Three Years Forgotten, Why Go Crazy When I Say Goodbye? novel Chapter 400

Julian didn't berate the staff or cause a scene. The damage was already done, and dragging Vivienne out to humiliate her wouldn't fix anything.

He waved a hand, signaling them to continue the teardown, and walked straight toward the conference room. A guest of Professor Smith's caliber required his personal attention.

Inside, Vivienne made the formal introductions, and Julian quickly dove into a high-level discussion with Smith regarding Sinclair's current projects.

As the meeting progressed, Julian couldn't shake a nagging suspicion. It wasn't that Smith was rude—on the contrary, he was perfectly willing to engage on the technical specifics of the project. But his demeanor was undeniably polite, clinical, and distant. It looked absolutely nothing like the deep, devoted mentorship Vivienne had spent weeks bragging about.

During a brief coffee break, Julian cornered Vivienne. "He doesn't seem particularly fond of you. Are you absolutely certain you were his star pupil?"

Ever since the fallout from the previous crises, Julian had stopped sugarcoating his words with her. He didn't care about her feelings or her ego anymore; he just wanted facts, and he was tired of wasting energy playing her games.

"He used to tolerate that kind of protocol," she lied smoothly. "But people change over the years. I only realized today that his tastes had shifted. You can't honestly expect someone to stay exactly the same forever, can you? It's like you and me. I can feel how much you've changed toward me lately. Would it be fair for me to demand you revert to exactly how you used to be?"

Vivienne was dangerously manipulative. She knew exactly how to play him—when he pushed on business, she deflected with emotion. She constantly positioned herself as the tragic victim, expertly weaving a web of guilt to keep him off balance.

Predictably, the emotional pivot made Julian grimace. He had zero interest in spiraling into another toxic relationship argument. "We are talking about a multi-million dollar corporate partnership. Why are you dragging personal drama into this?"