- 1 week ago
Category
🦄
CreativityTranscript
00:02Julian Vance, the city's most powerful heir, added both me and my roommate online.
00:07He was sweet to me but cold to Sienna, the campus beauty.
00:11She looked upset.
00:13I thought Julian wanted me.
00:15But he added us just to chase you?
00:17I was thrilled.
00:19Julian and I dated online for two months.
00:21But when we finally met, he frowned at me.
00:24Why is it you?
00:26For two months, Julian Vance had been sexting me every night.
00:31Show me your body.
00:32He wrote after sending me yet another photo of his abs.
00:35I hesitated before taking off my oversized hoodie.
00:39On campus, I hid my curve beneath baggy sweaters and thrift store skirts.
00:44Being invisible hurt less than being stared at and laughed at.
00:47But behind a screen, I could choose what Julian saw.
00:51I photographed the most flattering angle of my body,
00:54carefully leaving my face outside the frame.
00:57Didn't know you liked such cute underwear.
00:59He replied.
01:00Can't wait to see you.
01:02Then, after two months, we finally met.
01:06Julian stood beside his car near the campus quad.
01:09I had spent an hour choosing what to wear,
01:11only to lose my nerve and hide inside my usual shapeless hoodie.
01:15The moment he saw me, his smile disappeared.
01:19He frowned.
01:20Why is it you?
01:21My heart dropped.
01:23Julian looked at me again,
01:24as if hoping I might somehow turn into someone else.
01:27I thought this was Sienna's account.
01:28For two months, he had mistaken me for my roommate.
01:32You're the scholarship student, right?
01:34He rubbed his forehead.
01:35I must have mixed up your accounts at the party.
01:37Then he pulled out his phone.
01:39Why don't you go home first?
01:40I'll message you later.
01:42I swallowed the ache in my throat.
01:44Okay.
01:46Back at the dorm, I cried myself to sleep.
01:49Sienna's excited voice woke me.
01:51Julian sent me exactly the roses I wanted!
01:53So it really was a mistake.
01:55One roommate said.
01:56I knew no one would choose Maya over Sienna.
01:59Sienna smiled and turned to me.
02:00You don't mind, do you?
02:04No.
02:04Of course not!
02:06It was only two months of texting.
02:08You couldn't have liked him that much.
02:10She was wrong.
02:11I had loved Julian for years.
02:14He was three years older.
02:16When I was a freshman, he was already a senior and rarely on campus.
02:20Soon after orientation, I fell outside an academic building and he drove me to the hospital.
02:26I was too shy to ask for his number or even tell him my name.
02:30After graduation, he became almost impossible to reach.
02:34He came from a powerful family and founded a successful tech company.
02:38We belong to different worlds.
02:41Then at an alumni party, he added me online.
02:45He messaged every day.
02:47Before long, he asked me to be his girlfriend.
02:50I thought my impossible crush had finally become real.
02:53Now I understood.
02:54Every tender message had been written for Sienna.
02:58My phone lit up.
03:00Let's break up.
03:01Delete our conversations.
03:03I don't want Sienna to see them.
03:05One last message followed.
03:07I'll give you $500,000 as compensation.
03:10To me, it was unimaginable.
03:12To Julian, it was the price of erasing a mistake.
03:15Okay.
03:16I was replying that line of breakup.
03:18But as I further input...
03:20I don't need your money.
03:22The message never went through.
03:24He had already deleted me.
03:29My hands shook as I scrolled through our chat.
03:32At first, we simply kept each other updated on our daily lives.
03:37Until one day, when I asked for help with a problem...
03:40He said he was showering.
03:42Prove it.
03:43That was the first time he ever crossed the line.
03:46He sent a photo.
03:47Wet hair.
03:48Bare skin.
03:49A towel riding dangerously low.
03:51Unsend it.
03:51I saw nothing.
03:53Two voice messages followed.
03:55Why are you scared?
03:56You'll see me every day soon.
03:57Wait.
03:58Have you ever been with anyone?
03:59My face burned.
04:01No!
04:02Then I'll make your first time unforgettable.
04:04I had even searched what to expect.
04:07But that promise had never been meant for me.
04:10I deleted everything.
04:12Sienna, meanwhile, talked about Julian constantly.
04:14They were officially together.
04:16He had confessed in an empty movie theater.
04:18I tried to hold his hand.
04:19She said.
04:20He moved away.
04:21Oh!
04:22He looks experienced, but he's such a gentleman.
04:25I put on my headphones.
04:27Then someone knocked.
04:29Is Maya Burks here?
04:30Lucas Vance is downstairs asking for her.
04:33Lucas, Julian's half-brother, our hockey captain.
04:37And the one man on campus who had once refused Sienna's number.
04:41She stared at me.
04:43You know Lucas?
04:45No.
04:45But he knew my name.
04:50Lucas waited outside the dorm, typing impatiently on his phone.
04:54When he saw me, his gaze lingered.
04:56You're Maya?
04:57His tone changed.
04:58My brother's ex-girlfriend?
05:00Before I could ask why he called me that, he held out a check.
05:04Julian asked me to give you this.
05:08I don't want it.
05:09I knocked it off.
05:11At that moment, his phone rang.
05:14Julian flashed across the screen.
05:15Lucas answered.
05:17Yes, I saw her.
05:19I gave her the check.
05:20But...
05:21I left before he could stop me.
05:24Upstairs, Sienna was waiting by the window.
05:27What did Lucas want?
05:30Nothing.
05:31I could hardly tell her he had delivered Julian's breakup money.
05:35And payment for my silence.
05:38That evening, Sienna called Julian on speaker.
05:41She proposed a weekend trip and asked to bring her roommates.
05:43Something shattered on his end.
05:45What happened?
05:46She asked.
05:47Dropped a glass.
05:49Over the next few nights, they planned the trip while I pretended not to hear.
05:53By the weekend, Sienna and our other two roommates finally left with their suitcases.
05:57Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief.
05:59But the next day, my academic advisor called me.
06:03She needed to speak to Sienna urgently, but couldn't reach her.
06:06Neither of our other roommates was answering her phone either.
06:09It's important.
06:10She said.
06:11Do you have any way of contacting her?
06:15The moment I heard that, I thought of Julian.
06:18He was with them.
06:19A sudden fear seized me.
06:20What if something really had happened?
06:22My palms turned clammy.
06:24I knew Julian's number by heart and called him immediately.
06:27Only to discover that he had blocked me.
06:29Of course he had.
06:30Deleting me online hadn't been enough.
06:32He had made sure to block my number too.
06:34If he could, would he erase me from this world entirely?
06:36With no other choice, I ran down six flights of stairs to the public phone in the dorm lobby.
06:41By the time I reached it, I was breathless.
06:43Fortunately, the call went through almost immediately.
06:46I quickly explained that our advisor had been trying to reach Sienna and the others.
06:50Then Julian's voice came through the receiver.
06:52They're downstairs having breakfast.
06:53They left their phones upstairs.
06:54I'll let them know.
06:55Okay.
06:56Relief washed over me.
06:57I was about to hang up when I heard the click of his lighter.
06:59Why didn't you come?
07:02I was never Sienna's friends.
07:05Why did you refuse my check?
07:06Before I could answer, Sienna's voice sounded nearby.
07:09I hate sleeping alone.
07:10Can I stay in your suite?
07:11I'll take the couch.
07:13Something inside me snapped.
07:14I hung up.
07:16After the trip, I saw Julian often.
07:18We never spoke.
07:19Despite he is busy at work, he still came to campus for Sienna and once sat behind me during a
07:24lecture.
07:25My pen fell.
07:26When I reached down, my hand brushed his.
07:28He paused, then placed the pen in my palm.
07:30Yeah.
07:32Sienna watched us coldly.
07:34After class, I discovered I had written Julian's name in my notebook.
07:37As I crossed it out, scalding water struck my back.
07:40Pain tore through me.
07:41I turned.
07:41Sienna stood behind me, holding an empty cup.
07:46Sorry, but it was cold.
07:49I'll replace your dress.
07:51That water was boiling.
07:53You did it deliberately.
07:54She asked the remaining students what they had seen.
07:57One classmate eager to flatter Julian immediately supported her.
08:01Julian returned from a call.
08:03He listened, visibly impatient, then chose the easiest answer.
08:06I'll send Maya a new dress.
08:08Sienna didn't mean it.
08:09His eyes cooled as they settled on me.
08:10But lying isn't a good habit.
08:12Right, Maya?
08:13I stopped defending myself.
08:15Understood.
08:16Between Sienna and me, Julian would always believe her.
08:19I went to the hospital alone.
08:21While I waited, a friend request appeared.
08:24It's Lucas.
08:24Are you okay?
08:25He called and explained that a friend had seen Sienna refill her cup with hot water.
08:29Should I tell Julian?
08:31No.
08:32Lucas didn't argue.
08:33Instead, he stayed on the phone, distracting me until a voice called his name.
08:36Lucas!
08:37My game is starting.
08:38Wish me luck.
08:39I hadn't realized he had called minutes before taking the ice.
08:43You'll win.
08:44He laughed softly.
08:46Yeah.
08:47Now I will.
08:51Julian still sent the dress through a younger student.
08:54Was that handsome man your boyfriend?
08:56She asked.
08:57I shook my head.
08:58We aren't close.
08:59The next day, she stopped me again.
09:00After I delivered it, he stayed downstairs for nearly an hour.
09:03He kept asking how you reacted.
09:05He seemed to care.
09:06I knew she meant Julian, but I refused to think about it.
09:10I found an internship and buried myself in work.
09:13Lucas and I began exchanging messages about ordinary things.
09:16Classes.
09:17Hockey.
09:19Terrible cafeteria food.
09:21One night, he mentioned the alumni party.
09:23I saw you at the alumni party, but your back was turned.
09:26Me.
09:27I'm not pretty.
09:28I wasn't the kind of woman who inspired love at first sight.
09:31Most men laughed at my weight or looked through me.
09:33Lucas called immediately.
09:35You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you?
09:38The next week, Sienna and I presented a final project.
09:41I had done nearly everything, yet our classmates gave me the lowest score and her almost full marks.
09:47When I objected, someone shouted,
09:49We heard you tried to steal her boyfriend. Maybe you're targeting her.
09:52No one defended me.
09:53Then I saw Julian outside the classroom window.
10:01Our professor recognized him.
10:03Mr. Vance, you have excellent judgment.
10:05Wasn't Sienna the strongest member of the group?
10:07Julian looked through the glass straight at me.
10:09Yes.
10:09He said.
10:10Then after a pause.
10:11But Maya also did well.
10:12Her score shouldn't be that low.
10:14Because of him, they graded me again.
10:16My score rose, but remained below Sienna's.
10:19After class, she smiled.
10:21Some people struggle for what others receive just by standing there.
10:24She was right.
10:24Sienna only had to stand there for Julian to choose her.
10:27Who would ever choose me?
10:29That evening, Lucas texted from a party.
10:31Lucas.
10:32Save me.
10:33These women are about to eat me alive.
10:34Usually, I refused his invitations.
10:36That night, hurt and humiliated, I replied.
10:39Me.
10:39Send me the address.
10:41The moment I entered the bar, I met Julian's eyes.
10:44Sienna sat in his arms.
10:47You came.
10:48Lucas took my hand and pulled me toward their table.
10:51They were playing truth or dare.
10:53Sienna's smile sharpened.
10:54Maya, have you ever sent a man nude photos?
10:57My heart skipped a beat.
10:58Julian's brows drew together, but he said nothing.
11:02Can't answer?
11:02Sienna lifted a punishment card.
11:04Then kiss every man here, or spend the night with one.
11:07The room erupted.
11:09That's too far.
11:10Lucas said, moving in front of me.
11:11The loser accepts the punishment.
11:13Sienna replied.
11:13Unless Maya is scared.
11:15Tears burned behind my eyes.
11:16I looked at Julian one last time.
11:18He remained silent.
11:19How stupid was I to keep hoping?
11:21I wiped my eyes and turned to Lucas.
11:25Will you spend the night with me?
11:26Julian's glass shattered against the floor.
11:32What did you say?
11:33Julian rose so abruptly that his chair scraped backward.
11:36Only then did I realize how completely he towered over me.
11:40Lucas raised an eyebrow and drew me behind him.
11:42Julian.
11:43Maya's made her choice.
11:44Julian reached for my wrist.
11:46Come outside.
11:47I pulled away before he could touch me.
11:49I'm sorry, Mr. Vance.
11:51We're basically strangers.
11:53You don't get to order me around.
11:54His face went still.
11:56Lucas took my coat and led me out.
11:57In the car, courage drained away, leaving me mortified.
12:01What do we do now?
12:02I whispered.
12:03Are we really supposed to spend the night together?
12:04He glanced over, amused but gentle.
12:07My apartment has a guest room, Maya.
12:09You don't owe anyone a performance.
12:14At his place, he gave me a clean shirt and showed me the guest room.
12:17Later, I stepped into the hall and nearly collided with him.
12:20Wearing only a towel, heat rushed to my face.
12:23Lucas laughed and retreated at once.
12:26Goodnight, beautiful.
12:28For the first time that evening, I smiled.
12:31The next morning, the doorbell rang while Lucas made breakfast.
12:34I opened the door.
12:35Julian stood there looking like he hasn't slept at all.
12:38Sienna and I broke up.
12:43That has nothing to do with me, I said.
12:45Julian's gaze moved over Lucas' shirt on my body
12:48and the unfamiliar apartment behind me.
12:50Did you really sleep with him?
12:51Before I could answer, Lucas appeared from the kitchen.
12:54He pulled me lightly behind him.
12:56This isn't a good time, Julian. You should go.
12:58Julian looked toward the dining table.
13:01Breakfast is already made.
13:02Throwing me out seems rude.
13:03Lucas gave a humorless laugh.
13:05Fine.
13:06I sat beside Lucas.
13:08Julian took the chair opposite us.
13:09The meal was painfully quiet until Lucas placed food on my plate.
13:14Try this.
13:15My specialty.
13:16Julian glanced up.
13:17She can't handle spicy food.
13:19Lucas' hands stopped.
13:20Really?
13:21I nodded.
13:22A little is fine.
13:23I tasted it and smiled.
13:25It's delicious.
13:26Across the table, Julian's expression darkened.
13:28He barely touched his food afterward.
13:30At the door, he looked back at me.
13:32Aren't you leaving?
13:34I still have something to discuss with Lucas.
13:36The door slammed behind him.
13:38Half an hour later, Lucas drove me home.
13:40When I stepped out of the elevator, Julian was waiting by my door.
13:43An unlit cigarette between his fingers.
13:45What do you do?
13:47Is he pursuing you?
13:49I couldn't understand why he cared.
13:51It's none of your business.
13:52You were my girlfriend, and Lucas is my brother.
13:58Online girlfriend?
14:00I corrected.
14:00Until you saw my face.
14:01Julian flinched.
14:02You're close to Lucas?
14:03He continued.
14:04How is that not my business?
14:06We're friends.
14:07Only friends?
14:08I nodded.
14:09The answer should have satisfied him, yet his jaw remained tight.
14:12As I unlocked my door, he spoke again.
14:14Sienna and I broke up because she admitted what she did.
14:17I know the water was hot.
14:18So that was why he had appeared at Lucas' apartment, looking as if he had not slept.
14:22And?
14:23I asked.
14:24I'm sorry I didn't believe you.
14:26For months, I had imagined Julian learning the truth.
14:28In every version, his apology healed something.
14:31Now it only made me tired.
14:32You believed the person you wanted to believe?
14:34He had no answer.
14:36That night, a campus post confirmed that Julian and Sienna had argued outside the bar.
14:40Witnesses heard her admit she had burned me deliberately.
14:43People speculated that they had broken up because of me.
14:46I closed the page.
14:47The moment I chose to let Julian go, his decision stopped being my concern.
14:55My internship went smoothly.
14:57Partly because Lucas quietly introduced me to someone in the industry.
15:00To thank him, I bought two expensive hockey tickets.
15:03For me?
15:03Face lit up.
15:04We're going together?
15:05Yes.
15:06During a third period timeout, the kiss cam swept across the arena.
15:09Couples kissed inside a glowing heart while the crowd roared.
15:12Then the frame stopped on us.
15:13My enormous face appeared above the ice.
15:16Lucas froze beside me as thousands of people began chanting.
15:19Instead of pressuring me, he leaned over and blocked the camera with his shoulder, shielding
15:24my face against his chest.
15:25Don't worry.
15:26He whispered.
15:26I've got you.
15:28Someone unfilmed the moment and posted it online.
15:31Within hours, the video went viral.
15:33Look at how fast he protected her.
15:34He kept watching her all night.
15:36He is completely gone.
15:38Isn't that Lucas Vance?
15:39I've never seen him with a woman.
15:41We found the video while eating at a quiet diner.
15:43Lucas' phone had not stopped buzzing.
15:46Finally, he turned it face down and looked at me.
15:49Everyone wants to know whether I have a girlfriend.
15:54My hand paused above my coffee.
15:56Lucas smiled, but there was a nervousness beneath it I had never seen before.
16:00Saying no feels a little embarrassing.
16:01Why don't you help me?
16:02He said.
16:03How?
16:03The restaurant lights caught in his eyes.
16:05Be my girlfriend.
16:06I should have asked whether he was joking.
16:07I should have considered Julian, Sienna, the Vance family, and every complication waiting
16:12for us.
16:13Instead, I said.
16:14Okay.
16:15Lucas' smile made my heart trip.
16:17When I got home, my face was still hot.
16:20After my shower, I saw his new post.
16:22We're together.
16:23It was love at first sight.
16:24I read it until the words blurred.
16:26The campus forum immediately tried to identify his mystery girlfriend.
16:29Some guessed Sienna and claimed she had left Julian for Lucas.
16:32Someone tagged her in our class chat.
16:34After a long silence, she replied with one word.
16:37No.
16:37Almost no one knew Lucas and I were close.
16:40In the kiss cam video, his body had hidden most of my face.
16:43But the next morning, Sienna was waiting outside my academic building.
16:47The moment she saw my coat, recognition flashed in her eyes.
16:55It's you.
16:56Sienna said, what is?
16:58The woman in the video.
17:00I watched it more than 20 times.
17:02I remember that coat.
17:03There was no point lying.
17:04Yes, it was me.
17:05Her expression twisted.
17:06First Julian, now Lucas.
17:08Do you collect the men I want?
17:10Julian mistook me for you.
17:12Lucas chose me knowing exactly who I was.
17:15Before I finished, Sienna raised her hand.
17:17Simone caught her wrist.
17:18Sienna, what are you doing?
17:19Julian stood behind her.
17:20I had never imagined that between Sienna and me.
17:22He would one day stand on my side.
17:24Sienna yanked against his grip.
17:25You're protecting her now?
17:27You like her too, don't you?
17:28Julian didn't answer.
17:29His silence changed the air between us.
17:31Sienna stared at him, then at me, and began to laugh.
17:34So that's it.
17:36You finally realized she was the one behind those messages.
17:39My chest tightened.
17:40Julian slowly released her wrist, but his eyes never left my face.
17:44He did not deny it.
17:49You broke up with me for her, but she doesn't care.
17:52She's with your brother now.
17:53Her laugh sharpened.
17:54Maybe one day she'll call you her brother-in-law.
17:56Julian pressed his lips together.
17:58I know.
18:02Then what can you do?
18:04He looked directly at me.
18:06They aren't married.
18:07I thought I had misheard him.
18:09Long ago, when Julian messaged me every night, I believed he loved me.
18:13I planned to tell him at our first meeting that I had secretly loved him for years.
18:16He never gave me the chance.
18:18Now, when I no longer wanted it, he was finally admitting what he felt.
18:22Sienna pulled free and walked away, furious.
18:24Julian took a step toward me.
18:27Maya.
18:29Don't.
18:30He stopped.
18:31I had imagined this moment too many times.
18:33Julian seeing me.
18:34Choosing me.
18:35Saying my name as if it mattered.
18:37But there was no happiness in me now.
18:39Only disbelief.
18:40What was I supposed to do with love that arrived after it had destroyed everything I once felt?
18:47After that day, Julian appeared everywhere.
18:50His company proposed a partnership with the firm where I interned.
18:54Instead of assigning an experienced employee, he insisted that I manage the project.
18:58In front of my boss, he sent me a new friend request.
19:01Refusing would have looked childish, so I accepted.
19:04I spent the day beside him.
19:05He gave me almost no work, made my coffee himself, and ordered afternoon tea for the entire office.
19:11A perceptive co-worker pulled me aside.
19:13Mr. Vance treats you differently.
19:15Is he pursuing you?
19:18No.
19:19When I loved Julian, his attention would have felt like a dream.
19:22Now it felt like a debt he expected me to collect.
19:24At the end of the day, I found him before the floor.
19:27To ceiling windows, the city burning gold behind him.
19:29The revised proposal is in your inbox.
19:32If that's all, I'm leaving.
19:33Maya.
19:34I stopped at the door.
19:35He turned, all practiced calm gone from his face.
19:38Break up with Lucas.
19:43Julian faced the city again.
19:45You know I can give you far more than he can.
19:47Lucas had another older brother on his mother's side, and none of Julian's burden.
19:51Julian had been raised as the Vance successor.
19:53He controlled the family business, the money, and the name.
19:56But I had never wanted any of that.
19:58You liked me before, didn't you?
19:59I laughed without humor.
20:00So you noticed.
20:01Is that why you deleted me immediately?
20:03You didn't want the scholarship girl to have hope?
20:06His throat moved.
20:07I regret it.
20:09I don't like you anymore.
20:11You expect me to believe feelings disappear that easily?
20:14They didn't disappear easily.
20:15You killed them slowly.
20:17I reminded him that Lucas was his brother.
20:19Julian's expression hardened.
20:20He stole you from me.
20:22Without me, would you two even know each other?
20:23For one, the answer was simple.
20:24You're right.
20:25You sent him to me with a check.
20:27You stood silent while Sissiena humiliated me.
20:30You pushed me towards the man who actually protected me.
20:32I met his eyes.
20:33Lucas didn't steal me.
20:35You gave me away.
20:40Julian looked as if I had struck him.
20:42At the time, I...
20:45You don't need to explain.
20:47Back then, Sienna had been the only person he cared about.
20:50No explanation could rewrite that.
20:52Days later, Lucas learned what Julian had been doing.
20:55He arrived at my office in a gleaming sports car
20:57and walked inside carrying coffee for my entire team.
21:00Several co-workers recognized him from the kiss cam video.
21:04I'm here for Maya.
21:05She's my girlfriend.
21:06Then he turned toward Julian whose face had gone cold.
21:08Oh, and this is my brother.
21:10Everyone suddenly understood or thought they did.
21:13They assumed Julian's special treatment came from my relationship with Lucas.
21:16Lucas charmed the whole office within minutes
21:19and promised to buy everyone dinner.
21:20When we left, his hand settled naturally at my back.
21:23I felt Julian's gaze follow us to the elevator.
21:26Outside, Lucas opened the car door for me.
21:28Before I could get in, his phone rang.
21:30He glanced at the screen and answered on speaker.
21:33Julian's voice was ice cold.
21:35You did that deliberately.
21:39Lucas leaned against the car.
21:42Maya is my girlfriend.
21:43What you're doing to her isn't right.
21:44Julian laughed coldly.
21:46If I'd known this would happen, I never would have sent you to meet her.
21:49Lucas's smile vanished.
21:50Maya and I would have met somehow.
21:51You believe in fate now?
21:52I believe you had the right person at the wrong time
21:55and you hurt her because you couldn't see past your own assumptions.
21:57The line went quiet.
21:58Have you forgotten what you did?
22:00Lucas asked.
22:01Julian ended the call.
22:02After that, he stopped coming to my office.
22:05His company assigned someone else to the project and I could finally breathe.
22:09For two peaceful weeks, Lucas and I settled into something that no longer felt pretend.
22:13He brought me dinner after late shifts.
22:15I attended his practices he never demanded more than I was ready to give.
22:19Then Lucas missed our Friday plans.
22:21Near midnight, he appeared at my apartment with a bruise on his forehead and split skin across one knuckle.
22:26My stomach dropped.
22:28What happened?
22:29He tried to smile.
22:31Julian and I had a disagreement.
22:35The disagreement had become a fist fight at the Vance family home.
22:39Julian had been raised under strict discipline.
22:41When the elders learned he was pursuing his brother's girlfriend and had fought Lucas over me, they argued for an
22:47entire night.
22:47The future head of the family, they decided, could not be ruled by emotion.
22:51They ordered Julian abroad for two years.
22:54Lucas told me all this while leaning against my shoulder.
22:56His bruised forehead carefully angled toward me.
22:59Maya, you have to feel sorry for me.
23:01I pressed an ice pack to the bruise.
23:03You both acted like idiots.
23:05But I'm your favorite idiot.
23:07I tried not to smile and failed.
23:09We put on a movie halfway through.
23:11Lucas fell asleep with his head in my lap.
23:13Looking down at him, I realized how safe I felt.
23:15No guessing.
23:16No mistaken identity.
23:18No waiting to be chosen.
23:19Then headlights swept across my window.
23:21A black car stopped beneath the building.
23:23I knew that car.
23:27Julian was leaving the next day.
23:29His car remained outside all night.
23:31When I woke, it was still beneath my window.
23:33Lucas had already gone to morning practice.
23:35I stood alone in the quiet apartment,
23:37watching the black roof shine in the pale light.
23:40Then my phone rang.
23:41Julian's voice was hoarse, as if he had not slept.
23:43I'm leaving.
23:44I know.
23:45Silence stretched between us.
23:47Do you remember our conversations?
23:48You told me you wanted to study abroad.
23:50Of course I remembered.
23:52I had told him everything.
23:53My fears, my plans, the places I wanted to see
23:56when I could finally afford a plane ticket.
23:58I can help you.
23:59He continued.
23:59There are programs in London.
24:00I can arrange the applications, tuition, housing, whatever you need.
24:03Once the offer might have sounded like love.
24:05Now it sounded like the check all over again.
24:07Money placed over a wound he did not know how to heal.
24:10I interrupted him.
24:10Mr. Vance.
24:11The title landed between us like a locked door.
24:17I've never liked living in the past.
24:19I said.
24:20Julian was silent for so long that I wondered whether the call had ended.
24:25I'm sorry, I was confused.
24:26He always seemed to be apologizing now.
24:29But those two words were the most useless words in the world.
24:31They could not change our first meeting beside his car when his face fell at the sight of me.
24:35They could not undo the red warning mark that appeared after he deleted me.
24:39They could not cool the water that burned my back.
24:41Return the grade I earned or erase the way he stood silent while Sienna humiliated me.
24:45And they could not make me love him again.
24:47I know you're sorry but forgiveness isn't the same as starting over.
24:51Outside the city was waking.
24:52Delivery trucks rolled down the street.
24:54Curtains opened in neighboring buildings.
24:56Somewhere below a horn sounded.
24:57Julian's car remained motionless beneath my window.
25:00Then what am I supposed to do?
25:01He asked quietly.
25:02For once I had an answer he could not buy.
25:05Let me go.
25:09I looked through the glass at the black car.
25:11When we meet again I hope you've found someone truly right for you.
25:14Julian let out a low breath.
25:16For a moment I thought he might simply say goodbye.
25:18Instead he spoke with a certainty that tightened my chest.
25:21There won't be anyone.
25:23He had wanted Sienna because he believed she was the woman behind my messages.
25:27By the time he understood that the person who made him laugh, listened to his days and waited for his
25:31return had been me.
25:32I no longer wanted him.
25:34That was the only ending left for us.
25:36Neither his money nor his regret could change it.
25:38You don't know that.
25:39I said.
25:41I know what it felt like talking to you.
25:44I just didn't know your face.
25:45The words might once have broken me open.
25:47Now they only proved why we could never go back.
25:51My face was never the problem Julian.
25:54The problem was what you did after you saw it.
25:57He had no answer.
26:02Neither of us spoke.
26:03There was nothing more to explain.
26:05Once I believed Julian and I belonged to different worlds and could never have a story.
26:08For two months I thought I had been proven wrong.
26:11But our romance began with mistaken identity.
26:13When the mistake was exposed Julian chose Sienna without hesitation.
26:17Later when he finally chose me it was my turn to choose and I chose not to go back.
26:21Goodbye Julian.
26:22I ended the call.
26:24Downstairs his car remained still for another minute.
26:26Then the engine started and it pulled away from the curb.
26:29I watched until it disappeared at the end of the street.
26:32My phone vibrated again.
26:34For one foolish second I thought it might be him.
26:37Practice is over.
26:38Breakfast?
26:39No grand confession.
26:41No offer to rearrange my life.
26:42Just a simple invitation from someone who knew exactly who he was asking.
26:46I smiled as I typed back.
26:47Yes.
26:52The phone became quiet in my hand.
26:55Lucas was still part of my life.
26:57My internship was moving forward.
26:59The apartment around me was small but it was the first home I had chosen for myself.
27:03Julian was leaving the city.
27:04I didn't know when we would meet again.
27:06I no longer needed to know.
27:08I opened the window.
27:10Cool air swept into the room carrying the sounds of traffic and a city already in motion.
27:15Once I had waited for Julian to recognize me.
27:17Then I had waited for him to believe me.
27:19Now I was done waiting.
27:21I dressed and went downstairs.
27:23Lucas stood beside his car with two coffees.
27:25The bruise on his forehead fading beneath his hair.
27:28When he saw me his whole face brightened.
27:30Not because he had mistaken me for someone else.
27:32Not because my name belonged to another woman's photograph.
27:35Because I was Maya.
27:36I walked toward him as the morning sun rose between the buildings.
27:40It was a brand new day.
27:46The next morning I found an envelope on my desk.
27:49It was from a university abroad.
27:51My hands trembled as I opened it.
27:53I had been accepted.
27:54Not only that.
27:55I had received a full scholarship.
27:57For months.
27:58I had wanted to study abroad.
28:00Never believed I could afford it.
28:01I read the letter again and again.
28:03Afraid the words would disappear.
28:05I called Lucas immediately.
28:06You got in?
28:07Yes.
28:08But it's in another country.
28:10There was a short silence.
28:11Then he said.
28:11I'll miss you.
28:12But I'm proud of you Maya.
28:14You're not angry?
28:15Why would I be?
28:16You wanted this before me.
28:17Don't give up your future for anyone.
28:19That night Lucas brought dinner to celebrate.
28:21His phone buzzed on the table Julian Vance.
28:24Lucas ignored the call.
28:25A message appeared.
28:26Julian did Maya receive the letter.
28:28My smile faded.
28:29At the bottom of the scholarship letter was a line I had missed.
28:32Supported by the Vance Global Education Fund.
28:35Julian had left.
28:36But he was still trying to change my life.
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