Author's Note:

I'm so sorry for the late update, please forgive me. *Falling into prostration*

I couldn't post anything because the internet betrayed at the last minute and I was left hanging and wondering when I'd get back home.

And the good news is: I am back home!

Lame, I know. And probably quite stupid and idiotic.

Nonetheless, I hope you'd enjoy this chapter too, please do ignore minor grammatical mistakes if found any(mostly spellings). And the next update will be on:

"lWednesdayl"

Enjoy!

Chapter 8

"Thank you, Amy." a smile on the little girl's face made her smile too.

She stood from her kneeling position and watched the little girl happily hop back to her mother who was another fellow detective. Amy waved at her and started walking in the opposite direction.

"How did you know it was her birthday?" Ian asked, taking a sip from his latte. He saw how she convinced the girl that her birthday was not the reason her father died in a plane crash.

Amy shrugged, "I merely saw how she gloomily stepped away from well-wishers and saw the gifts they offered. If anything, she can receive a gift for children's day, which isn't now. Or charismas which is two days later." she said, leaning on the car door.

Ian marveled at how she quickly deduced and came to a conclusion, like she had done the past few cases.

"So, when are we going to take another case?" he asked, throwing the cup in the nearest bin. Amy had her eyes set on the horizon, deep in thought.

"I think taking up the case tomorrow would be a good idea. The earlier, the better." her eyes didn't move, except her lips; drawing his eyes towards them.

He smirked, "Love, if you really enjoy my company that much, you could've just said so."

She shrugged yet again, "I won't deny that. I have come to…enjoy your company." there was a light blush on her cheeks.

His eyes widened, heart racing at 1 mile per minute. Could it be?

She stretched her lips to a small smirk, "What, did you expect me to say that?"

And then he smiled, "Yes, love. I did."

She scowled slightly, "How many times must I tell you to not call me love?"

He laughed, ignoring her silent grumbling.

But he couldn't get that one thing off his mind.

xxx

Amy tapped her foot impatiently, "What is taking him so long?" she mumbled.

"As long as love can wait. Amy dear, I hope you'd forgive me, I wanted to appear as soon as the clock struck 12."

Her eyebrows knit in confusion.

"What do you mean by—"

DING!

Her head snapped in the direction of the large clock.

"Yes, it is 24th December, your birthday." he said, as her eyes fell on the large red rose waiting to be taken from his hand. It seemed a little heavy, but she kept it gently on her table; being extremely sure to not drop even a small petal.

Her eyes faltered, she couldn't believe it.

"How?"

He chuckled, "I did mention that I am usually very thorough in gaining information. Except you. You always were and are quite smart on keeping things private."

His compliment sent her into a frenzy, but she smiled nonetheless.

They ate their dinner in the top floor of the French restaurant, as they laughed.

She waved goodbye as soon as he dropped her off after their beautiful date. She took the small vase and dropped her rose, which made a clanking noise.

She frowned, but carefully and slowly picked the rose up.

And with that, came the attached gift; a necklace.

A beautiful necklace that had a rose gem intricately carved in the middle as a pendant.

xxx

Julie swallowed the thick knot settling in the middle of her throat. She had worked in this industry long enough to have come across her fair share of intimidating people and had even successfully held her own every time. But as she stood trapped in Amy's blistering gaze, defeat had never seemed so close. The silver necklace burned against her skin, as if it knew that she wasn't its owner, as if in retaliation of her wearing it. But Julie had already gotten this far. She had already dug this deep, so biting down on her rising fear, she asked, "H-how is this yours?"

"That doesn't concern you," Amy answered in a hard voice.

"So why did you give it back?"

Julie turned to his voice in surprise, but realized he wasn't looking at her. He had only eyes for Amy. With his jaw clenched, he asked, "Why did you give it back to me?"

It was just like that day at the bakery, except somehow, his anger seemed even worse. The air around him vibrated with tension, stretched taut until it threatened to strangle Julie for air. But while she clammed up at his intensity, Amy courageously fired back with a steady strength of her own.

With gleaming amber eyes, she said, "I did no such thing."

Ian stepped forward. "You left it here the same day you—"

"Why would I return something you never gave me?"

His eyes widened. "What?"

Matching his footstep, she hardened her eyes and said, "You gave me the rose. The necklace was just a happy coincidence, was it not?"

Like a jolt, Ian suddenly lost his voice. He couldn't answer.

Turning her head, Amy looked at Julie and felt the fire around her surge with more ferocity at the detective's surprised expression. It took everything she had to keep her tumultuous emotions down. It took everything she had to lower her voice and say, "With all due respect Miss Julie, but that necklace wasn't his to give." Then in a swift motion, she wrapped her nimble fingers around the cold chain and met Julie's wide-eyed gaze with a coolness that chilled to the bone. "So, I'll be taking back what's mine."

Amy meant the necklace. She was talking about the necklace, but there was something in her expression that convinced Julie her words were double-edged. Underneath that dangerously soft voice was a challenge and by the looks of her eyes it was one Amy was sure she'd win. There wasn't a hint of hesitancy or even a trace of reluctance. There was only an insurmountable power that shook Julie down to her core.

With a firm tug, the clasp instantly came undone and fell into the palm of her hand. Amy met Ian's eyes one last time before she turned around and smoothly walked across the floor.

He stared after her in silence, waiting for his breathing to slow. Too many things were going through his head at once, but anger was surprisingly not one of them. Whether it was because of her response or seeing her fight against him again like old times, Ian didn't feel the torment he usually felt whenever they spoke. In fact, he felt something that wasn't so easily pushed away this time. And as he watched her carefully move through the crowd, his heart began to beat faster in disagreement to the growing distance between them.

Blinking his eyes rapidly, the cloud of haze faded as he moved forward. He didn't know what he was doing. He didn't even know what he was going to say to her. But letting her leave was the last thing he wanted. Letting her walk out was something he couldn't watch. Letting her go wasn't an option.

But just as he lifted his feet, Julie's hand clamped firmly around his wrist.

"You can't!"

He turned to look down at her.

Her bottom lip trembled at his hard expression as she pleaded, "Please don't do this, Ian. I'm sorry! It was a mistake! I didn't mean to—!"

"Why did you take it?"

She looked down at his arm.

"What were you trying to accomplish?"

"I was trying to save us!" Julie cried. "I lied to you. We weren't okay. I wasn't okay. I refuse to accept that you felt nothing for me. Everything was fine between us until she came along! Even if you told me it wasn't because her, I'm not stupid, Ian!"

She raised her glistening eyes to his and murmured, "I can't just sit around and do nothing. I'm still going to try just like I've always done these last three years. When I saw that necklace, it was my chance to fight back, my chance to prove that I can be the woman you want and keep the relationship we have."

"And what kind of relationship did we have?"

Julie didn't reply.

"One based on trust, respect, and honesty, correct?"

"Ian…"

He shook his head. "Despite how you felt Julie, she was never going to destroy what we have."

"But—"

"Julie, this isn't about her. This is about you and me."

"That's a lie and you know it! Nothing would have changed if she didn't come back! You would still be looking at me!"

"I am looking at you. I have always seen you, Julie. But the woman I see now is not the one I've known these past few years."

Feeling like he slapped her in the face, Julie stumbled back and wrapped her shaky arms around her torso. She couldn't even get herself to look at him. Filled with shame, torment, and worst of all guilt, Julie pressed her lips together to prevent the tears from spilling from her eyes.

"You are an integral part of my life, Julie, but if I can't trust you, then the relationship you want to preserve isn't worth saving."

Then without sparing her another glance, Ian walked through the moving crowd. With every step he took, he pushed thoughts of Julie farther and farther to the back of his mind. There were more important matters at hand, someone he needed to speak to, someone he needed to explain everything to. Ian politely dismissed all the questions about his early departure and ignored the pleas for him to stay. Although his head told him to stop and think, his heart pushed him forward and instead of fighting it this time, Ian allowed it to take the lead. He allowed his feelings to take the lead.

What was he going to accomplish when he caught up with her? What was he going to say when they stood face to face? What he was going to feel when he stared into her eyes again?

Ian didn't know, but a part of him didn't care. Going on impulse gave him the luxury to forget about consequences. It gave him the excuse to look for her without worrying about how this would affect his choices later. Right now, all that mattered was that he had to right the misunderstanding she must be having. She was walking away with all the wrong answers. If anything, he had to correct this. They didn't need another misunderstanding. They didn't need another reason to be against each other.

He reached the front door and scanned his surroundings with rapid eyes. Jogging down the front steps, Ian could feel his heart sink deeper every time he met the gaze of someone who wasn't her. Cars and limos were still pulling up to the house, but not a single one was leaving. Nobody was walking away from the front entrance except for him. She couldn't have gotten far.

Praying that she didn't take a cab, Ian made his way towards the valet and was going to ask for his vehicle when a voice from behind asked, "You're not really going to go after her, are you?"

He fell still. The blood that was pumping through his veins just seconds before suddenly came to a halt. Feeling his skin prickle from an old irritation that he hadn't felt in a while, Ian took in a deep breath before he turned around.

It was amazing how quickly a time span of two years seemed so short. Ian couldn't remember the last time he had seen him, but the rising contempt and the black hatred that clouded his good judgment were not so easily forgotten. "What are you doing here?"

Jake made a small grunting noise as he pushed himself off the wall. Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with a smirk upon his face, he said, "You know, I thought this party was going to be fun but from the looks of her running, it must have been pretty bad. Was that you're doing, Kabra?"

Ian's eyes grew in surprise. "You know she's back?"

Jake laughed, replying, "Well, considering I met up with her last week, I must have known she's returned, don't I?"

The instant gratification of seeing his face pale was nothing like Jake had ever experienced. If he wasn't so insistent on being cool and confident, then he would have shown exactly how much he enjoyed hitting the detective where it hurts. This guy was always in control, always sure of himself that Jake couldn't help but want to knock him off of his high horse. He wanted to prove that he wasn't the only one capable of gaining the upper hand.

Ian tried not to think of them seeing each other. He tried not to think about her talking to him, about her putting in the effort to keep in touch with him when she had left him bitter and angry. Ian tried to hold off his anger. He really did.

Grinning, Jake folded his arms over his chest and said, "From the looks of your face, I guess she never told you."

"What you both discuss is none of my business," Ian forced himself to murmur. "I have no reason to care."

"A valiant response if not for your desperate attempt to run after her."

His eyes flashed in fury. Balling his hands into tight fists until he lost all the feeling in his fingers, Ian said in a low voice, "Whatever you came here to do, Rosenbloom, I suggest you go and do it before things get out of hand."

Chuckling, but also taking a step back, Jake shook his head and said, "Ah, a sore spot, I see. Well, it may come as a surprise to you, Kabra, but I didn't come here to see her. I actually wanted to talk to you."

That was twice now. Ian wasn't someone who was so easily surprised, but Jake was doing a damn good job at it. "About what?"

"The event from two years ago."

"How would you—?"

"A lot more than you'd think," Jake answered. "Like for instance, how you two met up that day, what you talked about, how she reacted, and even more importantly why she left."

Ian's heart stopped as he watched his black eyes gleam with victory. "You know the reason why?"

Jake smirked. "I am the reason why."

Author's Note:

Thank you for reviwing the last chapter:

Farjana: Vikram is supposed to be good (Yeah, I kinda feel bad for him in the actual series after what Isabella has done) Julie is, after all an integral part of the story. I think her role is perfectly described here on. Your welcome, I guess doubts from here on will be clarified. Except some will be left with more questions in the later chapters. It's not over yet, girl!

Guest: Well, does this chapter hook you as well? I'm truly sorry for the long wait, it really was a tragic point wherein I couldn't stay true to my word.

Thank you everyone whoever give time to my story, I really appreciate it. :)

Goodbye!(Hopefully, see you on Wednesday!)