The Bachelor

Chapter 29

Liam had shared the journey back to New York with her and they had the chance to talk seriously. She didn’t want to, but the man loved talking about how Zach had changed since he entered the show. He told her stories of how Zach had been spoiled by his mother and how he looked at life like it was nothing but easy.

“But I guess you should believe him when he tells you he loves you, Julianne,” Liam had said. “He had never told that to anyone as far as I am concerned.”

“You’re not just saying that because you want to win the bet, right?” she had asked.

His laughter rang out inside the plane. “Trust me, Julianne. I knew I would win the moment we made the bet. Zach is destined to meet his match and I guess he did. And though I would love to see him heartbroken just because I want him to experience it, I still want him to experience the happiness of it.”

And now, as Julianne lay awake in her bed, her mind wondered what Zach was doing right that very moment. She looked at her watch.

10:30 in the evening.

It had been three days since she left the ranch and since that last talk she had with Zach just before she left.

“You’ll wait for me, right?”

“We’ll cross the bridge when we get there.”

“That’s not really reassuring, Jules. You know I’ll come find you. And I will.” His gaze was intense as he said it.

She had wanted to believe him. Desperately so, but she could never know with Zach. He had always been impulsive. He always did what he wanted to do.

Earlier in the evening, she watched the latest airing of the show itself. She wished she didn’t because seeing Zach in that television, knowing it was impossible to reach him at that moment, was giving her feelings of desperation. She wanted to dive into the screen so she could touch him for real. She reminded herself this was her choice and now she just had to let things happen the way they were supposed to.

She was one of those who didn’t believe in fate. Fate couldn’t do everything for you. Sometimes, you have to take actions. But there are moments that you have to wait for the right moment to act. And right now, it was the right moment for Julianne to do the same.  She had to wait.

It was hard, yes. But she also had a life to live. Not everything revolved around the thoughts of Zach and being together with him.

And that very same thought put her to sleep to face yet another day tomorrow.

 *****

Zach was getting moody, worse than Jack as a matter of fact. He could smile from time to time when he was facing the ladies just for the sake of keeping the show alive. In reality, deep inside, he was cursing himself for allowing himself to be in this situation, surrounded by the vainest of all women.

The only comforting thought that he had was when he was able to look through the contract he had with the show. It said that he was not urged to choose anyone and in fact, he could ditch everyone in the end.

The last talk he had with Julianne was something he wanted to forget. She did not give him that much hope, but he knew her reasons. She was trying to protect herself from the hurt that she might get if he could not do what he promised—which he would never do.

For now, he was with three women, all willing and desperate to make him fall in love with them. While he on the other hand was mourning for the loss of the only one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

She’s not going anywhere, he reassured himself.

In the past, it never bothered him that he lost something because he was confident he would get it back as he always had. But now, he was not very sure of that. Yes, he wanted Julianne back, but she was too free for him to catch without a fight. If she could just wait for another two weeks, he would be at peace. But what did she do? She told him they’d cross the bridge when they got there. Hell, how could he be sure they would even go there?