Page 27 of Faith

That was something he could not do again. It would lead to losing control, which meant drugs.

Jensen knew if he tumbled into that hole, he wouldn’t escape alive.

chapterfive

Nicola was relieved that she had been alone working until late afternoon. She’d ignored Jensen’s mother and the five messages she had left. After dealing with Jensen, she wasn’t in the mood to handle his mother. One of the things Nicola had learned during her tenure with the Wulf family was to have rules of engagement. Talking to Lillian Wulf, when Nicola was still frazzled by her son, was not a good idea. His mother would definitely know there was something going on.

When her phone showed that Julienne was calling, Nicola grabbed her phone.

“Hey, Jules. How are you doing?”

“I guess you heard.”

“Yes, your brother told me.”

A long sigh filtered over the phone. “Really? I thought Mother would get to you first.”

“She’s been calling, but I had my phone turned off to work.”

Jules chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “And you’ve been avoiding social media.”

“I find that to be a good thing if I have no reason to pay attention.”

“So, you think there is nothing to worry about?”

Nic rubbed her temple. She didn’t want a headache, not when she was going to spend time with Serenity.

“There’s going to be gossip. You know there’s no way to avoid it, but I have a feeling that it won’t be particularly bad. It’s not like either of you were in the rags much.”

There was a long moment of silence, which worried Nicola. The rest of the Wulfs always seemed to think that Jules could handle anything. That her silence meant she was okay with the good girl role. Nicola wasn’t so sure Jules was happy.

“Do you think I made a mistake breaking off my engagement?”

Nicola didn’t answer right away. She hadn’t really liked Gregor. True, she didn’t dislike him, but…he was boring. Still, doing something so abrupt was out of character for Jules. She didn’t cross the street without two alternate routes. Ending their engagement after three years was not something Nicola thought Jules would ever do.

“Nic?”

“Sorry. What happened? What made you decide to break it off?”

“There I was on the morning of our three-year anniversary and six months from our wedding, and it hit me.”

“What hit you?”

“I stared at him across the table at breakfast about a week ago and I thought, ‘Jesus, what a bloody bore.’”

Nicola stifled a chuckle. Most people thought of Julienne as some kind of super human with no emotions. Nicola knew differently. She felt more deeply, but being the youngest and the only girl, somehow made her more acceptable as part of the Wulf Industries family. So, if she felt something, people rarely knew it. Nicola did, though. She had spent years doing the same thing, until it had almost been too late. Julienne also had a fantastic sense of humor. She hid it from a lot of people, and it was so dry most people didn’t know if she was joking or being mean.

“Has it hit the press?”

“Of course it has. For someone so boring, Gregor sure did want to raise a ruckus about this. I didn’t think he would have his feelings hurt so badly.”

Nicola thought of it differently. Gregor was a lawyer with political ambitions and losing Julienne would damage his credibility. She would never say that to Julienne, though.

“Have you talked to your brother?”

“Which one?”

“Either, both?”

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