Chapter 23
Chapter 23 Julian Is Jealous
A surge of warmth spread within Annalise as she said, ‘Ms. Tuffin, it’s me who doesn’t want him.”
She was clearly upset when she spoke of Benjamin, but after seeing how her mentor was so concerned about her, she suddenly
thought that Benjamin was not worth mentioning.
When Madeline Tuffin, Annalise’s fifth mentor, heard that it was Annalise who dumped Benjamin, she showed her protective
side, asking, “Is it because you saw the weakness that he had been hiding when you two were dating? You did the right thing.
When it comes to men, we should go by the principle of quality over quantity. You must have high standards. Break up if you
think you two are not suitable to be with each other. You don’t have to hesitate in breaking up with men who make you feel
uncomfortable. End the relationship. immediately. You’re still young and are not in a rush to find a partner. I will help you search
for a man after at few years, and I promise to find you the right man who deserves you.”
“All of you will still think I’m young even after a few years.” Annalise suddenly burst out laughing joyfully.
“No. If you are still single when you are 30, we, as your mentors, will wish for you to get out of our sight.” Annalise roared with
laughter again.
“I will go with you to the charity dinner tomorrow night. Buy anything you like, and we shall shop till we drop,” said Madeline.
“That bastard Benjamin will be there too. I will buy everything he likes so he can’t have any of them. How dare he mistreat
Annalise! He should take a closer look at who is backing her up,” she thought.
“Sure,” Annalise agreed.
“I will wait for you at eight o’clock sharp at the entrance of Hamilton Hotel tomorrow night.”
“Sure, Ms. Tuffin.”
“You’re so heartless. If I hadn’t called you, you wouldn’t even think about calling me, would you? How could you not tell me about
your breakup?” Madeline grumbled.
Knowing that Madeline was concerned about her, Annalise said, “It’s not what you think, Ms. Tuffin. I planned. to go back and tell
you guys in person.”
“All right, I was messing with you. Remember that you’re like our own daughter in our hearts. No parents in this world can stand
someone mistreating their daughters, and the same goes for us. We may not be powerful, but we still have the ability to protect
you. The reason we asked you to keep a low profile and stay low is for your own protection. We don’t create trouble, but when
trouble comes, we’re not afraid to face it.”
“I get it, Ms. Tuffin,” said Annalise, who felt touched and whose eyes reddened.
Knowing how Annalise was feeling, Madeline said, “All right, I will stop nagging you. See you tomorrow night.” She then hung up
the phone.
Right then, Annalise received a message from Julian that read: “I’m sorry. I overslept. Where are you? Have you eaten?”
Seeing that the message was sent just a second ago, Annalise replied: “I am going to.”
Since she was at Palm Rock Cafe and it was lunchtime, she simply ordered some food.
While waiting for the food, she sifted through the surgical cases for the next month.
Julian sent her another message that read: “Where are you? Let’s eat together. Are you at the Barton residence? I’ll come over
right now.”
Annalise wrote: “I’m at Palm Rock Cafe.”
Julian replied: “Okay. Wait for me.”
Annalise’s lips quirked up as she typed: “Okay.”
As Julian was coming over, she decided to order more dishes.
She noticed that Julian liked pork ribs and fish on that day when they had a meal together.
After looking at the menu, she ordered barbecue pork ribs, grilled fish, and a few simple dishes.
Julian showed up just in time when the waiter was serving the food.
Annalise said jokingly, “Such good timing.”
Julian gazed into the depths of Annalise’s eyes. He did not bother to start eating and asked instead, “Did Tony look for you?”
He mentioned Tony’s name immediately.
“Are you a psychic?” Annalise poked fun at him.
“Did he say anything nasty to you?” asked Julian, looking at her with his deep eyes that were filled with a hint of guilt.
“I said some nasty words to him too.”
“Did you piss him off?”
“He exploded!”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
The tensed expression on Julian’s face slightly faded. “That’s good. I’m glad to hear you didn’t get hurt.”
Annalise looked at Julian in disbelief and asked, “Why?”
“It has only been a few days since we met. Does he really care so much for me? Or is he only using me to provoke his father?”
she wondered.
“You’re more important than him in my heart!” exclaimed Julian as he gazed at Annalise deeply.
Annalise’s heart pounded hard against her chest. “It’s the second time he has said those words,” she thought.
“Annalise, let’s give it a try. Who knows if we’re meant for each other?” Julian said, his eyes still fixed on Annalise.
Hearing that, Annalise dared not meet Julian’s eyes. She hastily said, “Let’s eat.” She then picked up the warm towel on the table
to wipe her hands.
The corner of Julian’s lips curled upward. He picked up the towel to wipe his hands as well before casually picking up a shrimp
from the plate, peeling off the shell, and placing it on Annalise’s plate.
“I can do it myself. You should help yourself.”
Annalise swatted her head mentally. “I shouldn’t have ordered the shrimps... But I really love to eat shrimps.”
“I’ll peel every shrimp for you in the future. I’ll peel anything that needs peeling for you,” Julian said.
Annalise wanted to tell Julian that they were in a fake relationship. However, she changed her mind when she recalled Julian
suggesting that they gave it a try.
“He’s right. We should give it a try. What if we are compatible with each other? Benjamin and I are different in many ways. He
expresses his love more through words, while Julian expresses it through actions. Benjamin would not have such good self-
control if the same situation last night happened to him,” she thought.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Julian.
He found her adorable every time he saw her grinning while spacing out.
To Julian, Annalise was an exceptionally gentle person, like the feeling of a feather brushing one’s skin. It felt so pleasant that he
could not describe the feeling with words.
“I must have feelings for her. I wonder what it feels like to love someone? My feelings for her are growing more profound.
Whenever I open my eyes, I think of her Instantly and remember everything about her. My heart flutters whenever I see her too.
Is this love, after all?’ he thought.
“Nothing,” answered Annalise.
Julian peeled another shrimp and placed it on Annalise’s plate as he said, “There will be a charity dinner here tomorrow night.
Are you free? If you are, let’s go and have a look together.”
Back then, Julian did not like to attend crowded events.
However, when he received the invitation card that day and learned that Tony would be attending as well, he wanted to bring
Annalise along.
He wanted everyone to see that Annalise could be as stunning as those wealthy young women when she wore a nightgown.
ed me to the char
“My friend invited me to the charity dinner just a moment ago,” Annalise said.
Julian looked at her intensely, something unfathomable flashing across his eyes.
“No, don’t get me wrong. My friend’s a woman, and she’s older than me,” Annalise hurriedly said when her eyes met his.
As she spoke, she felt annoyed and thought, “We are a fake married couple anyway. Why should I explain myself?”