Once a Doormat Now Untouchable (Caleb and Sydney) novel Chapter 160

When The Ocean Learned My Name and Whispered It Back to You by

Chapter 160

Sydney knew that asking for help required her to adopt the posture of a supplicant. She had to offer something the other person would deem worth their while.

For Adeline, who wanted the divorce kept secret, she could comply and prolong the concealment as needed.

For Caleb, whose mind was never on their hollow marriage, she could cooperate and let him continue with Penelope in peace.

However, Julian was different. Before coming here, she had thought long and hard. In the end, all she could offer was herself.

She was gambling that the look he had given her on Alan’s birthday night had not been imagined. Gambling that Julian, who had raised her like a sister for nine years, had now, on another whim, developed a man’s interest in her. Or perhaps it was just lust.

She had poured everything into marrying Caleb. She dared not hope to ever become Julian’s proper partner.

Thus, when his expression flickered with surprise, she lowered her gaze and whispered, “Julian, I can be your mistress. I’ll be obedient. You just have to save Tiffany. Please.”

She did not dare meet his eyes.

In the silence that followed, her heart thudded painfully against her throat, her fingers trembling uncontrollably. If she had misjudged him, she could already imagine his scorn.

If her gamble failed, he might laugh at her for reaching beyond her station or look down his nose and ask coldly, “What

gave you the illusion I would ever want a lovesick fool like you?”

Nonetheless, Tiffany was suffering because of her. A few barbs, a little humiliation–those were nothing in comparison. If she miscalculated, she would accept it.

Julian’s gaze dropped. It lingered on her trembling fingers and bare feet. His brows tightened, almost imperceptibly. He opened the shoe cabinet, pulled out a pair of new women’s slippers, and tossed them onto the floor. “Come in.”

Sydney stood frozen in confusion until his cold, cutting voice followed. “Go wash your feet.”

“Alright.”

She had almost forgotten he was a clean freak. She had walked barefoot from her apartment. Of course he could not tolerate it. Bending down, she slipped on the slippers without letting her dirty soles touch his spotless floor and stepped inside.

The apartment mirrored her own. She went straight to the guest bathroom, turned on the shower, and began washing her feet obediently without waiting for the water to warm.

The sound of water echoed. The half–closed glass door swung open.

She had just finished rinsing, set the showerhead back, and looked up at him uncertainly. After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “Can you save Tiffany?”

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She already half knew the answer but needed to hear it from him to feel secure.

Julian’s long, clean fingers rested on the door handle. His voice was unreadable. “Tiffany is that important? Important enough for you to sell yourself?”

The last time she had felt this humiliated was before the divorce, outside that private club in another city, when she overheard that Caleb’s heart belonged to his sister–in–law.

Or maybe this time was worse. But aside from Julian, there was no one else to turn to.

Her toes curled, her gaze wandering without anchor. “Yes. She’s that important.”

Tiffany had stayed by her side for eight years, through heartbreak and emotional turmoil. Tiffany had nothing, just like her, but she had never abandoned Sydney or once given up.

If not for Tiffany’s determination to save money quickly and escape Jouleston with Sydney, she would never have rushed into a dangerous case and given Victor his opening.

“And if I refuse?” Julian’s dark eyes drilled into her, as if he wanted to strip her bare, see not only her body but her soul. “Who will you throw yourself at next?”

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Aurelia Novel 160