Chapter 271

“I didn’t say any of those things,” Julian said, after I explained exactly what Bridget had told me. “And I have no idea why Bridget would say I did.”

I didn’t either, though I had some guesses, none of them very favorable to Bridget.

“I guess I should tell you what actually happened, or you might not believe me,” he said with a self-deprecating kind of chuckle.

He didn’t have to, exactly. I could see now, just from the way he was talking about it with me, that whatever Bridget had said happened was mostly untrue. At least, the parts where he had said those terrible things about me.

It was much easier to believe that Julian had confessed his love and Bridget rejected it. I wouldn’t assume though. Julian could tell me the truth, if and when he was ready.

“I’m just worried about you,” I said. “You’ve acted so strangely today. I don’t even recognize you.”

“I guess there’s a reason for that.” Julian looked down as if ashamed. “It happened again.”

I blinked, confused. “What happened again?”

He glanced to the side now, unable to meet my gaze. “I confessed my feelings for Bridget. I told her she is the only woman I’ve ever loved. I thought if I told her the truth, she might come clean with her own feelings, one way or another.”

“You thought she might reciprocate?” I asked.

“I’ve been so confused since her arrival. Yes, she’s given Nicholas more attention, but she hasn’t ignored me. Nicholas clearly doesn’t feel for her as I do. I thought if I told her my feelings, as well as made clear that Nicholas wouldn’t care for her as I do, that she would see the light.”

That didn’t seem like a very good plan to me, an outsider. But as an objective third party, I didn’t have my feelings tangled as Julian did. My heart wasn’t on the line like his was.

I could see the writing on the wall from a mile away, but that didn’t diminish the heartache I felt for Julian now. While I wasn’t certain their love was genuine, whatever Julian felt hurt him. And I’m sorry that he couldn’t have the dream he wanted.

“She rejected you,” I said. “You’ll need time, but –”

“No,” Julian said. “That’s the thing. She didn’t.”

My thoughts came to an abrupt halt. Of all the things I had expected him to say, that hadn’t been one of them. It took a long time for my brain to restart, like I was a computer that needed rebooted.

“She… Wait.” Even with my brain coming back online, I remained confused for a few minutes longer. “She didn’t?”

“She reciprocated,” Julian said. He pushed a hand through his hair. His face crinkled in his own uncertainty. “It was just like it was all those years ago. She told me she felt the same. She was glad that I came forward. We spent all night together, kissing and talking.”

“But…” Why was she acting that way with Nicholas today if she had spent all night kissing Julian? If she returned Julian’s long-lasting love? None of this made sense. But then I realized what Julian had said, It happened again.

Oh. Oh, no. “She didn’t,” I said.

“She did,” Julian said. His eyes met mine again, and there was a hint of sadness within them.

He didn’t usually show his emotions this blatantly. To show them here, to me, meant one of two things, or a combination of them. One, that he trusted me. Two, Bridget had totally broken him inside.

“In the morning, with the light of the rising sun, her entire story changed,” Julian said. “She told me that she was mistaken, or that I had heard her wrong. She said last night was fun, but that was all it was.”

He cleared his throat. I knew his next words would be particularly painful. Nothing left Julian speechless.

“She told me Nicholas was the only one for her.”

My heart cracked down the middle, just as my stomach churned. I ached for Julian’s pain, while my wolf stirred within me, jealousy raging.

“I’m sorry,” I told him.

“I shouldn’t feel so surprised,” Julian said. Both sets of fingers combed through his hair this time. “It was so similar to last time, I thought perhaps for a moment that I was trapped in some kind of curse.”

The curse had a name: Bridget.

“I feel so uncertain. So… confused. Heartbroken. I don’t understand.” Julian began to ramble his words, another action so unlike him. “I hate feeling this way. I’m always so sure. But I don’t understand. Piper, help me understand.”

He looked at me and the intensity in his gaze gave me pause.

“Why would she change her mind so quickly?” he asked.

He wanted an honest answer, but I held myself back. To tell him what I honestly thought would be to blatantly badmouth the woman he loved. And though I certainly thought her deserving of it, I wasn’t so certain that Julian was ready to hear the words.

The truth of it was, I thought Bridget knew from the start which of the two brothers she had desired, and merely strung Julian along. What I didn’t know was why?

It could be something simple. Julian was a handsome man, and very charismatic. He was so clearly in love with Bridget, or what he thought was love. It would be so easy to pretend for a while, simply to make out with someone handsome.

But. She was an ultra-beautiful movie star. She could have anyone she wanted: movie actors, musicians… anyone. Why mess around with Julian at all?

A dark voice whispered in my mind, she’s doing it to mess with you. But how could that be true? I wasn’t even around when they were younger.

“I don’t know, Julian,” I said. I wouldn’t badmouth Bridget for his sake, but I would tell him the truth of what I felt for him. That felt safer, and maybe was more of what he needed to hear anyway. “But I do know that you deserve better. True love doesn’t play these games.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anymore. For it to happen twice…”

“I don’t know what she told you last night, and I don’t want to know. It’s none of my business. But she’s not treating you right, Julian. That I promise you.”

Julian sighed loud and low. “I know that, Piper. You think I don’t know that? But I’m in love with her! What am I supposed to do?”

“Have you tried not being in love with her?” I asked. His defeated tone was triggering my own impatience. “You know she treats you bad, and you are allowing it. You are enabling it, Julian! How can you continue to love her?”

“I don’t know, okay? I don’t know…”

I didn’t know what else to do or say, and he didn’t know either. We both turned back to the railing and looked up at the stars.

“I’m sorry,” I said again, in the quiet of the night.

“Me, too,” he said.

And though Julian’s heart was breaking, things between us felt whole again.

After leaving Julian, I couldn’t wait to see Nicholas, so I rushed to his room. I walked so quickly, I was nearly running, but it was midnight now. Most everyone had retired. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself so I had to move slowly.

At his door, I knocked lightly. I heard shuffling within.

After a moment, the door opened slightly, and Nicholas’s face appeared.

His face was drawn, seeing me.

“Go back to your room, Piper,” he said, and closed the door in my face.