Chapter 4

Meghan's POV

I grimace at the way he’s chosen to say those words.

There’s something about his tone, too deliberate, too practiced, that makes my skin crawl. Like he’s performing confidence instead of actually having it.

He says something else to me, lower this time, just for me, and whatever it is makes my stomach tighten in a way I immediately hate. My shoulders instinctively draw in before I can stop them.

Kylah notices first.

She steps closer, sliding into my space like she’s suddenly clocked the shift in the air, her earlier laughter gone. “Hey,” she says lightly, but there’s an edge under it now, her eyes flicking between me and him. Protective. Alert.

But Julien doesn’t care.

If anything, he leans in closer.

Invading the space Kylah just tried to reclaim.

And he says something else worse this time. Too close, too confident, like my discomfort is just part of the conversation he’s decided we’re having.

My throat tightens.

I force my expression to stay neutral, even as my pulse spikes under my skin. I don’t want him to see it. Don’t want him to get the satisfaction of knowing he’s getting under my skin.

So I straighten slightly.

Take a small breath.

“Look,” I start, trying to keep my voice steady, “I’m just here with my friends, so—”

But I don’t even get to finish.

Because his hand moves.

Reaching.

For my arm.

Julien’s hand is still halfway in the air when everything changes.

One second it’s just him, too close, too confident, that cold little smile still sitting on his face like he’s already decided how this interaction is going to go.

The next-

The pressure of another presence cuts through the space behind me.

Fast.

Certain.

A hand lands on my waist like it belongs there.

Firm enough to anchor me, but not forceful. Just… immediate. Protective in a way my body registers before my mind even fully processes it.

Warmth floods through me all at once, sharp and disorienting, like my entire nervous system just got rerouted.

I freeze.

Julien freezes too.

And then I look up.

The guy standing behind me doesn’t even glance at me at first.

His eyes are locked on Julien.

Dark. Focused. Unblinking in a way that makes the air feel heavier.

There’s something about him that doesn’t match the noise of the bar. Doesn’t match anything around us. Like he stepped out of a different world and decided this moment mattered enough to interrupt his.

Julien straightens slightly, annoyance flickering across his face.

“And you are?” he asks, voice tight now.

The arm around my waist doesn’t move.

Doesn’t loosen.

If anything, it settles more securely, like a silent answer.

The guy finally speaks.

Low. Controlled.

“No one you need to talk to her through.”

My breath catches slightly at the tone of it.

Not loud.

Not aggressive.

Final.

Kylah shifts closer beside me, like she’s just now fully clocking what’s happening. Eliana stops talking mid-sentence. Even Anya’s smile fades at the edges.

Julien lets out a short, humorless laugh. “I was just having a conversation.”

The pressure at my waist tightens by a fraction, not painful, just… present. A reminder. A boundary without words.

The guy tilts his head slightly.

“She doesn’t look like she’s enjoying it.”

That lands differently.

Because it’s true.

Julien’s eyes flick to me again, sharper now, like he’s recalculating the situation. Like he doesn’t like that there’s resistance he didn’t anticipate.

“Is that right?” he asks me directly.

All at once, I feel it everyone waiting for my answer. The weight of it. The attention. The choice.

But I don’t get the chance to speak immediately.

Because the hand at my waist shifts just slightly, not pulling me, not controlling me just grounding me there, like he already knows I don’t need to be anywhere else in this moment.

And something about that steadiness makes my voice come out clearer than I expect.

“Yeah,” I say simply.

A beat.

Julien’s jaw tightens.

The guy behind me doesn’t move.

Doesn’t gloat.

Doesn’t escalate.

He just stays there, like he’s decided the conversation is already over.

And for the first time since Julien walked over, I feel like I can breathe again.