Chapter 84
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84
Late that night, just as I’d fallen asleep, a loud, insistant banging of my door wit
After Irvin repeatedly figured out the new door codes 1 keys change, 1 installed an uttendecente odle of og for Now, once I was home, no one could get in with my permission
“Emilia, open the door!”
Hearing Irvin’s voice, I sighed and sat back down on the couch.
I didn’t need to guess why he was here. Julianne must’ve woken up and now that he had the fine and energy, he’d come to confront me.
I wasn’t stupid. There was no way I was opening the door for somehow who came to pick a fight
I figured he’d bang on the door for a while, lose his temper, and then leave. After all, tonight had been a disaster for his precious Julianne. He’d have plenty to do–cleaning up the mess, soothing her, and playing the perfect doting protector Surely, be wouldn’t waste too much time on me .
But I underestimated him .
“Emilia, I know you’re in there. Open the door, or I’ll have someone take it off its hinges!”
Irvin’s threat was delivered with a level of authority that made it clear he wasn’t bluffing
I was left with no choice, so I went to the door and partially unlocked it. I only opened it a crack, keeping the chain lock engaged, like the ones they use in hotels.
When he saw me guarding the door like that, his face darkened.
Without a word, he grabbed the chain lock and snapped it clean off with one sharp tug
I froze, staring wide–eyed.
What kind of person had that kind of strength? That was mad.
Before I could react, he grabbed me and scooped me into his arms like I weighed nothing. He carried me out of the apartment without hesitation.
I wanted to struggle, but after seeing how easily he broke that chain lock, I didn’t dare.
Once we were in the car, his anger had cooled a little, but his frustration was still simmering beneath the surface.
“I know,” he started, his tone clipped, “Julianne was wrong to throw the teapot at you. But you’re strong. You can handle it. Do you have any idea how fragile she is? She just got out of the hospital yesterday. If that plate had hit her, how much damage could it have done?”
I stared at him, surprised. I’d assumed he was furious about the news I’d spread regarding Julianne and his father. I thought he’d drag me out of bed to yell at me for exposing her secrets.
But no–he was here to lecture me about hitting Julianne? Was he seriously not aware of what else had happened? Had Julianne kept that part from him?
That didn’t make sense.
“Regardless,” he continued, “you’re going to apologize to Julianne for what you did, and you’re going romise never to lay a hand on her again.”
At that, my anger flared.
“Apologize?” I snapped. “Apologize for what? For defending myself? She started this whole mess! She came after me, she threatened Mr. Holland, and she threw a teapot at me! And you think I’m supposed just to stand there and take it because she’s ‘
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fragile‘? Is that how this works? ”
His jaw tightened as if he was about to lose his temper, but when he met my cold, unyielding gaze, he seemed to catch himself
Irvin pulled at his tie, his frustration evident.
“I know,” he said, almost like a reluctant confession. “I know Julianne has done some things that are out of line. But that’s because of the way you hurt her in the past.”
I stared at him, stunned into silence.
“Emilia, you can’t act like you’re blameless. After everything you’ve done, you can’t expect to get away with no consequences. Just because I can’t bring myself to be cruel to you doesn’t mean you can act without limits.”
“What?”
I was so baffled I couldn’t even process what he was saying. What had I done to hurt Julianne? And how did he have the audacity to accuse me of taking advantage of his kindness?
I was about to demand answers, but his phone rang, cutting me off
Whatever the person on the other end said caused his expression to shift dramatically. His face paled, then hardened with urgency.
“I’ll be right there,” he said, hanging up abruptly.
Without another word, he slammed his foot on the gas, the car lurching forward as he sped off.
The reckless speed made my heart race. I gripped the seat, too terrified to speak. One wrong move, and I’d be frozen in this winter night for eternity.