But the door didn’t open.
Instead, after a long mont, the footsteps retreated. The sound echoed faintly, leaving Nick frozen in place.
He frowned. ’No... Why didn’t she open the door?’
Just then, a sweet voice called out his na. "Nick."
He turned around and stiffened when he saw Maya standing there. He pressed his lips together before speaking.
"What are you doing here?"
Maya smiled softly.
"I couldn’t bear seeing you in so much pain," she said gently. "So I ca."
She reached out, holding his arm, her fingers warm against his sleeve.
"Are you really that desperate to be with Jules?"
Nick remained silent.
Maya leaned closer, her voice lowering.
"I have a way," she whispered. "As long as you let help... Jules will beco yours."
Nick ignored Maya at first, his gaze drifting past her as if she were nothing more than background noise.
That indifference made Maya grit her teeth hard enough that her jaw ached.
’Fine,’ she thought bitterly. ’As long as I say the right thing, he’ll listen.’ n like Nick always did.
She forced a gentle smile onto her face, softening her eyes as she looked at him.
"When you’re ready to trust ," she said quietly, her tone careful and warm, "I’ll help you."
Nick finally looked at her properly.
For a brief mont, sothing flickered in his eyes. Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.
"You know," he said slowly, "sotis I think you resemble Laurie."
Those words hit Maya like a sudden jolt of electricity. Her heart skipped a beat, and her fingers curled unconsciously at her side.
"W-Why would you say that?" she asked, trying to sound calm even as unease crept up her spine.
Nick’s gaze grew distant, as if he were looking through her rather than at her.
"You and Laurie share a similar personality," he replied. "The way you talk. The way you co up with ideas."
A flashback surged through his mind.
Back then, whenever he argued with Jules, Laurie was always there, whispering suggestions into his ear. Clever plans. Provocative tricks. Ways to make Jules jealous. Ways to regain control.
It was true that none of those thods had ever truly won Jules’ heart.
More often than not, Jules would glare at him and say, ’You never know how to make happy. You only know how to hurt when you feel insecure.’
At the ti, Nick used to smile dismissively. He believed he was lucky to have Laurie.
After all, Laurie’s ideas always worked in one way or another.
Jules would get provoked, storm off, and eventually forgive him without him ever having to apologize.
What Nick never realized back then was that every one of those thods planted resentnt.
Now, those old fights had beco skeletons buried deep in the foundation of their relationship.
When he looked back, all he could think was how stupid he had been.
’I even dated other girls just to make her jealous,’ he thought grimly. ’How pathetic was that?’
And yet, he had trusted those ideas simply because Laurie had suggested them.
Now, standing in front of Maya, who had confidently claid she had "a way," he couldn’t help but see Laurie’s shadow overlapping her figure.
He inhaled slowly and looked at her again.
"So," Nick said, his voice low, "what kind of idea do you have?"
Maya swallowed hard.
She had almost suggested sothing bolder, darker, but she stopped herself.
’Not yet.’
If she pushed too far too fast, Nick might finally notice how similar she truly was to Laurie... and that could ruin everything.
So she softened her approach.
"Maybe start small," she said carefully. "Bring her flowers as an apology. Or leave so cute cards at her door. Sothing sweet. Sothing that makes her feel cherished."
The silence that followed was sharp.
Nick’s expression cooled instantly. The faint interest in his eyes vanished.
"That’s it?" he asked flatly. "You can leave."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"I still have things to do," he added. "I’m not interested in thods like that."
Maya’s fingers clenched into tight fists.
She stared at Nick’s turned back, her nails biting into her palms. ’This bastard...’
Then, as anger simred in her chest, a new idea blood in her mind.
This ti, she smirked faintly.
’As long as I use this plan... Nick will be mine. And Jules will have no choice but to step back.’
She lifted her head and spoke again.
"There’s another thod," she said calmly. "This one is solid."
Nick had already started to walk away.
"Leave," he said impatiently.
But Maya didn’t stop.
"There’s a high chance it will work."
Nick paused.
He turned back slowly, suspicion flickering across his face. Though his voice sounded indifferent, his eyes betrayed a hint of interest.
"What is it?" he asked.
Maya knew she had caught his attention.
She stepped closer and lowered her voice, explaining the entire plan in detail.
As Nick listened, his brows furrowed. A sense of hesitation crept into his heart.
The plan was... gray. Dangerous. It would completely ruin Jules’ reputation. It would force her into a corner, leave her furious, humiliated, and with nowhere to turn.
’This is crossing a line,’ he thought.
But then another thought followed.
’She’s always bent eventually.’
He rembered how easily Jules had once given in, how fear and pressure had molded her reactions. His hesitation wavered.
Slowly, he nodded. "I’ll do it," he said.
Maya stared at him, her chest tightening.
A part of her had hoped, foolishly, that Nick would refuse. That he would hesitate for Jules’ sake. That he might still have room in his heart for soone else.
Now she understood.
In Nick’s heart, no one mattered more than Jules.
And that realization made her smile all the more dangerously.
But when Maya thought about it carefully, about how as long as Nick followed her plan she could beco the only one in his heart, she slowly took a deep breath.
The tightness in her chest eased, and a gentle smile curved her lips.
"Then I’ll help you," she said softly. "I’ll get the dicine you need."
Her voice was sweet, almost reassuring, but her eyes held sothing darker beneath the surface.
anwhile, Jules stood frozen inside her apartnt, her heart still racing.
When the knocking finally stopped, the silence felt unreal. She leaned her forehead against the door and released a shaky breath.
’It’s over... for now.’
Just as she thought everything would be fine, her phone rang.
Jules nearly jumped out of her skin, her fingers trembling as if she had been caught doing sothing wrong.
Her gaze dropped to the screen, and the mont she saw the na flashing there, her shoulders sagged in relief.
Lucas.
She pressed the answer button almost imdiately.
On the other end, Lucas’s calm voice flowed through the phone, steady and warm, like a beam of light cutting through her darkness.
"Did you have breakfast?"
Jules forced a smile, even though he couldn’t see it. She rembered how Lucas always reminded her to eat properly.
"I did," she replied softly. "I’m about to continue working on my side hustle."
Lucas smiled on the other end, the sound faint but unmistakable. Then his tone shifted slightly, lowering.
"I saw a case this morning," he said. "It reminded of sothing, so I wanted to tell you."
Jules straightened a little.
"What is it?"
Lucas continued, his voice calm but serious.
"One of my employees has been getting harassed by his ex-girlfriend. She kept creating trouble, manipulating situations, and making everyone misunderstand him. People even started thinking he was a creep."
Jules listened quietly, her fingers curling against the sofa cushion.
"It got so bad," Lucas went on, "that he was almost forced to marry his ex. He even had to break up with his current girlfriend."
Jules’s brows furrowed.
"If it weren’t for his current girlfriend being extrely understanding," Lucas added, "he would’ve been trapped. His ex kept pushing, emotionally blackmailing him, and refusing to let him go."
Jules couldn’t help but let out a small, bitter smile. The situation felt uncomfortably familiar.
Lucas hesitated for a second before continuing.
"I called because I was worried," he said honestly. "I’m afraid your ex might try sothing similar. Especially since he didn’t dare act like that in front of before."
Jules’s legs finally gave out. She slowly collapsed onto the sofa, her back sinking into the cushions. It felt as if a massive weight had been lifted from her chest.
"Lucas..." she whispered. "Would you be angry if I told you sothing?"
There was no pause on the other end.
"I won’t," Lucas replied imdiately, his voice gentle. "As long as you want to share it, I’ll listen. Every word."
Jules closed her eyes and exhaled deeply.
"For so reason," she began shakily, "Nick has been knocking on my door since morning. He keeps insisting that we should et just once, even though I don’t want to see him at all."
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