The Girl They Ignored Returned as the Woman Seven Men Would Die For novel Chapter 177

Julian Jace sat in silence.

Positioned beside Mika in the backlit glow of the setting sun, his profile was cast in deep, somber shadows.

The pale young man pressed his lips together, his usual laid-back demeanor vanishing. His long, thick lashes cast a small shadow over his eyes.

His silent, brooding posture slowly revealed the vulnerability he usually kept hidden.

Mika blinked, gently reaching out to rest her hand over his.

"Trust me, there's nothing to be afraid of. The worst-case scenario is just things staying exactly as they are right now, isn't it?"

The warmth of her palm pressed against his icy skin, sending an indescribable jolt through him.

In that moment, time seemed to stand still.

Julian's heart skipped a sudden, unexpected beat.

Ten minutes later, Julian couldn't even explain how he had somehow agreed to Mika's demand for a follow-up medical check.

The chime of the elevator finally snapped him out of his daze.

He realized Mika had already rolled him all the way to his front door.

"I'll get going, then," she said cheerfully.

Mika pushed him inside but didn't step over the threshold. "It's a promise, okay? Next weekend, I'm taking you for that check-up. No running away!"

With that, she turned to leave.

Just as she reached for the door handle, a sudden emptiness hollowed out Julian's chest.

"Wait."

The heavy black door swung open again, and Mika poked her head back in, her face beaming. "What's up?"

His long, elegant fingers gripped the armrest of his wheelchair, his mind completely blanking on what he actually wanted to say.

Finally, he managed to force a dry question out of his throat.

"Your club needs funding for activities? How much are you short?"

Mika froze.

Was Julian planning to sponsor her society?

The innocent laughter of the kids from the special education center echoed in Julian's mind. Their pure, bright faces flashed behind his eyes like a vivid slideshow.

The images flickered and finally froze on the classroom for the deaf.

There was Mika, sitting by the window, giving a thumbs-up to a deaf girl, her smiling lips silently mouthing the words "Thank you."

In that instant, it felt as though countless stars had aligned in his mind. For the first time in ages, his chest swelled with an overwhelming, irrepressible urge to create.

Julian spun his wheelchair around and retrieved the laptop he hadn't touched in far too long from his study.

Plugging it in on the living room table, he booted it up, opened a Word document, and eagerly typed out the very first line.

What followed was like a dam bursting, entirely unstoppable.

His fingertips danced across the keyboard with frantic precision.

Julian stared intently at the screen, his striking features illuminated by the cool glow of the monitor, looking sharp and laser-focused.

He typed tirelessly until the sky outside the floor-to-ceiling windows faded into an inky, midnight blue.

Only then did he realize he had been sitting in the dark for hours.