Once a Doormat Now Untouchable (Caleb and Sydney) novel Chapter 360

**Chapter 360**

The way they stood together felt far too intimate for Caleb’s liking.

As he heard the soft rustle of movement, Caleb turned around, a frown creasing his brow. This was not what he had anticipated. The Sterling family’s dark history loomed over Sydney’s parents’ tragic deaths, yet here stood Julian, brazenly leaning against her, as if nothing had ever happened.

Caleb struggled to suppress the irritation bubbling within him. He managed to force a smile, though it felt more like a grimace. “So, how did you end up coming back with Jules?” he asked, his voice laced with feigned casualness.

Sydney, however, wasted no time on pleasantries. “He hurt his leg.” Her tone was direct, cutting through any pretense. She didn’t even attempt to distance herself from Julian, who leaned against her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Caleb raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting skeptically to Julian. “She’s just a girl. How much strength can she possibly have to support you? Let me help.” With that, he reached out, intending to pull Julian to his side, to assert his own role in this situation.

“No need.” Julian sidestepped Caleb’s attempt with ease, then feigned a dramatic display of pain, stumbling backward until his back hit the wall with a loud thud that echoed in the corridor.

Sydney rushed to steady him, her instincts kicking in. She was acutely aware of Caleb’s intentions, and her expression hardened. “It’s fine. I can manage. Don’t touch him,” she said, her voice firm, a protective edge slicing through the air.

“You hear that?” Julian leaned heavily against her shoulder, a smug smile curling his lips as he shot a look of defiance at Caleb. “I don’t need you.”

Caleb felt a shift in the air, a realization dawning on him that the dynamics between Sydney and Julian were more complex than he had initially thought. Just the night before, he had assumed that Julian had coerced her into this closeness.

But now, as he observed Sydney, she didn’t appear particularly resistant. If Julian had truly forced her, she would have kept her distance, wouldn’t have allowed herself to hover so close, or exhibit those protective instincts.

When the elevator doors slid open, Sydney stepped in first, guiding Julian inside with an ease that made Caleb’s heart sink.

His expression hardened, but he followed them into the confined space.

She walked over, opened the cabinet door, and froze in shock. Inside was a box filled with the very same specially formulated ointment she had painstakingly created years ago. The rare herbs that went into its making had always made it prohibitively expensive. After parting ways with him, she had been unable to afford to produce it, resorting instead to weaker substitutes that never matched its efficacy.

Yet, she remembered all too well how, during her time at the Sterling estate, when she had been punished and hurt, this ointment had mysteriously appeared at her bedside. She had often wondered if he had been the one to leave it for her, a silent act of care amid the chaos.

But the memory of how coldly and decisively he had abandoned her burned even deeper in her heart. She had dared to speculate, but never truly believed he could care enough to act.

As her thoughts raced, Sydney picked up a tube of the ointment and turned, only to hear Julian’s sharp voice slice through her reverie. “You and Caleb remarrying, that’s fake, isn’t it?”

No couple would speak so rigidly as she and Caleb had in the elevator. Her demeanor toward Caleb had never been as soft, as inviting, as it was with Julian.

The air thickened with unspoken truths, and Sydney felt the weight of their shared history pressing down on her.