Julian's POV
I could still hear the punishing roar of my father's voice, it was ringing in my ears, making my skin crawl. Every word Richard had spat at me was condescending, he called me incompetent, useless, all those names had added to my self-loathing. I wanted to be alone; to be drowned in the dark until I could no longer feel the shame.
But Catherine wouldn't let me. She stood there, her eyes flashing with a defiance that matched the anger in my blood. When she threw my own command back at me, refusing to move, something cut through my alcohol-induced haze. My anger suddenly felt misdirected. She did nothing to me, except trying to be there for me.
I looked at her standing in the middle of my messy room. Catherine was the only one who truly felt my pain, the only person who had ever tried to see beneath my mask; the only person that managed to break my walls; the only person I could be vulnerable to.
My shoulders slumped, the defensive posture finally failing me.
