Chapter 2 A Familiar Face

** A Familiar Face**

*POV: Lily*

With my pulse pounding too quickly, I entered the rooftop bar. The location of yesterday night's auction after-party was the same. It seemed quieter, darker, and more personal now. A host said hello and inquired about my name. He motioned me ahead and grinned as if he had been expecting me before I could respond.

Then I caught sight of him.

Crane, Julian.

A black outfit. dark eyes. His face was inscrutable.

The skyline behind him was sparkling as he stood close to a little fire pit. Everything else vanished as we locked eyes. Before I could think, my legs moved.

He whispered, "Lily," and my name seemed too familiar and intimate on his lips.

With my heart pounding, I sat carefully across from him.

I responded, "You remembered me." There was no doubt.

He was not smiling. "I never forgot."

There was quiet between us.

"I located the picture," I muttered. "One of us. from the precipitation.

His eyes somewhat darkened. "I wanted to know whether you kept it."

I glanced down. "I have no memory of it."

Julian bent over. The mountains were the location. To dance, you dashed into the storm. I went with it.

I don't sound like that. However, I wanted it to be.

I said, "You kissed me."

"You gave me a kiss in return," he said.

I was having trouble breathing. Something I couldn't identify was making my chest tense. Feeling sorry? Desire? Wonder?

He gave me one glass of wine after pouring it into two others. He touched me with his fingertips. It was an electric contact.

"What kept you silent at the auction?" I inquired.

He said, "I wanted to make sure it was indeed you." "And maybe... I wanted to test whether you would sense it as well."

---

I had a feeling.

Something hazardous.

Something hard to get away from, something sharp and warm.

He extracted a little silver locket from underneath his coat. I blinked.

He handed it to me and said, "You gave this to me that night."

I took it open.

On one side was a pressed violet flower, and on the other was a little picture of myself grinning in the rain.

I put my hand over my lips.

I said, "This is genuine."

He gave a nod. "You were authentic. Then you vanished. I looked for years.

I gave the blossom a little touch. Two weeks later, I was involved in an accident. I had memory loss for a few days.

For a moment, he closed his eyes, as if it were more painful than I had anticipated.

"I assumed you fled," he said.

---

For a while, the calm breeze was the only sound as we sat in silence. There was something different in his eyes as he turned to face me. Warmth.

"Tomorrow, let me take you someplace," he said.

"Where?"

"Somewhere you may recall."

He showed me the precise location the next day.

A lodge in the mountains. A little, splintered deck. a sky and tree vista.

Something stirred within of me as I stood there with the wind blowing over my face.

I said, "I wore a yellow dress."

Julian made a sudden turn. "Yes."

"And I... I gave you a kiss. You sustained a lip cut. I inquired about it.

He felt his chest rise and fall. "You said that you appreciated my imperfections."

A surge of remembrance returned. The rain's sound. His hands in my hair. The breath-stealing kiss.

My eyes were burning with tears. "I recall."

He took a step forward me and put his hand on my face.

Before I could think, we locked lips.

At first, it was soft. Kind. As if we were putting something ancient and holy to the test.

Then it got deeper.

His hands gripped my waist firmly. Like it belonged there, my body leaned into his.

I stopped feeling the breeze when we kissed.

My heart was pounding as we parted ways. Where he touched me, my flesh burned.

My face was in his hands. "I've been waiting so long for you to give me that look once again."

I said, "I'm here now."

There was a hint of sadness in his grin. "But are you going to stay?"

We took a stroll around the ridge later that evening. There were no stars. Everything was silent.

I allowed him to hold my hand.

However, a shadow appeared over his face.

"What is it?" I inquired.

He paused. Something you should be aware of. Regarding your bookshop.

My heart stopped beating. "How about it?"

He remained silent for a while.

Julian?

His concerned eyes gazed at me. "The land. the one on which your bookshop is located. I own it.

I became cold. "What?"

He said, "I purchased the building some months ago." "Until last night, I was unaware that you were the renter."

I responded, "That's not logical." "Why would you purchase that structure? It's not big. It's-

"I intended to construct a new tower atop it."

My stomach turned over. "You intended to destroy it."

"Yes," he muttered.

I took a step back. "Did you feign concern for me in order to get me to leave?"

"No," he said rapidly. "No, I was unaware that you were the renter. However, I didn't quit it either once I learned about it.

My breath came quick. "Now what?"

I stepped aside as he grabbed for me.

He replied, "I wanted you to remember." "I want your return."

"How much does it cost?" I inquired.

My phone buzzed in my pocket at that same moment.

My landlord sent me a message.

**This is a notice of eviction. You've got seven days to get out. **

I gazed at Julian.

He hadn't instructed them to halt it.

I also doubted my ability to forgive him.

I felt like screaming. Weep. Perhaps both. In the dark, the message on my phone flashed like a menace.

Julian remained silent. He just watched me disintegrate from the inside out. The hardest thing was his quiet.

"You allowed them to issue that notification," I said in a shaky whisper.

He took a step toward her. "I didn't-" said Lily.

"Don't lie," I interrupted him. "You claimed not to have stopped it. That is equivalent.

He said, "I wondered if I could simply... explain." "Perhaps you would understand if we could recall one another."

"Do you understand?" I lost my temper. "That in order to get me closer again, you were prepared to demolish the one place I have?"

I retreated as he grabbed for me.

With tears in my eyes, I replied, "I trusted you for five seconds." "And the whole time you were lying."

Julian's mouth tightened. "I told the truth. I hoped.

I turned and walked out into the darkness after shaking my head.

But I heard his voice.

He called, "There's something more."

I stopped.

"When I purchased the place... I assumed it was deserted. It wasn't until last night that I saw your name on the lease that I realized it was yours.

I didn't look back. I was unable to. I had too much chest pain.

"And now?" I inquired icily.

Behind me, he whispered his response.

"I doubt I can reverse the current course of events."

Then, so quietly that I almost missed it, he uttered it.

** "I have harmed others besides you." **

A black SUV drew up next to us before I could ask him what he meant. Slowly, the tinted glass rolled down.

And a lady gazed directly at me with icy, piercing eyes.

**She remarked, "So this is her." "The girl for whom you sacrificed everything." **