Chapter 165

Kaleb was taken aback for a moment. He gave Sean a telling look and remained silent. Roseanne's face, however, looked even worse than before. Julian's behavior was too obvious, too direct. Besides Roseanne, Kaleb had noticed Julian's heart was affected by Rosalie. He had never seen Julian's emotions so apparent; he even needed a cigarette to regain control. Rosalie's arrival clearly had a significant impact on him.

A strong sense of crisis made Roseanne involuntarily clench her fists, the veins on the back of her hands bulging, revealing her inner turmoil. Kaleb, sitting nearby, observed this. He frowned, disliking being in her presence. He made an excuse to leave, saying, "I'll go check on Julian. You guys keep drinking."

Although Kaleb disliked Roseanne, he was aware of her womanhood. He'd made his feelings clear. Further embarrassing her would be undignified, so he left on a pretext.

As Kaleb suspected, Julian's emotions were easily swayed by Rosalie. From the moment she entered and their gazes met, his attention was fixed on her. Even without seeing her expression, he imagined her cold and distant demeanor. His cigarette had burned out, unnoticed. Only the burn on his finger brought him back to reality. The tips of his fingers were red and stinging.

"You never used to smoke," a voice said casually, with a teasing tone. It was Kaleb, who had come to find him. Looking at the ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts, it was evident how troubled Julian was.

"It seems Rosalie's influence on you is much greater than I thought," Kaleb said provocatively. Julian, previously silent, seemed stung. A flash of irritation and fierceness crossed his usually expressionless face. Embarrassed and stubborn, he refused to admit it, irritably taking a final drag and crushing the butt fiercely into the ashtray.

The smoke obscured the impatience and irritation in his eyes as he retorted sharply, "Smoking is my business. What is Rosalie to me? She can't influence me." Despite his denial, his agitation increased when mentioning Rosalie.

Kaleb chuckled softly but remained silent, observing Julian's flustered expression. Julian felt uneasy, his impatience growing. As if to convince Kaleb, he emphasized, "If I cared about Rosalie, would I have proposed divorce in the first place?"

Kaleb smiled. "I never said you cared about Rosalie. Are you admitting it without being pressed?"

Julian was taken aback. Kaleb, not giving him a chance to respond, continued, "So, what are you troubled about now?"