Better Late, But Never His Again novel Chapter 53

As Hazel stepped out of the Institute's main entrance after work, she immediately spotted the sleek black Maybach idling by the curb.

Julian was leaning casually against the door, glancing down at his phone before looking up to scan the entrance.

Hazel retracted her gaze and prepared to walk past him. He was obviously there to pick up Evelyn; it had absolutely nothing to do with her.

She had only taken a few steps when urgent footsteps sounded behind her, and a strong hand locked around her wrist.

"Come with me!"

Before she could even process what was happening, Julian dragged her toward the nearby breakroom, his voice an insistent hiss. Hazel stumbled forward, instinctively trying to yank her arm free, but his grip was like an iron vice.

He shoved the breakroom door open and slammed it shut behind them. The room was shrouded in shadows, lit only by the faint glow of the streetlamps filtering through the window.

Hazel finally wrenched her arm free and took a sharp step back. She frowned deeply, her voice dripping with ice. "What is wrong with you?"

Julian grabbed her tightly by the shoulders, his predatory gaze raking over her intensely.

He inspected her face, trailed down to her neck, and checked her wrists, obsessively looking her over several times before finally meeting her eyes again.

His brows were locked in a harsh frown, his lips pressed into a thin line as if he were deeply troubled.

After a long, suffocating silence, he finally spoke. "Are you okay? Did Sean do anything to you?"

Hazel paused, momentarily stunned.

She could actually see genuine tension in his eyes, mixed with a lingering trace of fear.

For a second, a strange sense of nostalgia hit her. How long had it been since he had looked at her with such raw emotion?

He used to look at her like that all the time. Back then, Hazel genuinely believed she was the luckiest woman in the world.

That was, of course, until Evelyn's existence had slapped her right in the face and shattered the illusion entirely.

"No," Hazel lowered her eyes, her voice completely devoid of emotion. "The police arrived in time."

Julian let out a heavy sigh of relief. The rigid tension bled from his shoulders, and his expression softened significantly.

Hazel took two steps backward, putting distance between them as she glared at him with frosty detachment.

"If you truly care about me so much, then you should focus on the person pulling the strings."

She continued, "Evelyn specifically asked to meet me at the back entrance yesterday. But when I got there, I was cornered by Sean Sutton. Julian, unless you're a complete idiot, you know exactly what happened."

Julian's face darkened instantly. "Stop projecting your own malicious intentions onto everyone else. Evelyn isn't like that. She would never intentionally set you up."

Hazel stared at him. Suddenly, she didn't have the energy to argue anymore.

A crushing weight settled over her chest, suffocating the life out of her.

She took a deep breath, fighting past the lump in her throat. "So you're not going to hold her accountable?"

"I am definitely going to press charges against Sean. I won't let him get away with traumatizing you."

Julian's tone was incredibly self-righteous. "But Evelyn is a victim here too. I need you to act rationally and not lose your mind just because of that bastard."