Jean Luc was right, after all, Gaël thought broodingly as he waited for his ward to get inside the limo before following behind her. Juliette might have once been the most charmingly sweet ward any guardian could ask for, but girls inevitably grew up to be young, headstrong ladies, and that was when the trouble started.
Juliette's heart sank when her guardian opted to sit across her instead of taking his usual seat next to her. Although the distance between them was no more than a few feet, it somehow seemed daunting and uncrossable, and the shuttered expression on his strikingly beautiful face only made her feel more miserable and isolated.
She just wasn't used to seeing Gaël look at her so disapprovingly, and it made her want to beg for his forgiveness. She didn't even know why those words had come out of her mouth, but they had. She was tempted, really, really tempted to take those words back, but when she thought about how those same words could be her one and only chance to be with him before he married someone better—-
Juliette lifted her chin, and her voice only quavered ever so slightly as she asked, "May we speak about it now?"
"About what?"
Juliette couldn't help feeling hurt. "Stop pretending to be dense about this, Gaël. It's not like you—-"
"Neither is it like you to speak of such things!"
It was Juliette's first time to hear such an icy bite in her guardian's voice, and she couldn't help feeling hurt even though she knew she was partially to blame for provoking him.
Gaël was starting to feel increasingly on edge. He was no fucking prude - no self-respecting Caro was - but it just wasn't like his ward to talk about these things in his presence. "Why do you wish to speak of such matters all of a sudden?"
Juliette, recalling Aprilynne's words, was able to answer her guardian's question truthfully. "Because of something I learned."
Gaël's lips tightened. As expected, it was that damn professor's fault that his ward was acting out of character. That man definitely had some explaining to do, but in the meantime, he must do what he could to undo the corrupting damage the former had caused.
"Whatever it is you've learned—-"
Juliette blinked at the note of distaste in her guardian's voice.
"You should first consider whether your source is trustworthy."
"It is," Juliette assured him. If anything, Aprilynne could be a little too honest, and the older girl tended to get into trouble because of her lack of tact.
Gaël's irritation grew at how quickly his ward had responded to his question. Yesterday was only the first day of school, so why was Juliette vouching for her professor's trustworthiness with such confidence? Did she really know the man that well or was she being influenced by other factors? Professor What's-His-Name might not be that bad to look at, but Gaël had expected more from his ward, dammit!
"Let me ask you this then..."
Her guardian's frigid tone threw her off, and Juliette wondered uneasily if she had caught Gaël in a bad mood.
"Between your source and me, who do you consider more trustworthy?"
"Um...both of you are—-" Juliette saw Gaël's beautiful face darken, and she quickly backtracked. "You are more trustworthy, of course." I'm so sorry, Aprilynne, she mentally apologized.
Gaël relaxed slightly at his ward's words. "If you mean that—-"
"I do," Juliette said firmly.
"Then I'd like you to trust me when I say it's best that you lay this matter to rest."
Juliette was stunned at first, and then frustrated. Immensely. Was he saying that because he still thought of her as a child?
Gaël felt compelled to say more when his ward only stared at him. "Virginity isn't a tool—-" A strange sound cut him off, and it took a moment for Gaël to realize that Juliette had actually snorted at him, and now she was gazing at him in horror, like she herself had a hard time believing she had done such a thing.
What the hell was happening?
Juliette was usually all cute and ladylike, but just yesterday, she had accidentally farted, and now she had snorted at his words like they were the worst piece of b.s. she had ever heard. It was adorable in a way, but it also disturbed him because this was not how his ward usually behaved.
"Has something happened?" Gaël asked finally. "You know you can tell me anything, don't you? It's my responsibility as your guardian to protect you."
Juliette bit her lip hard. She knew this was her chance to make up some excuse and have everything go back to normal, but was that what she really wanted?
A few more seconds passed, and Juliette's mind began to work furiously. This was her only chance to change the direction of her future. She needed to be careful and strategic, and so first things first—-