His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex-Wife Chapter 184: What He Kept

At the beginning, nothing about the night before had been easy, and even now the memory lingered in fragments, the awkwardness, the hesitation, the way it had taken time before anything felt right, and then how quickly it had shifted into something she couldn't quite keep up with, leaving her exhausted, barely sleeping at all.

"I took a shower," Iris said softly, her voice still carrying that quiet edge of embarrassment. "I'm okay now."

Julian watched her for a moment before asking, "You want to sleep a little longer?"

She nodded faintly, her energy already fading as she let her eyes close.

He lay beside her, propped slightly on one arm, his fingers absentmindedly threading through her hair, his gaze fixed on her face with a kind of quiet intensity that didn't need words.

After a while, she shifted closer on instinct, settling into his arms, her hand drifting across his chest, brushing over the firm lines there as if testing something she had once only imagined, and a small, almost private smile curved at her lips.

Julian noticed immediately, his brow tightening for a second before easing again. "What's on your mind?"

She didn't open her eyes, her voice soft, a little shy. "Two years ago, I saw you without a shirt once. You looked... really good. I remember getting embarrassed just looking, and I kept wondering what it would feel like to touch you, if it was actually as solid as it looked. Then I felt ridiculous for even thinking that."

A quiet laugh slipped out of him, something between amused and helpless. "You could've just found out. I wouldn't have stopped you."

"I didn't have the nerve," she admitted.

"And now?" he asked.

She nodded lightly against him. "Now I do."

Julian covered her hand with his, pressing it more firmly against his chest, guiding the motion just slightly. "Then don't hold back. If you want something, you don't have to ask."

Iris opened her eyes at that, looking up at him, something more serious settling into her expression. "Don't say it like that. You're not... beneath me. We're equals."

"Equals?" Julian repeated, the word almost catching, something complicated flickering across his face as his fingers brushed lightly along her cheek. "You really don't see it, do you?"

She frowned slightly, then shifted, propping herself up so she could look at him properly. "Last night, you mentioned twelve years. What was that about? I didn't follow any of it."

Julian held her gaze for a long second before answering, his voice quieter now. "Everything's at my parents' place. I'll show you when we get back. I kept a lot more than you think."

Her curiosity sharpened instantly. "Like what? Does it have something to do with me?"

A faint smile touched his lips, but he didn't answer directly. "Spend New Year's with me. I'll tell you then."

She hesitated. "At midnight?"

He leaned in slightly, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "Yeah. We can go out for the countdown or stay somewhere quiet, just the two of us. Your call."

She tilted her head, a hint of playfulness slipping in. "What if I pick neither?"

"Not an option," Julian said, his tone firm but not harsh. "You're not working right now, so spend some time with me while you can. Once you go back, I'll barely see you."

Iris let out a small laugh. "You make it sound dramatic."

"I'm not," he said, a trace of frustration surfacing. "When we were married, the second you got busy, you disappeared into work. I'd be lucky if I saw you a few times a month."

She frowned at that, clearly not convinced. "You were the one avoiding me."

Julian exhaled, the sound edged with something heavier. "That's not how it was."

"How is it not?" she muttered, turning away from him and settling back down, her back to his chest. "I don't want to go over all that again. I'm going to sleep."

He didn't give her space.

Instead, he moved in closer, wrapping his arms around her from behind, pulling her into him as he buried his face in her hair, his voice dropping to something rougher, more honest.

"Loving you and hating how things turned out at the same time isn't easy," he murmured. "But I've always wanted to see you. Every day."

There was a brief pause before he added, almost casually, "The camera in the living room wasn't for security."

Iris went still.

Her eyes opened slowly as she stared ahead, the weight of that settling in.

"You didn't put one in my room, right?" she asked after a second.

"No," Julian said, a faint edge of humor in his voice. "I thought about it, but I do have limits."

She swallowed, trying to process that, then asked quietly, "Have you ever been with anyone else?"

"No."

"What about your first love?"

"Never had one."

She turned back toward him, disbelief clear in her eyes. "Luke said you dated someone in college. You even took care of her for a week."

"I didn't date anyone in college."

She studied him closely, searching for any sign he was joking, but found none. "So you've never been in a relationship?"

"No."

"What about all those rumors?"

"Just rumors."

It took a second for that to sink in, and when it did, something clicked into place.

Her voice dropped slightly, slower now, more careful. "So you're saying... in twenty-eight years, you've never been with anyone?"

The question hung between them, heavier than anything she had asked before.