Just when Lilian was about to spiral back into that familiar ss of overthinking, her phone buzzed, cutting through the haze in her mind.
She reached for it, glancing at the screen—Karl.
A soft snort ca from the man holding her from behind.
Still, she picked up. Whatever the situation was now, Karl was at least once her ally... maybe even a friend.
His voice ca through the line, hesitant and apologetic.
"Lilian... I guess by now you’ve heard about our breakup, right?"
There was a pause. Then he added, almost guiltily,
"It was who told my mom. I’m sorry... I couldn’t take the pressure from my brother anymore..."
Karl had wrestled with it for hours before deciding to call. Breaking up overnight, then waking up to a flood of ssages from friends and family—he figured she must’ve felt overwheld too. The least he could do was give her a proper explanation.
Besides, he had his pride. If not for his brother breathing down his neck, he would’ve insisted she be the one to end things first. Him initiating the breakup? That just made it look like he dumped her. And Karl wasn’t about to let the world think he was that kind of man.
On the other end, Lilian chuckled softly.
"Why are you apologizing? If anything, I should be the one saying sorry. I’m the one who told them our relationship was fake, rember?"
And just like that, the two fell into a strangely casual back-and-forth, arguing over who should take the bla.
Behind her, Morrison’s arms tightened. His jaw ticked.
She was seriously doing this?
Laughing and chatting with another man—his brother, no less—right in front of him?
Without warning, he bit her lightly on the neck, enough to make her flinch.
"You’re really pretending I’m not here?" he growled, voice low and dangerous. "Hang up. Now."
It didn’t matter who the guy was. Even if it was his own damn brother—he wasn’t about to let her ignore him like that.
"What the hell is your problem?"
Lilian turned around, glaring at Morrison.
It was already rude enough that he bit her mid-call, but now he was giving her orders too?
She shook off his arm and walked a few steps away, phone clutched tightly in her hand as she resud talking to Karl.
Behind her, Morrison’s jaw tightened, the sound of his teeth grinding barely audible—but very real.
On the other end, Karl chuckled when he overheard their little scuffle.
"Well, well... You’re yelling at him now? Looks like I’ve been calling you the wrong na all along. Should I start calling you Mrs. Laurent instead?"
Lilian flushed crimson.
"Oh, shut up. Don’t say weird stuff like that!"
Karl just laughed.
"Kidding aside, I really an it. Even though things didn’t work out between us, I’m still glad I got to know soone like you."
He paused for a beat, then added,
"If we can’t be lovers, let’s at least be good friends. And if you ever need anything, just ask. I’ve got your back."
Karl genuinely liked Lilian. She was kind, calm, and never the scheming type—soone easy to be around.
Lilian smiled softly.
"Sure. To be honest, I’ve always thought of you as a friend."
They were kind of alike—both the younger siblings in powerful families, both used to being shielded by their older brothers. Maybe that’s why they got along so well. But perhaps because they were too similar, the spark of romance had never really ignited between them.
But hearing her say she’d "always thought of Karl as a friend" made Morrison’s blood boil.
What the hell was this?
Were they planning to keep their not-quite-over-it act going?
Even knowing their relationship had been fake, and even knowing there were no real feelings between them, hearing her talk like that still grated on his nerves.
He stalked over, voice cold and hard.
"Are you done?"
Lilian turned and glared at him.
Couldn’t she even finish a damn phone call without being interrupted?
Karl, of course, caught every bit of Morrison’s irritation through the phone—and a mischievous idea instantly ca to mind.
"Hey Lilian," he said smoothly, "put on speaker."
"Huh? Why?" she asked, confused.
"Don’t ask. Just do it. Trust . Co on, quickly!"
Lilian frowned. He was being weird, but whatever—she turned on speaker mode.
And then, Karl’s voice ca through loud and clear, rich with faux sentint.
"Lilian..."
She shivered.
Goosebumps exploded across her arms.
"Even though we started out faking a relationship, the more ti I spent with you, the more I realized what an amazing girl you are," Karl said over speaker, his voice deliberately gentle. "I was actually planning to pursue you—for real."
Lilian froze.
What the hell is he doing? Her eyes widened in horror.
Pursue her? Since when? He had never said anything like that!
Panicking, she shot a glance at Morrison, only to see his expression darken like a storm cloud ready to burst.
Realizing that Karl was just stirring the pot to piss Morrison off, she fumbled to turn off the speaker mode—but it was too late.
Karl’s syrupy voice continued:
"But under my brother’s tyrannical pressure, I had no choice but to end things with you. Still, in my heart... you’ve always been the one I cherished most—"
Click.
Morrison snatched the phone from her hand and cut him off mid-speech, letting out a low, icy chuckle.
"With acting skills like that, you chose the wrong career path. You should’ve gone into film—you’d be an award-winning actor by now."
Just from his voice, Karl could tell he’d hit a nerve. Again.
He smirked quietly on the other end of the line.
They always said won in love lost their IQ. Well, judging by Morrison’s reaction, the sa went for n.
He knew Morrison didn’t believe he had any real feelings for Lilian. And yet, the mont he said sothing vaguely romantic, Morrison turned into a jealous ss.
Because only a man who truly cared would lose his mind over a fake confession.
And Karl, clearly not done poking the bear, added cheerfully,
"By the way, big bro, speaking of acting—did you know Lilian once told she loves that actor Leonardo? Even asked her dear Laurent to get an autograph for her."
Morrison’s face darkened even further.
Leonardo?
Of course he knew who that was.
The hottest actor of the year. Handso, talented, and—unfortunately—Dave’s romantic rival.
And now, apparently, his as well.
Truth be told, Leonardo was probably every man’s rival. And the idea that his girl fangirled over soone like that?
Unacceptable.
Without another word, Morrison ended the call with a swift tap and slowly turned his head toward Lilian, his obsidian eyes narrowed with dangerous intent.
She shifted nervously under his gaze.
"Don’t tell you’re angry," she said quickly, trying to play it off. "You know Karl was just ssing around, right? None of that was true."
She hadn’t heard the part about Leonardo—just assud he was still mad about Karl’s fake love confession.
But Morrison’s voice cut through her assumptions like a knife.
"Do you like Leonardo?"
The abrupt question caught her off guard.
"Of course," she answered without thinking. "He’s gorgeous! What woman doesn’t like him?"
Right now, Leonardo was everywhere. Drama after drama, movie after movie—he was dominating screens and social dia alike. His latest project, a modern romance based on a wildly popular novel, was currently filming in Kyoto. His popularity was skyrocketing.
He wasn’t just an actor. He was the collective fantasy of every modern woman.
And Lilian? She was just another ordinary, shalessly superficial woman.
No exception.
Morrison’s jaw clenched slightly. So she didn’t even bother to consider his feelings before saying that?
She could’ve at least hesitated. At least pretended to care about how it sounded—to the man who was supposed to be hers.
But no. She said it boldly. Unapologetically.
As if he didn’t even matter.
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