Once a Doormat, Now Untouchable

Chapter 149 Sydney's eyes flicked guiltily to the jacket in Julian's hand. "Alright." Since they'd all been drinking, Marcus had taken a cab, while Sydney arranged for a driver to drive them back. Her afternoon nap had left her wide awake, but Julian-after a few extra glasses with Alan-leaned back and closed his eyes. Liquor and sandalwood clung faintly to him. Sydney usually hated the smell of alcohol on people, yet somehow it wasn't unpleasant on Julian. The car fell into silence.

Sydney turned to the window and watched the city lights flicker past, trying to remember the last time she and Julian had sat together without fighting. Years, at least-so long she couldn't recall. She still carried the weight of that unanswered question: why had he dropped her so easily? 'He... is probably still angry. Angry that I defied him three years ago, marrying Caleb and humiliating him in public. That's why every meeting since our reunion in Storia has been laced with tension,' she thought. "That root was always meant for Mr. Conton." Julian's voice cut into the quiet.

She turned to him. "Wasn't it for Ms. Lindstrom's father...? At the auction, he had said someone wanted it badly, and that he'd be in trouble if he didn't win. Could that someone have been Alan all along? Julian didn't open his eyes. Half-lidded in the passing streetlights, he murmured, "What does her father have to do with me?" That settled it. Charlotte wasn't the woman in his heart. If she were, he would have cared about her family too. 'So

she could speak, the car jerked into a sharp turn and braked hard at the curb. The sudden stop threw her forward, tumbling into Julian's lap. His hand clamped around her waist instantly, and he held her tightly. Her skirt slipped, baring a strip of skin beneath his palm, hot and