No Escape from Love novel Chapter 17

"Julian, did you purposely come to this coffee shop to run into Serena because you can't let go of her?"

"No way!" Julian snapped, though there was a tinge of guilt in his voice. "My heart belongs to Elena, of course. Serena... I'm just messing around with her."

I scoffed, turning away without another word.

When I returned from my delivery, I found Elena sitting there.

Dressed in a white dress, she sat beside Julian, her every movement and expression exuding grace as she whispered to him.

Julian, whose expression had darkened at the sight of me, seemed far more cheerful now that Elena was there.

"Julian, is that... Serena?" Elena turned to look at me, her voice laced with disbelief. "What's she doing here?"

Suspicion and caution flickered in Elena's eyes. I couldn't be bothered to entertain her, so I just ignored her.

It was clear she had seen me when I first walked in, but now, she was pretending otherwise. With such impressive acting skills, I wasn't interested in playing along.

"Yes," Julian said smugly, draping his arm around Elena. He glanced at me with a hint of defiance. "She works at this coffee shop."

"Really?" Elena exclaimed, genuinely surprised. "But I heard from our other classmates that Serena is the daughter of the Hastings family. Why would someone from that family need to work?"

Elena, who had just returned from abroad, attended the same university as Julian and me, so she knew. But Julian's other friends didn't.

When Elena spoke, everyone turned to look at me in disbelief.

"Hastings... The daughter of the Hastings family? You mean that Hastings family?"

Julian's friends now looked at me with newfound respect.

I didn't feel the need to explain, but Elena stood up and walked over to me. "Serena, why are you working here?"