Chapter 24 Your Kissing Skills Are Actually Pretty Bad
Juliette could sense that something was off with Max after he came upstairs.
But she never connected it with Percy–just assumed he’d run into trouble at work.
After a simple dinner, Juliette washed the dishes and walked over to Max.
“Wanna go for a walk?”
“Sure,” he agreed. Sometimes, a breath of fresh air really could help blow away the gloom.
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Seeing Percy today had brought back thoughts of Mom–how she’d died in her prime, in a bizarre, unexplained fire.
The evening breeze gently tousled Juliette’s hair, adding a messy kind of beauty to her.
“Actually, there’s nothing in life you can’t get through,” she said softly. “As long as you’re alive, everything will eventually be okay.”
Max turned to look at the woman beside him.
Was she… comforting me?
“Look at me,” she continued. “Three years ago, I was framed–I lost my dignity, my status, and even my health. But I got through it, didn’t I? Don’t get sad over some little setback.”
Then she stepped in front of him and opened her arms. “Come on, give me a hug. Human hugs have a kind of magic–they recharge you.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist. There was nothing sexual in the embrace, yet it made Max’s soul tremble.
Seriously? We’d barely known each other. How could she read me so easily? How did she know exactly what I was feeling?
Not even the people who raised me knew how much it hurt every time they chose the other child over me.
“Juliette. Do you know… your kissing skills are actually pretty bad?” Max changed the topic, almost like he was trying to deflect.
Juliette looked up from his arms, indignant. “What? I’m comforting you, and you’re insulting me? Of course I’m not good–I never had anyone teach me. How would I know all those tricks?”
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Chapter 24 Your Kissing Skills Are Actually Pretty Bad
My thing with Gavin had always been childish–at most, we held hands or hugged.
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Back then, my parents had strictly forbidden any intimacy between us.
Now that I thought about it, they were probably already paving the way for Vivienne.
While Juliette was still spacing out, two large hands cupped her face as Max leaned in slightly.
His thin lips brushed hers, gently teasing, parting her lips, and delving deeper, entangling with hers in a slow, consuming kiss.
Every subtle motion of his made every pore on Juliette’s body open up.
So this… was what kissing really felt like? It made my scalp tingle.
“Meow-”
A stray cat wandered nearby, mewing as it spotted the two of them.
Only then did Max pull away, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “That… is what you call a kiss.”
For some reason, seeing Juliette completely stunned made him feel inexplicably better.
He patted her on the shoulder. “It’s getting late. Let’s go home.”
Juliette stood frozen in place. When she finally snapped out of it, her face turned bright red, and she bolted toward home.
What the heck! If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have tried to comfort him! I ended up giving away my imaginary first kiss!
After showering, Juliette returned to her room and collapsed onto the bed, twisting around like a little worm.
Why did Max kiss me?
Was it because… he liked me?
No! He’d told me not to catch feelings.
So was that his revenge? What happened earlier when I kissed him in front of Percy?
Yeah… that had to be it.
That kiss followed Juliette into her dreams,
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Chapter 24 Your Kissing Skills Are Actually Pretty Bad
She dreamed of the man from three years ago–the one who had ruined her life.
She’d been drugged back then, groggy and unable to see his face clearly.
All she remembered was the roughness… and the pain, like he was tearing her apart.
In a fleeting moment, she thought the man’s face looked exactly like Max’s.
She woke up the next morning.
After a quick wash, she took the subway to work.
Today’s tasks were pretty much the same as yesterday’s.
Around noon, a lab technician named Lauren approached her.
“Juliette.”
“Yes, Lauren?” Juliette answered.
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“I’ve got an experiment to run later. Can you shred these old documents for me?” Lauren handed her a thick file.
Juliette glanced at the data. “Isn’t this the key project the lab’s been working on recently? You’re tossing it?”
“Why are you asking so many questions? You’re just here to record data–what makes you think you know more than I do? Just shred it. The data’s all wrong, and we can’t afford confusion later.”
Hearing that, Juliette didn’t argue.
After Lauren left, Juliette went to the shredding room and fed the thick stack of papers into the machine.
When she was done, she made herself a coffee in the break room to wake up a bit.
Later in the afternoon, Samuel Drake–who’d been working tirelessly in the lab–finally emerged.
S Lab had been developing a new sleep aid, and Mr. Samuel was the project lead. Everyone respected him deeply.
“Where’s the experimental data I asked to be brought out earlier? Where was it placed?”
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Chapter 24 Your Kissing Skills Are Actually Pretty Bad
The room fell silent. No one had seen any such data.
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That’s when Lauren stood up. “Juliette, Mr. Samuel’s asking for that file. Bring it over already.”
Juliette frowned, confused. She had no idea which file they meant.
Seeing her still puzzled, Lauren snapped, “What’s wrong with you? Didn’t I give you a file this morning and ask you to make copies? Hand over the copies already!”
“Lauren, I think you’ve got it mixed up. You said that was scrap data and told me to shred it.”
Samuel’s expression changed the moment he heard the word “shred.”
“When did I say to shred it? I clearly said to copy it! I heard your hearing’s not great, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. How could you mess up something so important? A deaf person like you–what are you even doing working here? You’re just holding everyone back!” Lauren berated without mercy.
Juliette bit her lower lip. My hearing issues were real, but I’d asked Lauren twice. There was no way I misheard both times.
“Enough! What is wrong with all of you? That file was crucial. The executive board is meeting tomorrow afternoon, and they need it. It was a handwritten original–there’s no backup!” Samuel’s voice turned stern as he scolded them.
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