Left for Dead Came Back for Everything novel Chapter 64

Gwen blew in like a hurricane, locked the door behind her, and crossed her arms.

Looking like an interrogator, she cornered Eliza against the sink.

"Out with it. Confess and I'll go easy on you; resist and it'll be worse!" Gwen narrowed her eyes.

Her tone dripped with eager curiosity. "What exactly is going on between you and Julian?"

Eliza grabbed a paper towel, dried her face, and sighed in defeat. "What do you mean? What could possibly be going on between us?"

Gwen shook her head, thoroughly unconvinced. "Do you think I'm blind?"

Growing more excited by the second, she grabbed Eliza's arm and shook it.

"Eliza! Did you not see it just now? The way he was looking at you! Oh my god, it was all heart eyes! And honestly, if you hadn't interrupted him, I swear he was about to confess! He was going to admit he likes you!"

"Gwen!" Eliza interrupted helplessly.

She let out a bitter laugh.

"You have an incredibly active imagination."

She gently pulled her arm from Gwen's grasp and turned to lean against the tiled wall.

Her voice carried a trace of bone-deep exhaustion.

"Gwen, look at who he is, and look at who I am."

Eliza smiled self-deprecatingly. "I'm an abandoned wife who nearly drowned in the ocean, a woman who can't even get a clean divorce. Why on earth would Julian Lawrence like me? Because of my failed marriage? Because I'm hard to kill?"

The raw pain in her words made Gwen's heart ache, and her eyes instantly teared up as she pulled Eliza into a tight hug. "Eliza, don't talk about yourself like that! In my eyes, you're the best woman in the world!"

Eliza patted her best friend's back, her gaze turning incredibly lucid.

"He helped me on Claremont Island, and I'm deeply grateful to him. He helped me deal with Zander today, but maybe that's just a doctor's natural sympathy."

"Or perhaps... it's just a fleeting amusement."

"I'll find a way to repay his kindness, but I'll never be delusional enough to mistake it for love. All I need to do right now is divorce Zander."

"As for men, I'm done with them for the rest of my life."

Seeing the absolute resolve in her eyes, Gwen knew Eliza's emotional wounds were too deep to heal overnight.

Hudson, squirming in his seat, shot Gwen a warning look before inventing an excuse to escape.

Julian, however, acted as if nothing had happened, elegantly and unhurriedly enjoying his dinner.

Occasionally, he would use a serving fork to pick up a piece of fish, carefully remove the bones, and gently place it on Eliza's plate.

Every time he served her, Zander's breathing grew heavier.

It looked like he was going to flip the table at any second.

Staring at the perfectly deboned fish, Eliza didn't know whether to eat it or not, ultimately choosing to pretend it didn't exist.

Finally, the dinner—which felt longer than pure torture—came to an end.

By the time they walked out of the hotel doors, the torrential rain had stopped.

Julian received a phone call and stepped to the side, turning his back to them as he answered.

Gwen held Eliza's arm as they stood on the steps, waiting for a cab.