It rang! It really rang! Oh no!
When people hear an unexpected sound, they instinctively look towards its source. This is human nature.
Julia turned her head to look at Royce's phone.
"Whoa—"
Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt. Julia, unsteady, was thrown forward but quickly bounced back into her seat. Thank goodness for seatbelts, or she might have been seriously hurt!
Catching her breath, Julia clutched her chest. "Are you out of your mind?!"
Royce glanced at Julia and uttered the most uncharacteristic thing ever.
"I have diarrhea! I need a bathroom!"
With that, Royce grabbed his phone and dashed out of the car faster than lightning.
Julia watched him disappear from her sight. "Can't you go without your phone?" she muttered, shaking her head, her heart still pounding.
From now on, she would think twice before getting into a car with this man. Who knew what might happen next?
Royce quickly found a spot where Julia couldn't see him. He picked up his phone and saw a message from Julia on WeChat.
"Hey, I'm going to my sister's wedding. Can you come?" Julia's message was short, but Royce could sense her cautious tone.
As Julia lay back with her eyes closed, her phone buzzed. She quickly picked it up to check.
"No."
Seeing this reply, Julia felt a bit dazed. Still no. This man always said it wasn't the right time, but when would it be?
"Alright," she typed back. "Then when can we meet?"
"You'll see me eventually."
Julia stared at the screen, wanting to drag the person on the other end out from behind it. How could someone so grown still play mysterious games?
She didn't reply, but another message popped up, "I'll be home tonight."
Royce walked back, having adjusted his phone settings so new messages wouldn't display on the screen. He settled into the driver's seat.
Julia glanced at him, "You were right. My husband won't be showing up."
"Huh? He replied to you?" Royce asked, pretending to be casual as he restarted the engine.
Julia nodded, disappointed. "I don't even know when I'll get to see him."
"Do you really want to see him that badly?" Royce asked while driving.
"Of course! If it were you, and you'd slept with your wife several times, wouldn't you want to see what she looks like?!"
Royce chuckled to himself, I've already seen her...
"He's coming back tonight," Julia knew it was going to be a long and restless night.
"Isn't that your chance?"
"Chance?" Julia looked at Royce.
"Yeah, he's coming back. Clean yourself up, put on some nice pajamas, make sure you smell good, and cooperate with him tonight. Men are soft-hearted in bed. Sweet-talk him a bit, and you'll get to see him."
Julia's frown deepened.
Royce noticed the silence after he finished speaking and quickly turned to look at her.
Oh my gosh!
He was almost scared to death!
She was glaring at him with wide, intense eyes.
"Why are you looking at me like that? You're going to give me a heart attack! If something happens to me while I'm driving, you're not going to be in a good spot either!"
Trying to cover his nervousness, Royce shouted.
"Why are you defending my husband today? Weren't you always...?"
"Come on! I'm treating you like a friend here, alright? You want to see your husband, don't you? I'm just giving you some advice!"
"Really?" Julia asked, half-doubting.
"Cross my heart!" Royce replied earnestly.
"You're already a duck!" Julia shot him a glance, though she was considering his suggestion.
Royce let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she didn't suspect anything, or he would have been exposed!
"Did you just call me 'bro'? Who's your bro? I'm a woman!"
Royce instinctively glanced at Julia's chest. "You dare call yourself a woman? When your husband makes love to you, does he even know which side is which?"
"Get lost!"
Royce dropped Julia off near Prism City. She would never let him know which neighborhood she lived in.
This was something Royce appreciated about his wife; it showed she was cautious and didn't reveal her address to just any man.
Royce didn't push it either, knowing he'd be coming over later that night anyway.
That evening, Julia was in her study, meticulously reviewing her graduation thesis and the PowerPoint for her defense.
Once she was sure everything was perfect, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She hugged her laptop, logged into her favorite novel website, entered her account details, and checked the comments and reviews in the backend. Finding nothing noteworthy, she logged out.
Royce's words echoed in her mind:
"Clean yourself up, put on some nice pajamas, make yourself smell good, and cooperate with him tonight. Men are soft-hearted in bed. Sweet-talk him a bit, and you'll get what you want, won't you?"
Maybe he had a point.
If she could live like a normal couple with her husband, Julia would be content.
She didn't have any other grand desires; she just wanted a home of her own, a place where Grady could feel secure.
Even if the man was forty, she didn't mind.
After all, when she decided to marry, she had already gambled her future.
Julia got up and returned to the bedroom, taking a thorough shower. She used to rush through her showers, but this time she took her time.
After the shower, she even applied body lotion. She used to think it was a hassle, and since she often worked late, she didn't always bother with it.
She carefully dried her hair and sat at her vanity, meticulously applying her skincare products.
Julia was poor and couldn't afford expensive skincare products, so all she had were some toner and moisturizer from a cheap local brand.
Despite being inexpensive, she liked the brand a lot. It had a light lavender scent and wasn't greasy.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Julia smiled softly.
"Simple beauty, natural and unadorned."
This was just who she was now.
Zoey knocked on the door and walked in, seeing Julia sitting at the vanity with her skincare products laid out.
"Trying to look pretty, huh?" Zoey teased.
She couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "Do you have a problem?"
Since being discharged from the hospital, Julia knew she had been deceived by Zoey and had no patience left for her.
"Drink this!" Zoey commanded, placing a bowl of soup in front of her.
Julia glanced at the bowl, unsure of what Zoey was up to.
"Just drink it! What, you think I'm going to poison you?" Zoey snapped, then suddenly opened her hand as if remembering something. "Where's my bonus? You promised me two hundred dollars!"