My boyfriend, Ethan, went missing after a wilderness survival trip on a deserted island. I spent every single penny of my savings, searching for him like crazy, but found absolutely nothing. Until two months later, on my way to work, I saw him. He was laughing and joking with his friends, bragging: "Missing? Of course it was fake. My girlfriend was getting way too clingy. I had to teach her a lesson." "I had Julian cover for me. She didn't suspect a thing." Julian is his best friend. I pretended I didn't hear a word. When I got home, Julian hugged me gently from behind. "Any news about Ethan today?" "No." I kissed Julian, pretending to be heartbroken, and said: "He was probably eaten by wild beasts on that island. I'm done looking for him." "Julian, let's make us official." When I first saw Ethan on the street, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I was about to walk over to get a closer look, but then I heard him bragging to his friends. "Ethan, since you 'went missing,' even we barely get to see you." "Can't help it," Ethan said, leaning back with a smug smirk. "Chloe was getting too clingy, always trying to control me. I had to teach her a lesson." "How did you even come up with the missing stunt?" "I came up with it, obviously," The girl sitting next to Ethan said, raising her eyebrows proudly. "With his brain, do you think he could think of something this brilliant? He has to rely on me." "Yeah, yeah, you're the smartest," Ethan smiled at her dotingly. I recognized that girl. Sienna, the only girl in Ethan's tight-knit friend group. "But still, playing this big of a prank... isn't Chloe going to get suspicious?" "I had Julian cover for me. It's totally fine." Everyone suddenly understood. "No wonder. With Julian backing you up, who would ever doubt it?" "Julian is always the reliable one." Sienna let out a soft snort. "Honestly, it's just because Chloe is an idiot." I waited for Ethan to defend me. But instead, he just leaned in and coaxed her softly: "Exactly. She's nowhere near as smart or beautiful as you." The rest of the group started cheering and teasing them. As if they were completely used to this. "Ethan, why don't you just date Sienna already? Why even bother having a girlfriend?" "I don't hook up within the inner circle." "Get lost, I wouldn't want you anyway," Sienna replied. They pretended to be disgusted with each other. But under the table, their legs were playfully rubbing against each other. Near the end of their chat, someone asked: "You can't stay 'dead' forever, Ethan. When do you plan on going back?" "I'm waiting," Ethan said with absolute confidence. "I'll go back when Chloe is completely driven crazy by losing me." I was actually on my way to the police station to file a Missing Persons Report today. Now, I changed my mind. I went to buy my favorite snacks. Then, I treated myself to a luxurious spa day. By the time I got home, it was already evening. The lights in the apartment were off. I thought Julian had already left. Just as I stepped into my slippers, someone wrapped their arms around me from behind. My body stiffened slightly. I asked, "Have you been drinking?" Julian didn't answer directly. "What did you do today? You didn't pick up my FaceTime calls." "Sorry, I wasn't looking at my phone." "Any news about Ethan?" "Sigh, no," I said, my voice filled with fake disappointment. Julian held me even tighter, his warm breath brushing against my neck. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't dragged him to that island for the camping trip, he wouldn't have gone missing." He sounded genuinely remorseful. —If only his warm tongue hadn't just grazed my earlobe. Julian is one of Ethan's best friends. After Ethan "disappeared," they split the roles—one stayed in the shadows, the other in the light. Julian was supposed to play the "guilt-ridden friend." But Ethan probably didn't know. His dear brother's... Way of showing remorse... was a bit unconventional.
Julian's family background was even wealthier than Ethan's. In public, he was always cold, distant, and completely out of reach. I used to think so, too. Usually, when we were in private, Julian and I barely spoke a word to each other. After graduating from college, I got a job. As fate would have it, the company turned out to be one of the subsidiaries of Julian's family conglomerate. Julian became my young boss. That made the distance between us feel even wider. We only started getting close about a month ago. When I suddenly got the news of Ethan's disappearance, I completely broke down for a while. Julian, acting as the initiator of the trip, felt extremely guilty and offered to take care of me in Ethan's place for a while. But he was a bit too attentive. He insisted on cooking all three meals himself and serving them right to me. It made me feel so embarrassed. I said: "Julian, you can't blame yourself for this. Ethan always loved extreme outdoor sports. Even without your invitation, he would have explored that island on his own eventually. "His parents didn't say anything to blame you, so of course I won't either. "You should go back to your busy life. I really don't need you to... put down that piece of clothing!" I took a giant step forward. And snatched my bra right out of his hands. "I can wash my own underwear!" Julian looked at me with a deadly serious face. "I wash things cleaner. Are you sure you don't want me to help?" "Absolutely not!" I was so embarrassed at the time that I didn't notice. He hid his hands behind his back. And rubbed his fingers together in regret. So how did I discover Julian's other side? It was probably one night, around midnight, when I got up to use the restroom. I realized Julian was still staying over at my place, refusing to leave. I decided to go ask him about it. But just as I approached the cracked door of the guest room, I saw it. He was shirtless, showing off his lean, muscular upper body. In one hand, he was holding my lace camisole. His other hand was blocked by the wardrobe. Under the dim, warm light, Julian's back muscles were completely tensed, the veins on his arms bulging. I was completely shocked by the scene. I couldn't help but make a sound. Julian whipped his head around instantly. The moment he saw me. He tilted his head back. A low, trembling groan escaped his throat. I discovered Julian's secret. And from then on, I hopped onto his boat. I knew I should have pushed him away. I shouldn't have allowed his hugs and kisses. But I couldn't control myself. Probably because, when I was crying my eyes out over Ethan, Only Julian was there, silently keeping me company. And more importantly— I had already begun to suspect that Ethan's disappearance was a total scam. What kind of parents wouldn't report their own son missing, and even stop me from calling the cops? What kind of friends would throw wild parties and live in luxury right after their best buddy went missing? All these doubts were finally confirmed today. All of them had teamed up to put on a show for me. And Julian was a major actor in this play. Back to the present. Julian still refused to let go of me. Feeling a bit exhausted, I said, "Did you cook? I'm starving." "Yes, all your favorites." "Go heat it up." "Okay." Julian immediately went to heat up the food. He didn't think there was anything wrong with me speaking to him in such an commanding tone. After dinner. I took off my cardigan and threw it at him. "Go wash it." Julian paused. "Am I allowed to?" "Yeah. I'm tired today, too lazy to do it myself." Like he had just received an award, he happily carried the clothes into the bathroom. I knew he wouldn't be out for at least twenty minutes. After successfully sending Julian away. I unlocked his phone, which he had left on the table. Sure enough, Ethan had created a burner Snapchat account and had been keeping in touch with them the whole time. During the first few days, Ethan actually asked about me. [Ethan: How is Chloe?] [Julian: She cried for a long time today.] [Ethan: It's fine, she's always like that, crying over everything is so annoying. Thanks for keeping an eye on her.] [Julian: When are you ending this joke?] [Ethan: ?] [Julian: If you don't like her, just break up. There's no need to play her like this.] [Ethan: It's not that I don't like her. I just think she controls me too much. She wouldn't even let me go out drinking at midnight. Sienna is right, she needs to suffer a bit to learn how to behave around me.] Julian didn't reply after that. With a ding, a group chat popped up, catching my attention. The group name was— Princess Sienna and Her Three Minions.
[Princess Sienna: Fresh news! Chloe was crying again yesterday, her coworkers saw her!] [Minion #1 Ethan: I heard about that too.] [Princess Sienna: See? My method works like magic~ Ethan, you owe me a fancy dinner.] This was the group chat of Ethan and Sienna's little clique. There were four guys in the group. Three of them were labeled as minions. The extra one was Julian. He was the only one using his real name. I remembered Ethan telling me before. Julian had joined their group halfway through college. No one really knew why. My guess was that because Julian's family business was massive and involved heavy investments, Ethan and his friends had actively tried to suck up to him. Julian rarely spoke in the group. It was mostly Ethan responding to Sienna's every word. [Minion #1 Ethan: A fancy dinner? Haven't I treated you enough? You literally have one of my credit cards. Chloe used to throw tantrums all the time because of that.] [Princess Sienna: Omg, thinking about that still makes me laugh.] [Princess Sienna: We've been best friends since we were kids! Who does she think she is to get jealous? Rolling eyes emoji] [Princess Sienna: Honestly, she's probably just jealous that I have so many guy friends.] Ethan sent a "Protect the Princess" meme. [Ethan: Alright, don't get mad. From now on, any gifts I buy for her, I'll let you pick what you want first. Satisfied, Princess?] [Princess Sienna: Hmph, that's more like it.] I felt sick to my stomach. I scrolled up further. They literally talked every single day. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were dating. It turned out that every single time Ethan was late for our dates, it was because of Sienna. Even when I was sick and sitting alone in the ER getting an IV drip, He was out shopping with Sienna. Even the Valentine's Day gift he gave me Was just something Sienna didn't want. ... Another new notification popped up. Ethan had sent Julian a private message. [Ethan: Hey, I just remembered something.] I imitated Julian's short, cold texting style: [?] [Ethan: Two months ago, on Sienna's birthday night, I got totally wasted... and ended up staying over at her place. Make sure you don't let that slip.] [Ethan: Remember, if anyone asks, I was with you that night.] I slowly typed out four words: [Did you two actually?] [Ethan: Ugh, didn't we agree not to bring that up again?] [Ethan: Sienna and I are pretending nothing happened that night.] [Ethan: Otherwise, how can we still be friends?] Julian came out of the bathroom. The clothes were already washed. His expression was calm, but the corners of his eyes were still slightly flushed. I smirked at him. "Are your hands useful?" Julian froze. Even though I had already busted his secret, And accepted his hugs and kisses, We had never actually taken the next step. "Is there," I pointed at my clothes, "anything stained on it?" "...I washed it clean. You can check." "Don't worry, I don't mind." I looked Julian up and down. Six-foot-two, with a practically perfect physique. No matter how you looked at it, he was ten times better-looking than Ethan. "I might have to trouble you to wash a dress for me in a bit." "What?" Julian looked down at me. Before he could process what I meant, I had already slipped out of my robe, stepped up on my tiptoes, and actively kissed him. "Julian, Ethan might actually be dead." I said in a sweet, vulnerable voice, "Can you stay with me tonight?"
After that night. Whenever I wriggled my finger, Julian would come over. We had an incredible connection. Way better than what I ever had with Ethan. Julian cared deeply about how I felt. So in terms of experience, it was on a whole different level. I actually enjoyed it. Plus, his stamina and body were in a completely different league. I actually started to regret it. Why didn't I make this move earlier? Why did I waste so much time on a dead weight like Ethan? Julian didn't notice anything unusual. Mainly because I had deleted that chat log. Whenever I got the chance, I would use his phone to check their group chat. Since I stopped looking for Ethan's whereabouts these past few days, Ethan started to panic. He tagged everyone in the group chat. [Ethan: What's going on? Why did Chloe suddenly stop searching for me?] One friend replied: [Don't worry, Ethan. She's probably just exhausted lately and has no energy.] [Ethan: No way. No matter how tired Chloe is, she would never stop looking for me!] [Ethan: Maybe I should go back now?] [Princess Sienna: Hold on! Ignore her for a bit longer. If you go back now, all our efforts will go down the drain.] [Ethan: No, I have to go back and check on her tomorrow.] [Princess Sienna: Ethan, are you out of your mind? I spent so much time planning this for you, and now you won't even follow it? What do you take me for?] [Princess Sienna: As a woman, I know exactly what she's playing. She probably heard some rumors and is trying to force you to show up.] [Princess Sienna: Just watch me teach her a lesson!] Ethan remained silent for a while. In the end, he submitted. [Ethan: Fine, we'll do it your way.] Despite saying that, Ethan was still anxious. That night, he secretly called Julian. When the call came in, I happened to be sitting on Julian's lap. It showed as an unknown number. I actively pressed the answer button and held the phone to Julian's ear. "Hey, bro, I'm just worried, so I wanted to ask. "How has Chloe been lately?" Julian thought I couldn't hear the voice on the phone. He answered vaguely, "She's... doing fine." "Holy shit, Julian, what's up with your voice? Is there a woman next to you?" "...How can you tell?" "I can hear it instantly, man. You're getting lucky! Am I interrupting something good? You gotta bring her out to meet us next time—" Before Ethan could finish his sentence, I suddenly spoke up, looking at Julian: "Are you done with the call? Focus on me." The phone went dead silent. When Ethan spoke again, his voice had completely changed: "Julian, who the hell are you with right now?!"
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