Chapter 13 - Rain on the Glass
The silence in my old apartment was deafening after months of living in the vast, polished quiet of the penthouse. By Thursday afternoon, the pressure of the press camped outside the building lobby had become too much for the staff downstairs, and I had packed a single duffel bag, convinced that leaving was the only way to shield Julian from further damage. Maya was asleep on the narrow cot in the corner bedroom, exhausted from the sudden move. Outside, a heavy autumn rain lashed against the cracked windowpanes, washing streaks of soot down the dirty glass. I sat at the small laminate kitchen table, staring at my dark modern smartphone. It hadn't stopped buzzing with notifications, anonymous text messages, and missed calls from unknown reporters.
A heavy, urgent knock rattled the wooden apartment door. I froze, my heart leaping into my throat. The reporters had found my address. I crept slowly across the linoleum floor, peering through the small brass peephole in the door. Instead of a camera lens or a flashbulb, the dim hallway light caught the broad shoulders of a dark tailored suit. Julian stood there, drenched from the rain, his white collared shirt soaked through and clinging to his frame. His dark hair was slicked back with water, and his expression was a dark, brooding mask of pure determination.
May you like
I unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open. Before I could say a single word, Julian stepped across the threshold, bringing the crisp, clean scent of rain and cedar into the cramped room. He pushed the heavy wooden door shut behind him with a firm click, locking out the noise of the hallway. "Did you really think you could just pack a bag and disappear from my life?" Julian asked, his chest rising and falling as he caught his breath. Water dripped from the hem of his jacket onto the faded rug, but he didn't seem to notice or care.
"I was protecting you," I said, my voice shaking as tears prickled behind my eyes. "Every headline is tearing your board apart. They're threatening a vote of no confidence." Julian stepped closer, closing the distance between us until I could feel the heat radiating from his wet clothes. He reached out, his large hands cupping my face with a desperate tenderness that shattered every remaining wall I had built. "You are my life, Elena," he murmured fiercely against my hair as he pulled me into his arms. "Not the board, not the company, not the press. You and Maya. We are going back to the penthouse tonight, and we are going to face the charity gala tomorrow night side by side."
