Julien's POV
Julien gripped the steering wheel as he drove, his eyes flicking to Valerie every few seconds. Something felt... off. She was quiet—quieter than usual. He knew she was stressed with school, but this felt different. It was like she was somewhere else entirely, her mind miles away from where they were headed.
He smiled at her, trying to brush off the uneasy feeling gnawing at the back of his mind. "You sure you're okay? You've barely said a word since we left."
Valerie's lips curved into a small, forced smile. "Yeah, just a lot going on."
Julien nodded but didn't press further. He had learned that when she got like this, it was better not to push. Still, something about today felt wrong. Her responses were so distant, almost mechanical. He tried to ignore the knot forming in his stomach, but it was becoming harder by the minute.
He kept replaying the moment he'd found her talking to Liam outside her class. There was something in the air between them, something Julien couldn't quite place. He couldn't shake the image of the way they looked at each other when he showed up. Valerie had seemed startled, and Liam... well, Liam always rubbed Julien the wrong way. He had never liked the guy—too cocky, too abrasive. But today? Today Liam looked at Valerie like he knew something Julien didn't.
No, I'm overthinking it, Julien told himself. She's just tired. School is probably overwhelming. But even as he tried to reason it out, he couldn't let go of the nagging feeling that something had changed. And the fact that it seemed to revolve around Liam only made things worse.
He glanced at Valerie again, watching her gaze drift out the window, lost in thought. She wasn't here, not really. It wasn't the first time he'd noticed her pulling away, but today, it felt more pronounced. She was always polite, always going through the motions, but recently, it felt like there was a wall between them. She hadn't been as present, and even though he kept telling himself it was just a phase, he couldn't shake the growing sense that something was wrong.
Is it me? he wondered. They had been engaged for a while now, but the excitement he once felt about their future together had dimmed. He couldn't deny that things weren't as electric as they were in the beginning. He thought they were just settling into the next phase, but what if Valerie didn't feel the same way?
Suddenly, the image of Valerie with Liam flashed through his mind again. Was it just me, or did they seem... close? He hated the thought of it, but it had been nagging him ever since he interrupted their conversation. Was there something going on between them? No, he couldn't let his mind go there. Valerie wasn't the type to get involved with someone else. She was loyal, committed—my fiancée, he reminded himself.
But then why did it feel like he was losing her?
The thought hit him harder than he expected. He had never questioned their relationship before, never doubted that they were on the right path. They had everything planned out—the wedding, the house, the perfect life their families expected. Yet, as the months went on, he started to wonder if they were just going through the motions.
And now, with Liam in the picture, he felt a spark of insecurity that he wasn't used to. He didn't like it. He was supposed to be the one Valerie wanted, the one she was going to marry. But the distance between them was growing, and he couldn't ignore it anymore.
"I've been thinking," Julien said suddenly, his voice more serious than he intended. Valerie turned to him, her eyes curious but still distant. "About us."
Valerie raised an eyebrow slightly, her body tensing just a bit. "What about us?"
Julien hesitated, unsure if now was the right time to bring it up, but he couldn't hold it in any longer. "Do you ever feel like... I don't know, like something's changed between us?"
Valerie blinked, clearly caught off guard. "Changed? What do you mean?"
"I mean..." He sighed, gripping the wheel a little tighter. "You just seem... distant lately. I know you're stressed with school and everything, but it feels like you've been pulling away. And today, when I saw you with Liam—"
"Liam?" Valerie cut him off, her voice a bit sharper than he expected. "What does Liam have to do with this?"
Julien paused, watching her closely. The way she reacted made something click in his mind. There's definitely something going on.
"I don't know," he said carefully. "You two just seemed... close. I mean, if there's something you need to talk to me about, you can. I don't want us to ignore things if something's bothering you."
Valerie's eyes flickered with something—was it guilt?—but she quickly masked it. "Nothing's going on with Liam," she said, her tone defensive, like she was trying to convince herself just as much as him.
Julien felt his chest tighten. He wanted to believe her, but the way she responded, the tension in her voice, made it hard. "Okay," he said quietly, though it didn't feel resolved at all. He kept his eyes on the road, trying to focus on anything else, but his mind was racing. He hated feeling insecure, but right now, that's exactly what he was.
They pulled up to his parents' house, the familiar driveway doing nothing to calm the unease that had been growing inside him. He parked the car, but instead of getting out right away, he turned to Valerie again, his voice softer, more uncertain. "If something is wrong, just tell me. I'd rather know the truth, whatever it is."
Valerie looked at him, her expression hard to read, before giving a small nod. "Okay," she said, but it felt like she was just trying to end the conversation.
Julien sighed as they stepped out of the car and walked up the steps together. He couldn't shake the feeling that whatever was going on, it was bigger than just school stress. And despite Valerie's reassurances, he couldn't ignore the nagging voice in his head that told him Liam wasn't just a classmate anymore.
As they entered his parents' house, Julien forced a smile, but his mind was far from the dinner and the pleasantries ahead. He couldn't stop wondering if, somewhere along the way, he had already lost her.
