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He stepped back, his eyes hardening as he continued. “I can’t put you through that. I won’t let you be a part of something that everyone will just tear apart. You deserve better than that. You deserve someone who can give you everything — without this... this impossible gap between us.”

Anna’s heart pounded in her chest, the words stinging more than she’d expected. She had always known the age gap was a challenge, but hearing him say it out loud—hearing him dismiss their entire future as something others would ridicule—it felt like the ground beneath her was crumbling.

“No, Julian,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “We’ve been through so much together. Why does it matter what anyone else thinks? Why does their opinion have to be the final word? I love you... You said you loved me too.”

Julian’s expression hardened, his eyes growing distant. He took a slow, deliberate step back, like he was building a wall between them with each breath. “No, I don’t. I lied,” he said, his voice colder than she had ever heard it. “I just wanted your talent, your help. That’s all. You were a tool, Anna, nothing more. I used you to get what I needed, and now that I’m done with your help, I don’t need you anymore.”

“Go home, Anna,” Julian continued, his tone final, like a door slamming shut. “Go find another job. Forget about me. Forget I ever existed. I don’t need you anymore. I never did.”

He turned abruptly, leaving the room without another glance, his footsteps echoing in the emptiness that stretched between them. Anna stood there, her chest tight, the weight of his words sinking in. The silence was deafening now, the room feeling colder with each passing second. She had no words left to say, no defense to offer. Julian had shut her out completely.

She didn’t move for what felt like an eternity. The sting of his words still burned, his betrayal cutting deeper than anything she could have imagined. Finally, when the silence became unbearable, Anna turned and walked out, each step heavy, each breath shaky.

As she walked out of the villa, the last thing she heard was the sound of the door closing behind her. And somehow, that felt like the final nail in the coffin of everything they had shared.

......