Josie looked up at him, and though she said nothing, Julian Ford could read her unspoken thoughts.
"I won't drive him away. Don't worry."
He said that, but Josie could still feel the explosive tension crackling between them.
Josie glanced between the two of them and ultimately decided to leave first.
As she passed Cole, she whispered quickly, "I'm going to go. You and Julian need to talk things out calmly."
"Mhm."
Only after getting Cole's assurance did Josie feel at ease enough to leave.
The moment Josie's figure vanished at the stairwell, the air on the balcony seemed to instantly plummet to a freezing point.
Cole was the first to speak. "You're not Cece's brother by blood. You've been targeting me at every turn these past few days, trying every trick in the book to drive me away... Is it because you like her too?"
Julian Ford adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose. The lenses glinted with a cold light, hiding the turbulent emotions in his eyes.
