The Man Who Waited vs. The Man Who Wasted novel Chapter 152

Julian let out a soft chuckle.

"Are you asking if I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too?"

Liam couldn't stay serious for more than three seconds.

"I wouldn't go that far. That sounds a little sleazy, and we both know you're practically a saint."

A brief silence hung on the line.

"I was worried about her," Julian admitted. "She's up against a lot of vicious people on her own."

"Do you love her?" Liam asked bluntly.

"I've always been honest with you. I used to."

"And now?"

"I respect the boundaries. It doesn't go any further than that."

Liam smiled. "That's exactly what I figured you'd say."

They had the kind of unspoken understanding only lifelong friends share.

"Hypothetically speaking..." Liam started, his tone somewhere between joking and dead serious.

"If she actually pulls the trigger on this divorce... can I go after her?"

Julian didn't hesitate for a second.

"That's entirely up to you."

"You wouldn't care?"

"If it's not you, it'll be someone else. Frankly, I'd prefer it be you. At least I know you'd never intentionally hurt her."

"What about you?" Liam asked.

"I have obligations."

"You only got engaged so your mom could pass away in peace. If there's no actual love there, why chain yourself to an obligation? Just call it off amicably."

Julian's voice remained perfectly calm, completely devoid of emotion.

"I gave my mother my word that I would marry her. I don't break my promises. Furthermore, our marriage is deeply entangled in corporate interests now. It's not something I can just walk away from."

"So you're just going to sacrifice your entire life for corporate synergy?"

Julian was quiet for a moment.

"Let's drop it."

Liam really didn't want to keep pushing the subject anyway.

It was depressing.

"You really went straight for the jugular. I heard that $400 million export shipment of his is stuck. If he misses the delivery window, the losses will be catastrophic. Whoever's handling his logistics is about to get slaughtered."

And the logistics company handling the shipment happened to be owned by Caleb Preston himself.

Right at this very moment, the entire shipment was being held at the Austin port under the pretense of "incomplete documentation" and "sensitive cargo."

Rumor had it, the penalty clause in Caleb's contract demanded ten times the value of the cargo if he defaulted.

Four billion dollars.

For the Preston Corporation, it wasn't an unrecoverable death blow.

But for a notorious penny-pincher like Caleb, a loss like that was going to bleed him dry.

The image of Caleb Preston currently screaming his head off in a blind panic made Liam want to laugh out loud.

Julian sounded slightly apologetic.

"The only downside is that Caleb is going to put a target on your back now."

Since Liam was the one who publicly defended Jocelyn today, Caleb would naturally assume Liam was the one who pulled strings at the port to sabotage him.

Liam couldn't care less.

"Let him try. If he wanted to call me Daddy, I wouldn't even claim him. He's an embarrassment."