Chapter 8

It was nighttime. At the entrance of the university, Megan begged Zayn, "Zayn, what I did today was wrong. Please don't be mad." The rims of Megan's eyes were red. With a helpless look on her face, she held Zayn back by his arm. Ever since they left Peyton Residence, Zayn had looked upset the entire way. Even though he offered to send her back to the university, he did not speak to her at all. Zayn pried Megan's hand off of his arm. With a poker face, he said, "Let's break up, Megan. Don't ever show up in front of me again." His words hurt so much that the tears welling in Megan's eyes instantly rolled down her cheeks. Her lips trembled as she asked, "W-Why?" He sneered coldly, "Who do you think you are? What made you think you could plot against Julie?" Megan's expression went frigid. Zayn was breaking up with her for Julie? Didn't he hate her a lot? Zayn ignored her and just went back into his car. Without a second's delay, his red car sped off into the road loudly. While he was driving, he pulled out his phone to make a phone call. "Hans, get the boys. Let's go for a drink." Hans chuckled and teased, "Aren't you sending your girlfriend home? Why are you still in the mood for a drink?" Feeling mildly irritated, Zayn said, "Are you coming? Forget it if you're not." "You bet I am! Prince Peyton has summoned me, so I must go." Half an hour later, Zayn showed up in the VIP room. Hans was a little surprised to see Zayn coming alone. "Huh? Where's your girlfriend?" "Got sick of her." Zayn walked farther into the room. Hans was stunned at his response. "Already? It hasn't even been that long!" When the other guys heard it, they began teasing him. "Girlfriends may come and go, but Julie is forever." Zayn sunk into the couch, feeling a little frustrated. He lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth. Hans looked at Zayn with a puzzled expression. He could not understand. It was obvious that Zayn cared about Julie, but he just kept hurting her over and over. No matter how much Julie liked him, she would not be able to hold out for much longer if he continued hurting her. Hans walked over to his side and sat down. Then, he probed cautiously, "Zayn, why don't you give Julie a call?" Zayn refused to. In a languid tone, he asked, "Why should I give her a call?" Hans paused for a moment before quickly giving him a thumbs-up. "You're the man, bro. Just keep at it and don't look back, or Julie's gonna glue herself back to you." Zayn said haughtily, "What's there to look back at? Is she a goddess or something? Hah." What he spouted could not be further from his true feelings because his gaze still went to his phone that he had placed on the table. As a roommate and close friend of Zayn, Hans knew how Zayn really felt on the inside. Classic Zayn, forever as stubborn as a mule. Hans then took it upon himself and grabbed Zayn's phone without asking. When Zayn saw what he did, he asked right away, "What do you think you're doing with my phone?" "I'm calling Julie to invite her over." Zayn looked annoyed. "What for? Just looking at her makes me frustrated." He was just all talk because he did not stop Hans from calling her. Hans found Julie's contact and immediately called her. He heard the dial tone once before it went straight to voicemail. "I'm sorry. The number you have dialed is unavailable. Please try again later." Hans was a little confused. "Huh? Why can't it get through? Did she block you?" Zayn was fine before Hans said anything. After hearing the words, his expression turned sullen. He snatched the phone from Hans. After learning that his call was rejected, his tone went cold. "Who said you could fucking touch my phone?" Hans was momentarily stunned. "I was just trying to help you." "And that grand idea was to make me feel repulsed by using my phone to call her? Don't you know that I hate her a lot?" Hans did not know what to say. Fine. Zayn could do whatever he wanted. Hans just hoped he wouldn't regret it later. When Hans did not respond, Zayn suddenly became angry and slammed the glass he was holding to the ground. "Listen carefully. If anyone contacts Julie from now on, it'll be the end of our friendship." There was the loud sound of glass shattering as glass shards scattered all over the floor. Some of them even hit Zayn on the cheek, but he seemed not to have noticed. Silence took over the entire room, and nobody dared to make a sound. Zayn coldly demanded, "Speak! Or is every one of you suddenly deaf?" All of the guys nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes. We heard you." Zayn stood up irritably, picked up his coat, and slammed the door behind him. One of the guys came over to Hans. "Hans, how deep is Zayn's hatred toward Julie?" Hans just shrugged. "Who knows?" "Julie's actually pretty great. She's pretty and has a good figure and temper. Most importantly, she likes Zayn. It's just too bad…" Hans did not chime in. The guy continued, "For the past few years, we've all seen how well Julie's been treating Zayn. I remember there was once when Zayn got injured. It was just a minor wound, yet Julie was very heartbroken about it." "Tell me about it. I remember another time when Zayn drank too much and Julie took care of him the entire night. She even made hangover tea and oatmeal for him." "If I had such a beautiful and caring girlfriend, I'd be very happy." Zayn was standing by the door. When he heard their conversation, he grew even more irritable. They were not helping at all. What was the use in saying these things now? Now that he had already broken up with her, they began to praise her. Zayn was sitting inside his car, still feeling depressed. It had been a week. Not only did Julie not contact him, but she had even blocked his number. She had gotten bold. He wanted to see how long she could last. He made a resolution not to give in when she came to beg him. He wanted to teach her a lesson. Zayn drove home. He froze momentarily when he saw his mother sitting in the living room. "Mom." After briefly glancing at him, Martha just went straight to the point, saying, "I don't like that girl, Megan." Zayn sneered before sarcastically saying, "You'll never accept anyone I like." Instantly, Martha's expression darkened. "I'm just looking out for you." In a mocking tone, Zayn said, "I know. That's why I broke up with her. I bet you're happy now, huh? For some weird ass reason, you're never satisfied with whoever I like. I'm just an ordinary person. I'm not some freaking prince, and you're not the queen." Martha said coldly, "I think you've had a lot to drink. Doris, get the hangover tea for Zayn so that he can sober up." "I didn't drink that much." Martha seemed to have missed what he said as she continued speaking, "I've already made an appointment with the blind date I mentioned to you previously. I'd like you to go meet her tomorrow." Zayn was already in a sour mood before, so when he heard about the arrangement, he completely exploded with rage. He raised his leg and kicked the flower vase violently next to the elevator door. "During my senior year, you said you'd like me to join the company. I did as you said and even took up Finance Management at university. "I've graduated and joined the company, and now, you're asking me to pursue a career in politics to keep me under a tight rein. You just want me to be your puppet, asking me to break up or go on blind dates whenever you say so. I'm a human being, not your property!" He finished off his last sentence with a roar. Martha was startled by Zayn's sudden outburst. Nevertheless, with decades of training as a noble lady, she managed to remain elegant and sophisticated until the end. "What's wrong with getting into a marriage with the Fuller family? Why? It can't be that you're still hung up on that gold digger, Julie?" Zayn pursed his lips and said nothing. Martha continued, "You'd better not forget the reason why Julie stayed by your side." Zayn bellowed, "Isn't it for the money? Well, it's too bad I'm loaded!" He entered the elevator immediately after shouting. Zayn lay on his bed, feeling discomfort all over his body. He felt his eyes sting a little. "Jules, my stomach hurts," Zayn whispered. He stretched his hand out to massage his aching stomach and dialed Julia's number unknowingly.