Filed to story: The Breaking Point (Maya & Julian) Book PDF Free
“What about the copy that I gave you after that?” Maya tried her best to comfort Luna. Luna hurried off to look for the copy in the drawer, but she then looked up with a grimace on her face. “We’re dead. That copy’s gone.”
Maya was speechless for a while. “Don’t worry. I’ll come up with something. You shouldn’t panic. If everything else fails, I’ll just have to admit that I’m Alana.” Maya turned and left after that. She didn’t know if Julian was still in the private restaurant in the dining hall – all she knew then was that she had to find a way to contact him. The rest of the designers would probably develop a bad impression of Alana once the news spread, and this would come as a blow to L.Moon Studio.
Selena didn’t reach out to Julian. Instead, she allowed the suspicion and confusion to continue brewing among the designers. At the same time, Kevin curled his lips into a victorious smirk after he saw the clips that were aired that afternoon. “Aren’t you going to talk to Mr. Julian about what happened this morning?” Damon asked after some hesitation.
Kevin gave the other person a playful smirk. “There’s no need to talk about anything. Our job is just to produce the show, and these debatable issues are meant to fall into the hands of the netizens. That’s how our program is going to get popular.” This show is getting more and more interesting, Kevin thought to himself.
Maya slung her bag over her shoulder before returning to her own room. If the draft that I handed to Luna is gone, it probably means that we accidentally submitted them together. Maya had made it a point to double-check the rules, and she knew that the investors would get the opportunity to get a look at the drafts first. They were the ones that would do the preliminary selections. In other words, Julian would know if the draft with the shoeprint was there.
Maya gritted her teeth before she gave Julian a call. He picked up the call just a few seconds after she dialed her number. “What is it?” His voice was deep and devoid of much emotion. “Can we meet up for a while? There’s something I’d like to talk to you about.” Maya tried her best to sound as gentle as possible since she was the one who had a favor to ask.
“Now?” Julian sounded slightly louder the second time he spoke. There seemed to be a hidden meaning behind his tone of speech. Maya felt her cheeks turning warm. After all, she had been all stubborn with him just a day ago, and she was already going back on her word one day after.
“Well, if you’re not free now, then I can talk to you on the phone. I left a draft at your place yesterday – ” she started. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Julian. How did you end up all the way in this part of the garden?” Selena’s voice came from the other end of the line, interrupting what Maya had to say. “I have matters to handle. Goodbye.” Julian ended the call before Maya had a chance to finish her words.
After that, Maya was left alone in the washroom. Her knuckles were white as she clutched her phone. She let out a sigh before turning to walk out of the washroom. Pursing her lips, she paced back and forth in her room for about 30 seconds. Then, a new look of determination surfaced in her gaze as she grabbed her phone and headed out. In the deeper end of the garden… I think I know where Julian is.
The fresh scent of plants greeted Maya as she made her way through the thick flower bushes. The path was windy, and she made multiple turns to get further into the gardens. She was just starting to feel anxious when she made the next turn to find Julian standing close to a rose bush. Even though he was dressed in a full black suit, his strong aura still made him more attractive than the bright-colored flowers surrounding him.
Julian was on a call when he turned around to see Maya standing before him. He curled his lips into a mysterious smile before speaking into his phone. “I have to go now. We’ll talk soon.”
Maya walked over without any hesitation. “Are you looking at flowers?” She wasn’t necessarily trying to engage in small talk with him. Julian raised an eyebrow as he turned to glance at Maya. “I’m surprised that you managed to find me here.”
Maya felt awkwardly exposed for a moment, but she was quick to return to her usual self. “Well, I do have something that I’d like to talk to you about.”
Julian edged closer to her before leaning his body forward. “Did you get agitated after hearing Selena’s voice?” Maya took a closer look at him to figure that he was in a good mood – his expression seemed laid-back and relaxed today. Is it because Selena was having a secret meetup with him here? An inexplicable sense of frustration rose in Maya’s chest as she lowered her gaze and softened her tone. “No. It’s about something else. I wouldn’t come here just to bother you and Selena,” she uttered.
“Selena didn’t ask to meet me here. You’re the one who asked to meet,” Julian reminded her. She looked up with a hint of puzzlement in her gaze. “So, you were waiting for me here?”
“I was just standing around and looking at the flowers.” Julian was obviously just using Maya’s own words to annoy her.
Maya licked her lips as she subconsciously fidgeted. “There’s something I need your help with, Julian…” Maya paused before she could say anything else. Right then, Julian knitted his brows. Before he got a chance to speak, Maya clamped her hand over his lips before pushing him toward the rose bushes. Julian noticed a look of fear and terror in Maya’s eyes as he felt their bodies sinking into the rose bushes. Maya was worried that he would get scratched by the thorns, so she attempted to push his back against the wall. This way, she would be the one exposed to the thorns.
All of a sudden, Julian resisted her actions and forced herself to switch spots with him. Some rustling noises came from the bushes, and Maya was in too much of a panic to wonder why Julian had switched spots with her. Julian could feel the twigs of the rose bushes pressing against his back, forcing him to edge closer toward Maya. He still seemed rather relaxed as he focused his gaze on the woman’s lips. She was biting her bottom lips. He could feel her soft figure pressed against him, and he could even feel her curves as their bodies got closer to each other.
A pair of footsteps got closer to them then. Maya wasn’t even breathing at that point, and she was visibly anxious. The man eyed her in amusement. The footsteps outside sounded closer to them for a while before they grew further away. Only then did Maya let out a long sigh. She met Julian’s gaze and soon realized that she was still pressing her hands against his lips. Her hand jerked away from his face as if she had just touched something hot, but she then realized that their faces were only inches away. She immediately pushed him away from her.
Julian felt his body being pushed backward for a while, but the thick bushes nudged him back into his original spot. He bumped against her figure before letting out a grunt. “Don’t move,” he whispered.
Maya’s figure stiffened immediately after that. Julian’s gaze was dark as he moved closer to the woman while speaking in a deep voice. “Your dream of getting a child will be ruined if you break me,” he reminded her.
His words were meant as a joke, but Maya got triggered after hearing his mention of getting a child. She had always hated discussing matters of childbirth, and she felt rather sorry for herself when she heard Julian bringing it up. He never wanted a child, yet he says these things to hurt me.
She knitted her brows together for a moment before she smoothed them out and addressed him in a friendly tone. “You know Luna never went to you. I was the one who left the draft behind, and you sent it back to me. You should remember if there was a mark on it.”
Julian nodded a little before speaking. “Are you sure you want us to talk in such secrecy?”
The conversation seemed rather serious, yet they were caught in a rather intimate position. They had been in several types of positions while having a conversation, but they had never been stuck in a spot like that before.
Maya seemed to snap out of a daze then and tried to wriggle her way out. “I’ll go out to take a look.” She barely moved before the man held onto her slim waist.
“Let’s just talk here.” His voice sounded rather raspy, but he had a serious look on his face.
Maya lowered her gaze as she felt her cheeks turning red. “Can you help me retrieve the copy of the draft that has a mark on it? I believe two copies were submitted, so it shouldn’t cause any issues to the show if you just take the dirtied piece back.” Julian clearly remembered the two copies of the draft. There were a few designers who had submitted their drafts earlier that day, and one of them was Alana.
As one of the investors in the show, he had to pick out and purchase the best design before selling it as a luxury item under his brand. Naturally, he had the privilege of screening through all the drafts first. However, his gaze darkened at the thought of the annotation that had been left on Alana’s draft.
Julian took a glance at Maya’s face before he spoke in a casual tone. “You didn’t hesitate to come over to me just for the sake of a draft. It seems like you really care about Alana.”
Maya froze for a moment before she realized what was going on. He thinks that I staged that whole incident earlier. A surge of anger rushed through her chest, but she eventually suppressed the urge to kick the man. I have to control myself for the sake of L.Moon and the diamond!
So, she rested her hand on the man’s firm torso before she tried her best to placate him. “The draft will impact the fairness of the show, and it will lead to questions of you and Miss Smith’s innocence. Can you help me just this once?”
Julian scoffed at her words. “You know me. I don’t care about Alana’s innocence, and I don’t need you to worry about my reputation.”
Maya pursed her lips and remained silent for a while after that. She knew that it wouldn’t take much for Julian to reclaim his innocence with the role he had on the show. Furthermore, she knew that he couldn’t care less about the reputation of anyone else other than himself.
Julian then pinched her chin before adding in a deep voice, “You made a mistake this time, Maya. You should be the one bearing the consequences. If I help you this time, what’s going to happen next time? You deserve to learn a lesson.”
She thought that he was going to leave after finishing his words, so she reached out and clutched onto his arm. She tried her best to remain gentle as she spoke in a rather anxious tone. “I’ll lose my job if this gets out, Julian. Miss Smith is really nice, and she allowed me to realize my own worth. I’m begging you to help me just this once.” She swung the man’s arm back and forth as she spoke in a rather coquettish tone.
However, Julian didn’t seem too impressed by her actions. Ever since Maya asked for a divorce, she had acted all distant and peculiar around him. It was rare for her to be so submissive, and she always had some ulterior motive every time she acted in that manner.
“Do you really want to get a divorce?” Julian changed the topic all of a sudden.
Maya couldn’t figure out what the man was trying to convey, so she took a while to contemplate his words before responding in a cautious but sincere tone.
“Don’t worry. I put in a lot of thought and contemplation before deciding to ask for a divorce. I didn’t do it out of resentment and anger, and I’m not going to try to get revenge on you after our divorce. I’m not angry at Selena at all,” she explained.
Julian scoffed at her words. She sounds so sincere now, but her actions don’t match her words at all. Julian wasn’t interested in playing hard to get, so he simply pushed Maya away before stepping out of the bushes.
“You’re a married woman, so you should dress in clothes that cover your stomach. I don’t want to see you wearing this in the future,” he warned her. After taking two steps away from the bush, he stopped and turned to look at the woman, who had a look of shock on her face. “If you feel like all that you deserve is a job that involves serving others, then you should be able to feel that same sense of worth with me.”
Maya didn’t understand why the man seemed so annoyed at her all of a sudden. She furrowed her brows as she tried to recall what she had said that made the man angry. She wanted to make sure not to repeat the same mistakes. Meanwhile, Julian loosened his tie after walking away from her. Then, he pulled his phone out to send a text to Cameron. ‘I want to see all of Luna’s personal details. Get me as much information as possible.’
Maya returned to her room as she continued to worry about how she could approach Julian once more. I have to convince him to help me reclaim that draft.
At 3.00PM, the production team announced that there would be three hours of recreation time – which would be live-streamed.
Maya had been racking her brains for a way to get closer to Julian, and her eyes lit up the moment she heard the announcement. Under Luna’s eager anticipation, she changed into a loose white T-shirt and a run-of-the-mill pair of bleached skinny jeans that framed her long and slender legs.
Still, such an outfit was very unattractive in the eyes of a fashion designer. “Is that it? I thought you were going to pull out all the stops to sweep Kevin off his feet.” Luna’s eyes popped out in incredulity at her aesthetic sense today.
Who cares about Kevin? I’m here to court Julian! thought Maya inwardly.
Upon arriving at the banquet hall, she immediately spotted Julian sitting next to Kevin, his eyes impassive. He seemed uninterested in the tea party.
On the other hand, Kevin’s eyes lit up at the sight of Maya. He whispered to Julian, “You were gone for an hour after lunch. Did you go looking for her after finally realizing that you’ve got something to say to her?”
“Shut up.” Julian pushed his face away in disgust, his eyes quietly scanning Maya’s attire.
Kevin let out a stifled laugh. Then, he stood up, beckoning to Maya and Luna in a friendly manner like a big boss. He said, “Miss Smith, come over and have a seat here.”
Luna dragged Maya along, fearing that Selena would get the jump on them and take up the seat before they could.
Kevin gave up his seat to Luna, showing none of the steadiness befitting the head of the production team. He said animatedly, “You two sit on the right; I’ll sit to the left of Mr. Graham. Don’t be shy, both of you. Today’s afternoon tea party is all about relaxation and fun, so please make yourselves at home.”
Even though not everyone had arrived in the banquet hall, all eyes of those present were fixed on Luna. They envied her for the preferential treatment she received from Kevin.
Luna and Maya exchanged a brief look before they made a dramatic show of pushing and nudging to offer the seat to each other. Then, seeing that it was enough, Luna forcefully seated Maya – who pretended to be shy and reserved – next to Julian, saying, “Don’t be afraid. Mr. Graham is known for being a gentleman.”
Maya nodded, appearing extremely meek and obedient.
Kevin struggled to contain his laughter, feeling like he might burst out laughing at any moment. He raised his hand and pinched his chin with all his might, trying to keep himself from breaking into laughter. His shoulders trembled slightly, as if he were having an epileptic seizure.
