He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 405

A crisp scent of pine instantly filled her senses.

Scarlett snapped her head up, locking onto Julian's clear, unwavering gaze.

He hadn't hesitated for a millisecond to protect her.

But the back of his perfectly tailored white shirt was now a dripping, ruined canvas of pitch-black ink.

"Are you hurt?" Julian's voice carried a rare, subtle edge of panic.

Scarlett quickly shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

Keeping her safely tucked behind him, Julian turned to face the mob. The air around him plummeted to an icy, terrifying sub-zero.

"Who told you to come here and cause trouble?"

The ringleader, still high on his own adrenaline, sneered. "What a beautiful pair of adulterers! You call yourself a world-class architect, Julian Croft? You're a joke!"

Before the kid could blink, Julian moved.

A flawless, brutal spin kick sliced through the air, connecting solidly with the ringleader's jaw.

A sickening *crack* echoed across the pavement, followed immediately by a guttural scream of agony.

"My... my teeth! My face!"

The boy spat out a mouthful of blood and half a broken tooth, curling into a pathetic ball on the concrete.

The rest of the mob was paralyzed with terror. The banners slipped from their hands, clattering to the ground as they scrambled to flee.

Julian took a massive stride forward, grabbing the ringleader by the collar and hoisting him up. His voice was laced with pure ice.

"You're students from the local architectural institute, aren't you? Who hired you? Talk."

The kick had knocked all the fight out of the kid. He trembled violently. "I... I don't know! Some anonymous account paid us two hundred bucks online... We didn't mean to!"

Julian's eyes darkened.

Just as he suspected. A scandal doesn't explode into a coordinated offline physical attack overnight without someone pulling the strings and footing the bill.

"If I ever catch you causing trouble near my firm again, I will personally ensure none of you ever graduate."

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