Chapter 2 - Unmasking the EngagementJulian reached down and picked up my discarded serving tray from the linen table. Without a second thought, he handed it to the head catering manager, along with his own jacket.
"The event is over," Julian announced, his voice echoing across the rooftop with absolute command. "Thank you all for coming. Valet will have your cars at the main entrance."
A murmur of shock erupted through the crowd as guests began to whisper furiously behind delicate silk fans and leather-bound notebooks. Victoria stood frozen, her cheeks burning with a deep, humiliating crimson.
"Julian! You cannot do this to me!" Victoria hissed, grabbing his arm as the crowd slowly began to disperse toward the elevators. "My father is inside! The press is waiting downstairs! If you walk out now with a servant, you’ll ruin our reputation!"
Julian peeled her hand off his forearm with cold, deliberate precision.
"Our relationship was a business arrangement designed by your father to cover up the three million dollars he embezzled from my late mother's trust fund," Julian said flatly, pulling a sealed manila envelope from his inner pocket—the very envelope he had been holding before Victoria staged her cruel circus act. "I received the forensic audit thirty minutes ago, Victoria. I was going to wait until tomorrow to hand this to your family's board of directors. But after watching how you treat a person who owes you nothing? You don't deserve another thirty minutes."
Victoria’s eyes widened in sheer terror. "Julian, wait—"
"Get out," Julian said softly.
He turned back to me, his expression softening instantly into a look of deep, overwhelming gratitude. "What is your name? Eleven years ago, you left the floor before I could look at your staff badge."
"Clara," I said, my voice steady despite the adrenaline surging through my veins. "Clara Mercer."
"Clara," he repeated, as if committing the name to memory forever. "Will you walk with me? Please."
I looked down at my temporary catering vest, then pulled the eviction notice from my pocket, feeling the weight of my mother’s unpaid medical bills pressing down on my chest. "Julian... I need to finish this shift. The agency pays double time for late nights, and I can't afford to forfeit the pay."
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Julian took the folded eviction paper gently from my hands, glanced at the red stamp across the top, and closed his eyes for a brief second, visibly pained by what he saw.
"You will never have to worry about a shift, a bill, or an eviction notice for the rest of your life, Clara," Julian said, looking into my eyes with an intensity that made the rest of the world fade away. "You saved my life eleven years ago. It’s my turn."
