Second chance ~ Jude Bellingham

chap 26

As she walks to the bathroom, Juliette spots Jude outside. She thought he wasn't even here.

Jude turns around and sees Juliette, feeling a slight sense of alarm at being caught spying on them. He clears his throat awkwardly. "Hey... I was just, um, getting some fresh air."

Juliette feels a mix of surprise and annoyance. "I didn't know you were here. Why didn't you come into the living room?"

Jude shrugs, trying to play it cool. "Well, I didn't want to interrupt your little happy family moment in there. Seemed like you and Alejandro were hitting it off with my mom." There's a hint of bitterness in his tone, but he tries to hide it.

Juliette feels a pang of irritation at Jude's words. She's always valued Karen's opinion and wanted her to meet Alejandro. "Well, Karen's like a second mom to me and you know it. So I wanted her to meet Alejandro, who's my boyfriend. I think it's normal. You could've at least said hi."

Jude's eyes narrow slightly at Juliette's words, feeling a mix of hurt and jealousy. "I was just giving you guys space. I didn't want to come in uninvited like I'm some sort of intruder in your perfect little life."

Juliette raises an eyebrow, her irritation growing. "Is there something wrong?" she asks, crossing her arms, trying to understand the underlying bitterness in his tone.

Jude sighs, feeling defensive and cornered by Juliette's question. "What do you mean, is there something wrong? Everything's fine. I'm just giving you some room to enjoy your time with Alejandro and my mom." His tone is sharp and his body language is tense, betraying his true emotions.

Juliette's frustration starts to boil over. "In your perfect little life'? What does that mean?" she asks, her voice tinged with anger.

Jude hesitates, feeling his resentment and jealousy building up inside him. He turns to face Juliette, his expression intense. "You know exactly what I mean. Your life seems pretty perfect to me. You have a great apartment, a boyfriend who adores you, and now you even have my mom wrapped around your finger. Some people just have all the luck, huh?" His voice drips with bitterness and a hint of sarcasm.

Juliette's anger flares. "Luck? You can't say that, Jude."

Jude scoffs, his frustration bubbling over. "Why not? It's true, isn't it? You always manage to land on your feet, no matter what bad choices you make. That's some luck if you ask me."

Juliette feels a sting at his words. "Oh, I'm so lucky that I lost my parents, of course. And you know what, I'm so lucky because you ruined my life for so long!" she says sarcastically.

Jude's expression hardens. "Ruined your life for so long? You're blaming me for your problems? That's rich. Maybe if you didn't make such terrible decisions, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did."

Juliette's eyes flash with anger. "What does that even mean?!"

Jude raises his voice, his frustration and anger fully unleashed now. "It means that I'm sick of seeing you play the victim all the time. You made your own choices, Juliette, and now you have to live with the consequences. Don't blame me for everything that goes wrong in your life!"

Juliette's voice shakes with fury. "Excuse me if my parents died, I'm not responsible! You bullied me after that, which means that you're responsible too. And when I got back here, you put a bet on me. So yeah, you're partly responsible. And no, I'm not lucky."

Jude's jaw clenches, his frustration mounting. "Oh, so now I'm responsible for your parents dying? That's a low blow, even for you. And you know what? You were no angel either. You acted out and made stupid choices all the time. And as for the bet? That was a stupid, childish thing to do. But you have to take some responsibility for your own life too, Juliette. You can't blame everything on me."