Once a Doormat Now Untouchable (Caleb and Sydney) novel Chapter 562

Chapter 562

The pendant looked ordinary. Its quality and clarity revealed nothing unusual. Yet after one glance, Julian’s expression shifted into a subtle and complicated one. He lowered his eyes to the young woman who watched him with quiet curiosity.

Sydney did not understand. “What’s wrong?”

Julian turned the smooth pendant between his fingers. Instead of answering, he asked, “Why have I never seen you wear it?”

Sydney pressed her lips together. “I was afraid of losing it again, so I couldn’t bear to wear it.”

Whether it came from her adoptive parents or her biological parents, it was the only proof she had ever been loved by family. She had always guarded it like a treasure.

Julian saw the faint ache behind her eyes. A tight pull rose in his chest. Without asking for her opinion, he loosened the knot, lifted his hands behind her neck, and fastened the pendant around her throat.

“Wear it. It looks good.” When she reached up to remove it, he caught her hand. “Don’t worry. You will not lose it again. Even if you do, I will find it for you.”

“Really?”

He lifted a brow. “Of course. Who am I?”

Her heartbeat steadied. She let her hand fall and smiled up at him. “Then I will trust you this once.”

The pendant design was nothing rare. Yet after he saw it, Julian carried a heaviness he would not explain. When Sydney asked, he only said it was nothing.

The next morning, Sydney did not have clinic duty. When she woke, the space beside her was already empty.

After she washed up, she went downstairs.

Agatha greeted her with a bright smile. “Jules left early today. He did not wake you, did he?”

“No.” Sydney touched her nose, slightly embarrassed. “He went to the office?”

“He should have. That brat never tells me anything.” She scolded him on the surface, yet her tone was fond.

Ever since Sydney learned she was Julian’s true grandmother, she had been happy for him. A family member who loved him unconditionally was rare and precious.

The rest of the Sterling family waited for him to slip so they could drag him off his pedestal.

Chapter 562

+25 E

Across town, Raymond had just finished the night shift. He stepped out of the shower with damp hair when the doorbell rang nonstop.

“Who is it?” Annoyed, he scratched his head and shuffled to the door in slippers.

When he saw the man standing outside, he snapped, “You finally remembered I exist?”

A man who forgot his friends for love. Ever since he hauled Sydney off to Delta Mansion, Raymond could not get Julian out for anything.

Julian looked oddly uneasy today. He did not jab back. Instead, he lifted the takeout box in his hand. “Grandma made muffins yesterday. Want me to heat some?”

The gesture was so thoughtful that Raymond felt goosebumps crawl up his arms. He pointed at himself. “You are cooking for me?”

“Yes.”

Julian had barely nodded when Raymond slapped a palm to his forehead. “You do not have a fever, do you?”

Julian’s lips moved, as if he had reached the limit of what he could hold in. Yet, he swallowed it down and endured it. Then he strode into the kitchen as if he lived there and heated the

muffins.

Raymond watched him and felt more certain that something was off. What was this man plotting?

When a steaming plate of muffins landed in front of him, he finally asked, “All right, what do you want from me?”

Julian looked calm. “Am I that kind of person?”

‘If not you, then who?’ Raymond kept that answer to himself.

He was starving and pointed at the plate. “Then I am eating them.”

Julian tilted his chin slightly and added a splash of salted caramel sauce for him. “Eat then.”

Raymond bit into one and nearly moaned at Agatha’s cooking.

The man across from him spoke in a low and even tone. “You mentioned something before. When Penelope claimed to be family, she brought a pendant, right?”

“Yeah.” Raymond devoured another muffin, mouth full. “Why? Planning to make fun of me again for having a fake sister?”

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