Page 41 of Julian's Curse

She waved her hand. “The more germs I am exposed to, the better immune system I have. Have you ever heard ofThe Longitude Vitamins? She wiggled her eyebrows.

“Not a chance,” I croaked.

“You should try them, they’ll boost your immunity. I’ve included them in your package.”

I was going to ask her how she’d put everything together so fast, but that was just Sophie. She enjoyed doing nice things for others, so it was no wonder she amassed all this in record time.

“I certainly will. Come on in then,” I opened the door wide for her. While she took her shoes off, I briskly slid into our lower level bedroom, to hide the pregnancy test underneath my pillow. I hoped to make it look like I was making the bed.

“Dad said Julian’s away for quite some time, you didn’t tell me he was going anywhere for this long.” She pondered.

“Oh yeah. It was last minute. You know he always works. Thankfully I am drowning in work too.”

Her eyes bore into me, unyielding. Would she perhaps attribute it to my business? After all, we weren’t spending as much time together anymore.

“Well, once you’re feeling better, do you want to start looking for wedding dresses?” she suggested. But her gaze on me remained intense, and I had a feeling she knew something wasn’t quite right—not just with us, but with me.

I hadn’t thought about our upcoming wedding much. There was a lot of work we needed to before that on our relationship. “Sure, even though I can’t promise I’ll find time right away.” I managed her expectations cautiously.

She fixed me with a look that felt like it was burning right through me. “Lucie, I’ve known you for a year now. And I know something is not okay. Spill the beans, please. What’s wrong?” She pouted her thick lips. She pouted her full lips, this time choosing a brownish hue—clearly a sign she’d gotten a bit more conservative with her color choices since joining real estate.

“Valentina and I aren’t speaking anymore,” I murmured, choosing my smallest issue to mask the deeper ones. “We had a falling out over Bradley.”

She rolled her eyes in disbelief. “Because of tabloid gossip?”

“I think she thinks there’s more, and I wish I could say no. But Val knows we’d almost dated. And it’s created this odd dynamic between all of us.”

“Yeah, you are right. He’s already chosen you. What does Julian think about all this?”

“He was pissed to read the articles. But let’s just say he’s done plenty wrong to give me a break about it.”

“Fair,” she sighed. “He should. But how doyoufeel about all of it?” She stressed the “you” in a way that reminded me she was always in my corner.

“You know, Sophie, I don’t think I ever would’ve chosen Bradley. You and I both know there’s no comparing him to Julian. The love I feel for Julian... it’ssomuch. It’s beautiful, but sometimes, it’s almost too much to bear.”

She made a sad puppy face. “Yeah, you two are destined to be together. We already know that.” She winced.

I couldn’t bring myself to mention the ghost in our closet, not now. “How are you and Mark? Almost moved in?” I steered the conversation away from sore topics.

“We’re doing great, Lucie. For the first time in my life, I feel like things are going remarkably well in my love life. No drama at all. Well, except for Jess.” She rolled her eyes.

“Jess? Has she been in touch recently?” I puckered my brows threateningly.

Sophie nodded. “She’s done something strange. She wrote Mark a letter.”

“What?” I was stunned that she would still try to reach out to him after everything that’s happened. “What could she possibly have to say at this point?” A fierce protectiveness for my friend surged within me.

“To summarize, she professed her love for him once again and then asked him to forgive her and take her back—like I didn’t exist.”

“At this point, she’s delusional,” I remarked, my frustration boiling over.

“Mark is going to put a restraining order on her. We don’t want to give her any more attention. Maybe if she gets a court order, she’ll get the message.”

“Yeah, I hope so.” I was still taken aback by the whole situation. “I never had the impression that she was somanipulative. But maybe she has some serious mental health issues,” I pondered. “Mark should be careful.”

“She got what she deserved,” Sophie said. “I think she’s going to have a tough time finding a job after getting fired from Amanda.”

“Yeah, I’m sure of it.” Teamwork was definitely not Jess’s strength.

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