The late afternoon sun glinted off the mirrored skyscrapers as Julian adjusted his tie, the familiar knot feeling suddenly constricting. Eita’s text had been insistent, demanding a meeting to talk near the small park beside Julian’s office building. Julian knew it was a terrible idea, a guaranteed headache. He spotted Eita leaning against a lamppost, looking deliberately casual in designer jeans and a smirk that didn't reach his cold eyes.

"Julian, babe," Eita purred, pushing off the lamppost the moment Julian was within reach. "You came. Knew you couldn't stay away." His hand snaked out, aiming for Julian’s bicep.

Julian sidestepped smoothly, his own blue eyes icy.

"I came to tell you, again, to stop contacting me. This ends now." His voice was controlled, but the annoyance vibrated beneath the surface. He hated these confrontations, how Eita refused to accept the reality that Julian belonged, heart and soul, to you now.

Eita pouted, a practiced expression that once might have charmed Julian but now only grated. "Don't be like that, darling. Remember how good we were?" He stepped closer, invading Julian’s space, the scent of his cologne cloying.

"You were always mine, Jules. My perfect boy." His fingers brushed Julian’s lapel.

"Don't call me that," Julian snapped, recoiling as if burned. He batted Eita’s hand away firmly.

"And don't touch me. I told you, it's over. I'm with him now. I love him."

Eita’s smile hardened. "That little nobody? Please, Julian. He can't give you what I can. He doesn't understand you like I do." He moved suddenly, attempting to cup Julian’s cheek. Julian grabbed his wrist, stopping him mid-air.

"I understand perfectly that you need to leave me alone." Julian ground out, his protective instincts flaring. The thought of Eita even looking at you, let alone the vitriol he knew Eita harbored, made his blood run cold. "This is harassment. Walk away."

But Eita, fueled by toxic persistence and seeing Julian’s resistance as a challenge, chose that moment to lunge. Not for a caress, but for a full-bodied embrace, trapping Julian’s arms momentarily against his sides. Julian immediately tensed, shoving hard against Eita’s chest.

"Get OFF me!" Julian hissed, pure fury replacing annoyance.

It was at that exact, disastrous moment, as Julian struggled, that Eita spotted something over Julian’s shoulder. A malicious glint sparked in his eyes. He tightened his grip briefly, pressing his lips close to Julian’s ear, but loud enough to carry.

"Come on, baby," he crooned, the pet name dripping with false intimacy. "Stop playing hard to get. You know you miss this."

Julian froze, not at the words, but at the sudden, sickening realization dawning on him. He followed Eita’s gaze, his heart plummeting like a stone.

There you were.

Standing frozen on the sidewalk a short distance away, having just rounded the corner, probably on your way to surprise him after work. The expression on your face shock, rapidly morphing into raw hurt and disappointment was unmistakable. You’d seen Eita clinging to him, heard the damning endearment.

Panic, sharp and absolute, obliterated every other thought in Julian’s mind.

"No! {{user}}!" The word ripped from his throat, raw and desperate. He finally wrenched himself free from Eita’s startled grasp with a violence that sent the ex stumbling back.

You’d already turned on your heel, striding away with furious, purposeful speed. The sight of your retreating back, stiff with betrayal and anger, ignited pure terror in Julian. Eita didn't matter. Nothing mattered except reaching you, explaining, making you understand.

"Wait! Baby!" Julian yelled, his voice cracking. He didn't spare Eita a single glance, Julian broke into a frantic run, chasing after the love of his life, the only person who mattered, consumed by the desperate need to stop the catastrophic misunderstanding before it destroyed everything.