The knock came just past 7 p.m.
Soft. Hesitant.
Selena opened the door with steel in her spine.
Julian stood there — no suit, no entourage. Just him hands in his pockets, hair a little messier than usual, eyes dark with something that looked suspiciously like guilt.
She didn't invite him in.
"Why didn't you shut it down?" she asked, her voice clipped and low like anger pressed through her teeth.
Julian looked at her like he already knew he was too late. "Selena, I—"
"Don't." She folded her arms. "Answer the question."
He exhaled slowly, his shoulders tense. "I didn't think it needed a response."
Selena's laugh was bitter and sharp. "Of course you didn't."
"Savannah thrives on attention, if I responded, it would've given her more fire."
"No," Selena snapped. "You didn't respond because you don't know what it's like to be humiliated in public."
Julian stepped forward, eyes searching hers. "Selena, come on—"
"No." Her hand came up between them like a wall. "You asked me to trust you, you asked me to let go of the past, to believe that what we had — what we were building — was real."
"It was real."
"Then where the hell were you?" she asked, voice cracking at the edges. "When she called me a thief? When she told the world you always come back to her? When the blogs dragged me through the mud for being your second choice—again?"
Julian looked down.
Didn't speak.
Didn't defend.
And that silence?
That was louder than Savannah's podcast, louder than a thousand tabloid headlines.
Selena's voice dropped, lower now. More dangerous.
"You don't get to ask for a second chance and then stay silent when your ex tries to bury me alive."
Still, he said nothing.
And she was done waiting.
Selena grabbed her keys from the entryway table, the jingle sharp in the tense air.
"I survived without you once," she said, stepping past him. "I can do it again."
Julian reached for her arm, gentle. "Selena—please—"
She turned on him, eyes blazing.
"I believed you," she whispered. "I let you back in."
Her voice trembled, but her spine did not.
"And you let me stand out there alone."
She pulled the door shut behind her.
And this time—
Julian did chase her.
He took the stairs, ran to the curb, called her name into the dark—
But not fast enough.
Her taillights were already fading into traffic.
Already gone.
He wondered what could possibly be
He had thought through his move and this woman, he was certain he needed her by his side.
There was no way he was letting her go, there was no way he wouldn't show that he wanted her. This wasn't the time for pride or ego, this was time to be vulnerable and real.
He thought of her highly and he wasn't losing her again, not anymore.