Chapter 4

Over the next few days, word about Zayn dating Megan spread like wildfire across campus. Now, everyone knew the talented dancer was dating the successor of the Peyton family. Zayn treated her like a queen, buying her all sorts of luxury bags, giving her money to spend, attending classes with her, and taking her out on fancy dates. This drew envious looks from onlookers, but it also directed mocking whispers toward Julie. Julie ignored them and carried on with her life, but unfortunately, the rumors eventually reached her mother's ears. She was in the middle of searching for jobs in Nordenburgh when her mother called. "Hey, Mom–" she began but was immediately cut off by a barrage of sharp questions. "What's going on between you and Zayn? You'd better not ruin our partnership, or you'll be dead meat!" Julie sighed tiredly. "Mom, he likes someone else now, so we've broken up." "You should be used to it by now. Just suck up to him like usual." Tightening her grip on her phone, Julie felt a lump in her throat and an ache in her chest. After a sigh, she murmured, "Mom, it's different this time. Things really are over between us." "You useless piece of shit! How could you lose him? I don't care how you do it. Grovel if you have to, but just—" Julie's heart ached, and she cut her mother off mid-rant, "Mom, I'm planning to move to Nordenburgh–" Her mother's sharp voice pierced through before she could finish her sentence. "Move? Don't even think about getting rid of us! You're never leaving this family. You owe–" Julie hung up without another word. She didn't need to hear the rest. She already knew what her mother was going to say. Ever since the accident that left her father in a coma, she knew she would have to shoulder the burden of her family for the rest of her life. "Julie, what's going on with you and Zayn? He's been parading around campus with Megan lately," her roommate, Amaya Shaw, asked while applying eyeliner in front of a mirror. Putting her phone away, Julie replied, "We broke up." Amaya smirked. "How many days will you hold out this time?" Julie choked. As her close friend, Amaya knew all too well about her and Zayn's messy history. In the beginning, Amaya even advised her to leave Zayn, but when Julie kept going back, she eventually stopped trying. "It's real this time. I'm done with him." Amaya didn't seem convinced. Grabbing her bag and changing her shoes, she said, "If you say so. I've got a few interviews lined up today, so I'll catch you later." … On Saturday, Julie's mother called again and ordered her to attend a banquet the Peyton family was hosting that afternoon. She knew this was her mother's way of giving her a last chance to patch things up with Zayn. Julie didn't expect to bump into Megan at the banquet. Seeing how Zayn was even bringing Megan to meet his parents, he had to be serious about this relationship. Julie was going to quietly leave after greeting the Peyton family's elders, but Zayn brought Megan over and stopped her in her tracks. "Didn't you say you were leaving Harbor City for good? What are you doing here, then?" Zayn sneered disdainfully. Before she could reply, Megan beamed and grabbed her hand. "You don't mind me dating Zay-Zay, do you, Julie?" Julie ignored her and simply smiled at Zayn. "Congrats." His expression darkened. This wasn't the reaction he had expected from her. He didn't understand why she wasn't begging him not to leave yet. Her calm attitude only made him more frustrated. "She has no right to mind when we're nothing to each other! Ugh, the sight of her makes me sick." With that, he turned to leave, holding Megan's hand. Megan sweetly said, "Zay-Zay, why don't you go ahead first? I want to talk to Julie." Annoyed, Zayn waved and walked off. The moment he was out of sight, Megan dropped the fake smile. She waved her hand to show off the sparkling diamond bracelet on her wrist. "See this, Julie? Zay-Zay got it for me." Julie paused before smiling when she saw the bracelet. "It is pretty." "Isn't it? I just love it! He had it custom-made for me," Megan said. "I heard he never bought you anything in all the years you two were together. Is that true?" Julie looked away without replying. Megan wasn't wrong. Zayn had never spent a dime on her for the past three years. She supposed that counted as a good thing since it saved her a lot of trouble. Mistaking her silence for sadness, Megan's smile turned even more smug. "You can tell that he loves me, can't you? So, stay away from him from now on." Julie lifted her head to look at Megan and nodded. Megan leaned in close and whispered, "I could use a favor from you to truly put an end to things between you two." Julie stared at her intently. "What kind of favor are we talking about?" Megan glanced at the pool behind her and smiled. "I wonder how Zay-Zay would react if he saw you push me into the water? He knows I can't swim—" Before she could finish her sentence, Julie sent her flying into the water with a solid kick. There was a loud splash before Megan started flailing and squealing. "Help! I-I can't swim!" Julie calmly watched as Megan struggled. With a small smile, she said, "If I'm going to have to take the blame anyway, I might as well do it myself. At least this way, I don't have to hold back." After all, someone did tell her not to keep her anger to herself because of others. People rushed over upon hearing the commotion, and Julie saw a figure leap into the water. Zayn pulled Megan out of the pool and quickly wrapped his jacket around her shoulders. He glared at Julie, his voice dripping with ice. "How could you be so cruel, Julie? She can't swim, yet you pushed her in!" Julie calmly met his gaze and replied, "She was the one who asked me to do it. She wanted to make sure things were truly over between us, so I simply did what she asked." Zayn froze, notably taken aback by her words. Megan, on the other hand, panicked. With tears pouring down her face, she stammered, "I-I wouldn't do that." Zayn scowled. "Apologize to my girlfriend right this instant." The tension in the air slowly rose. Megan played the part of the startled victim perfectly, clutching Zayn's arm as she whispered, "Forget it, Zay-Zay. I'm sure she didn't mean to." He sneered, "You're too nice, Meg." Turning back to Julie, he growled, "Apologize now, or don't blame me for what happens next." Julie met his frightfully icy glare without fear. "Like I said, she asked for it. So, why should I apologize?" "Are you fucking deaf? I told you to apologize!" he roared. Before anyone could react, a playful voice cut through the tense air. "Wow, what's with the crowd? A town hall meeting?" Julie's breath hitched when she heard this familiar voice, her eyes widening in shock. She turned around stiffly and watched as a man walked over. The bright light shining behind him made it hard to make out his features, but she could hear people in the crowd murmuring. "When did the youngest son of the Fuller family return?" "He's probably here to take over the family business." "Yeah, I heard that his father is handing over everything to him." Amidst the whispers, the man drew closer step by step until he stood right in front of Julie.