The Day I Walked Away My Empire Began novel Chapter 197

Lucie just sat there, totally thrown off.

June dragged out a chair and plopped down right next to Elio. “Well, she’s cute enough. No wonder you can’t stop thinking about her.”

Lucie glanced over, a little confused. “And you are…?”

Elio looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

June grinned wide, bold as ever. “I’m his first girlfriend. June. Didn’t he ever mention me?”

Lucie shook her head, almost automatically.

June leaned in, her tone dramatic. “Let me introduce myself properly. I’m June. Also, his fiancée.”

“What?” Lucie stared at her in disbelief, eyes darting from June to Elio and back. She couldn’t help but size up June for a few seconds, the thought popping into her head—

They actually look good together.

They really did. Like two troublemakers who’d known each other forever. The kind of couple who’d either drive each other crazy or laugh their way through life.

Elio, looking like he was about to lose it, shot it down fast. “Don’t listen to her. I’m single. No fiancée, I swear.”

June flashed him a mischievous smile. “Oh really? Who else are you planning to marry then?”

Elio practically leapt out of his seat, scooting his chair far away. “Come on, give me a break. There’s no way I could handle marrying you.”

June was his ultimate nemesis. Their families were equals, and they’d grown up side by side. Their parents had been plotting an arranged marriage for them since they were kids. At sixteen, they’d dated for real, but they were both too wild and stubborn to make it work. Elio was a total flirt, always chasing girls. June tried to keep him in check, but never could.

When they finally broke up, June got back at him by sleeping with three of his best friends in one night. After that, she made a game of going after any guy Elio was close to. He was so furious he moved all the way from Australia to the US just to get away from her. June followed him there too—and kept up the chaos. Every time Elio befriended someone, June would swoop in. Eventually, he ran off to France. She didn’t follow that time—she’d found a new target.

June rolled her eyes. “You think I actually want to marry you? My mom’s the one pushing for it. Like I’d waste my time otherwise.” She reached over and tried to pinch his ear.

Elio batted her hand away, exasperated. “Come on, Wildcat. Have some mercy, please. Just let me go. I can’t deal with you anymore.”

“Elio, she came all this way just to see you. The least you could do is buy her dinner,” Lucie teased.

June immediately let go of his arm, shooting Lucie an approving look. “Exactly! See? Lucie is way more thoughtful than you.”

She turned to Lucie, half-smiling, half-challenging. “So, you’re Lucie, huh?”

Lucie nodded. “Yeah, that’s me.”

June’s grin got even bigger. “Oh, I’ve heard about you. Elio chased after you for three years, right? And then you dumped him? Respect. You’re the second girl to ever do that—the first was me.” She flashed a peace sign. “We should start a club!”

Lucie gave a nervous chuckle, trying to protect Elio’s dignity. “It wasn’t really like that. We were just friends, nothing more.”

June waved her off. “No need to cover for him. I even heard that after you dumped him, he tried to OD on sleeping pills and whiskey.”

“What?” Lucie’s eyes snapped to Elio, stunned.