Chapter 9

The steady rush of water from the bathroom in Rita's apartment stirred a flood of suggestive thoughts.

Standing by the doorway, Rita held out a set of men's pajamas, her cheeks tinged pink as she gave a timid knock. "Julian, I brought you something to wear."

There was a short pause before Julian answered from within, his tone distant, "Just leave them outside the door."

Hearing that, Rita's smile faded, and disappointment flashed in her eyes. She glanced down at the pile of Julian's clothes, carelessly dropped by the bathroom entrance.

His expensive gray suit was marked by a large coffee stain, and his phone had slipped out of the pocket.

A spark of intrigue lit up Rita's eyes. At that moment,the phone buzzed and the screen illuminated. It was a message from Yvonne.

Her pulse quickened as she cast a glance at the bathroom. Moving with care, she reached for his phone. The screen displayed Yvonne's message. "Will you be home tonight? I need to talk to you about something."

To Rita,it was obvious what Yvonne was after; she scoffed at Yvonne's scheme, sure that Yvonne only wanted to lure Julian back to her side.

A faint, mocking laugh slipped from Rita at the thought. She entered the password she'd memorized after casually noticing it a few times when Julian wasn't careful.

Still on edge, afraid Julian might appear at any second,Rita decided not to linger. She hurried to open Yvonne's chat and typed. "I'm busy right now. Don't message me."

She sent the message with a hint of satisfaction,quickly erasing the chat history afterward. Just as she moved to slip the phone back into Julian's suit pocket,the bathroom door suddenly opened

Julian stepped out, catching her red-handed, still holding his phone.

Rita stood there, frozen in place, comforted only by the fact that she'd already wiped the conversation.

He stared at the phone in her hand, a deep frown settling on his face. "What are you doing with that?" Rita avoided his gaze, but her movements were swift as she passed the phone back with a look of feigned innocence. "It slipped to the floor, so I picked it up for you."

Julian accepted the phone and went straight to the chat with Yvonne. The most recent message was his own, asking if she had reached the hospital, but she hadn't responded. Growing annoyed, he locked the phone.

Rita,still wearing a wounded look, handed over the pajamas. "I'm really sorry, Julian. I was so careless with the coffee.Please change into these."

Wrapped in nothing but a towel, Julian's broad shoulders and toned physique caught Rita's hungry stare.

Back when she'd let him go, she never imagined she'd regret it, but seeing him now, successful and striking,she refused to lose her chance again.

While Julian looked at the pajamas, his thoughts drifted. He remembered the way Yvonne's eyes lingered on him when he'd worn something out of his character that morning.

A strange question popped up-was Yvonne feeling jealous? On a sudden whim, Julian reached for his coffee-stained suit and pulled it back on. He looked at Rita and spoke flatly. "Don't worry about it. Since you're fine, I'm heading home."

Rita's hopeful smile faded in an instant. In desperation,she wrapped her arms around his waist. "It's already so late. Can't you stay with me?"

He gave her a stern look, then pulled her hands away with no hesitation. "You've gone too far, Rita."

Frozen in disbelief, Rita could only watch as Julian left the apartment without so much as a glance back.Resentment slowly twisted across her face.

Back when they were still a couple, Julian would never walk away from her like this. Now, though, his patience had clearly run out.

In her mind, all of this was Yvonne's fault.

Moving to the window, Rita stared at Julian's car pulling away, a wicked smile curling her lips. "I underestimated you, Yvonne. But don't get too comfortable. Sooner or later, Julian will be mine,and only mine."