The Villainess Needs a Hug (Ivy Windsor) novel Chapter 1003

Katrina murmured a quiet response and turned to leave.

But he suddenly caught her arm.

She hurriedly looked back. "What's wrong? Is there something else?"

He just smiled without saying a word, taking a step closer to her.

Katrina instantly understood, her entire body going rigid.

Sure enough, Julian closed the distance and slightly lowered his head.

Katrina's heart raced as she held her breath, unsure if she should force herself to accept it or just push him away.

Julian didn't give her much time to think before leaning in to close the gap. On pure instinct, she tilted her neck back, dodging his kiss.

Julian froze for a moment, his eyes behind his glasses filled with scrutiny and confusion.

"I'm, I'm sorry... I'm just not ready yet. I apologize..." Katrina's voice was barely a whisper as she quickly apologized under his stunned, rigid gaze.

Julian finally reacted, a faint smile returning to his lips before he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Alright. I'll give you plenty of time."

"Thank you," Katrina blurted out, quickly turning and rushing through the lobby doors.

When she got back to her apartment, her heart was still pounding wildly. Without even taking off her shoes, she ran straight to the balcony to look down.

Thank God...

Julian had already driven away.

She breathed a sigh of relief and dragged her wobbly legs back to the living room, collapsing onto the couch.

She let her mind wander, but the conversation she had with Professor Penn earlier that evening kept replaying in her head.

Because Professor Penn and Dr. Wilson were such wonderful people, it made letting go of Naylor even harder.

But when it came to her mother, she simply couldn't bring herself to speak up.

She sat on the couch in a depressed daze for a while. Noticing it was already eight-thirty, she got up to wash her face and brush her teeth.

Just as she finished freshening up, her phone rang.

She walked over to check it while drying her hair, but the name on the caller ID left her stunned.

Naylor.

Why was he contacting her again? Was he going to keep lobbying her to break off the engagement with Julian?

Under normal circumstances, she would have ignored the call.

But now, because she still felt deeply indebted to Professor Penn, she hesitated for a few seconds before answering.

Katrina instinctively shrank back, hiding herself so he wouldn't see her.

As for why, she couldn't even explain it herself.

She just felt a wave of embarrassment, an urge to escape, like she had no right to face him.

"Katrina, come down. I want to see you," Naylor said to the phone, looking up at the building.

Katrina retreated into the living room, her heart racing as she refused. "No, I'm going to sleep. Just leave."

"If you don't come down, I'll go up there to find you. And if I go up, I probably won't leave," Naylor said with a dazed smile, completely unfazed by his ex-girlfriend's rejection.

Katrina bit her lip, cursing him out in her head while weighing the likelihood of him actually pulling such a reckless stunt.

After a few seconds of a standoff, Katrina finally compromised. "Hold on, I need to change."

"Alright, no rush. Take your time. I'll wait as long as it takes..." Naylor replied, utterly satisfied. He lowered his phone and continued leaning against the car, his gaze now fixed on the front steps of the building.

She wasn't on a high floor, and the elevator was fast.

In no time, Katrina walked through the lobby doors and appeared in front of Naylor.

She walked over slowly, her hair still dripping wet, and stared at the man. "If you have something to say, say it fast."

Naylor reached out toward her, moving to touch her head. "Why didn't you dry your hair? Being out in the cold wet like this isn't good for you. It'll give you a headache."