Chapter 3

3.

It was Julian.

He looked down at me as if I were a piece of trash on the side of the road.

"Are you done making a scene?"

His voice was quiet, but as cold as ice.

"You’re embarrassing me, Ms. Sterling."

I looked up at him. That face, the one that had graced the cover of countless magazines, was now an icy mask.

"I warned you to stay away from me."

Lexi immediately clung to his arm, as if declaring her ownership. Her voice was gentle but sharp. "Julian, honey, don't be angry. She’s not worth your time. She’s so scary. What if she has a gun or a knife in her bag?"

Julian patted the back of her hand, soothing her softly. "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Then, his gaze on me turned even colder.

"Security, throw her out."

"From now on, this woman is blacklisted from any event I attend."

Two security guards stepped forward and roughly grabbed my arms.

They half-dragged, half-pulled me toward a back exit.

As we passed an empty dressing room, Julian's voice came from behind.

"Wait."

The guards stopped. Julian walked over and waved them away.

The door closed, leaving just the two of us in the small space.

He slammed a heavy cardboard box down at my feet.

"This is all that trash you wrote."

"You can have it back now."

"I never read a single word."

The box tipped over, spilling hundreds of letters I had written to him over the last decade.

Every single one held my hopes and encouragement for the boy I saw struggling in the mud.

Now, in his eyes, they were just trash.