He Thought I'd Never Leave Chapter 1

I had to wear Julian down until he finally agreed to be my boyfriend.

He was this untouchable, revered genius, and I, a regular girl, had managed to snag him. I wanted to put him on a pedestal.

He never met my parents, looked down on my friends, and for the most part, simply dismissed everything about me.

My best friend, Harper, exasperated, chewed me out, "How can you act like you never get sad, never feel wronged?"

I just smiled foolishly. "I love him, you know?"

"Besides, he's amazing, a golden boy. I'm the one who lucked out."

I genuinely thought Julian was just naturally aloof.

That was until the fourth day of our silent treatment, when he announced his new girlfriend online.

Later, when we unexpectedly ran into each other, I greeted him politely. But as I was leaving, he suddenly asked, "How did you do it? Just stopped loving me, just like that?"

I didn't answer his question. Instead, I simply said, "Excuse me, my boyfriend's waiting for me."

......

Julian was wrong. No one just 'stops loving' overnight. It's a slow burn of disappointments, a quiet accumulation of heartbreak until there's nothing left but to walk away.

The reason Julian and I started our silent treatment, in hindsight, was almost laughable.

I was out with friends, and I ended up having a bit too much to drink. They started chanting,

"It's so late, and it's not safe. Have your boyfriend come pick you up."

I hesitantly called Julian.

The phone rang several times, but no one answered.

He was always busy, and the time he had for me was minimal. Once, when I kept sending him messages, he'd coldly chastised me, "I have experiments to do. Don't distract me."

My friends were gradually picked up by their boyfriends, walking hand in hand into the night. A few patted me on the back before they left, looking like they wanted to say something but held back. Soon, only Harper and I were left, both single.

Just as I was about to give up, Julian's low, distant voice came through.

I asked if he could come get me.

There was a moment of wordless silence. I thought the signal was bad, so I pulled the phone away to check, only to realize Julian had already hung up.

I couldn't even get into our apartment. Julian had changed the code. From behind the closed door, his voice was chillingly scornful.

"You reek."

"Come back when you've cleaned yourself up. Only then will you be allowed into my place."

Rarely, I felt my temper flare. I stubbornly held out for three days, refusing to contact Julian.

This was our first real silent treatment. Usually, when he was angry, I'd immediately backtrack and apologize, no matter the reason. I always made the first move to make up, and then I'd comfort myself.

But if I didn't contact him, he never bothered to reach out.

Suddenly, I felt so weary.

Still, I didn't last past the fourth day. I found myself standing at our doorstep, thinking that we were close to getting married anyway, why let such a minor thing cause unpleasantness?

Besides, one more apology wouldn't hurt.

Harper smacked her forehead, groaning. I weakly argued, "Well, after drinking, I really don't smell good, you know."

But after I said that, she suddenly went quiet, staring at me intently for a long moment.

It took her a while before she said, her voice trembling, "You're so incredibly stupid."

Julian leaned against the doorframe, tilting his head as he looked at me. "What are you doing here?"

"Julian, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come home so late that day, and I definitely shouldn't have had so much to drink."

I admitted my 'mistake' out of habit.

Julian seemed to just recall the matter. "Oh, we broke up. You don't need to apologize to me."

"What...?"

"Didn't you say it yourself when you were chasing me? Unless we broke up, you'd cling to me every single moment."

"You gave me a few days of peace, so I just assumed we were over."

A beautiful girl walked out of the room. Julian put his arm around her waist. "Let me introduce you. This is my new girlfriend, Chloe."

All the blood drained from my face.

"I thought we were just having a fight."

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.