car and hung up the phone, unexpectedly delighted.
Three minutes later, Aurora appeared at the door, walking elegantly. The night breeze lifted her skirt, revealing her long, straight legs as she adjusted her hair, a blend of elegance and allure. Julian approached her, saying, “I missed you.” With that, he embraced her.
Smelling the faint scent of red wine on him, she pushed him away. “Have you been drinking?”
“I have, but I’m not drunk. I really missed you,” he replied, his eyes clear. His words made Aurora flustered slightly.
“Come walk with me,” he suggested.
“Alright.” Julian wanted nothing more than to be with her, indifferent to the specifics.
The Grand Belcourt was located by the seaside, which was bustling at this hour with many open-air barbecues. Couples strolled and groups of people gathered to enjoy the seaside grills.
“I’m a bit hungry. Let’s have some barbecue,” Aurora said, having barely eaten at the restaurant earlier.
“Sure,” he agreed readily, surprising Aurora who thought a young master like him would never fancy street food.
They chose a less crowded stall where Julian casually ordered a heap of food and some beers.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Julian met Aurora’s inquisitive gaze.
“It’s just odd, considering your status, to be eating at these roadside stalls and drinking beer,” she remarked, used to seeing him with aged wines.
Laughing lightly, Julian responded, “Aren’t you also the noble daughter of the Montgomery family? If you can sit down here, why can’t I?”
Julian didn’t elaborate, but his ease hinted it wasn’t his first time. Aurora realized that not only she had secrets and a past. Everyone had their own stories.
Her curiosity about his past piqued suddenly. As the deliciously grilled seafood was served, Aurora popped open a beer.
“I’m happy today. Cheers,” she declared, clinking her bottle against Julian’s.
Julian was taken aback by her boldness. “Will you share what’s making you happy with me?”
“No, I won’t tell you,” Aurora teased, downing a third of the bottle in one gulp.
Julian also took a sip, then suddenly remembered a thing. “You shouldn’t be drinking something cold. You’re still on your period.”
He snatched the bottle from Aurora, though she was particularly keen to drink that evening.
“Just a bit more, please?” she pleaded, seemingly unaware of her own compliance.
Not wanting to spoil the mood, Julian reluctantly agreed, “Alright, just a little.”
“No problem.” Aurora sipped her beer tenderly.
Her mood was much lighter than before, and she started to share random childhood stories with Julian, deliberately omitting Hayden and her three years in America, perhaps instinctively avoiding those unhappy memories.