I couldn’t sleep after the charity ball, my mind spinning with Alexander’s threats and Julian’s fake proposal. At 2 AM, I gave up on rest and wandered down to the academy gardens, hoping the cold night air might clear my head. The formal gardens were beautiful in the moonlight, all manicured hedges and marble statues that looked like something out of a Gothic romance novel.
What I didn’t expect was to find Julian and Nick in the middle of what looked like the fight of their lives.
They were standing near the fountain in the center of the garden, their formal wear disheveled and their voices raised in the kind of argument that had clearly been building for hours. Julian’s midnight blue tuxedo jacket was thrown over a nearby bench, his white dress shirt partially unbuttoned, and his dark h
