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Professional

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Chapter 13: Professional (Jules's POV)

"A proposal? I'm intrigued," he said, watching me and holding my gaze, refusing to look away. The intensity of it was too much and I was first to tear my eyes away and look at the plate of food before me. 

"Of course, you are," I muttered before clearing my throat. 

"Before I hear your offer, you need to explain what exactly it is that you want from me. There isn't much I can do to help." 

Right, of course, he wants me to spell it out and admit what I need him to do. 

"I need you to act like we're still engaged." 

His brows twitched up. "Elaborate, Milaya," he smirked, taking a sip of water and still watching me. 

"Over dinner with my parents, I need you to... be my fiancé again. Just for that night." 

"And the wedding?" 

"No. Just tell my parents you're too busy to attend, they'll believe you." 

"I'm not going to lie to your parents." 

I snorted, "As if saying we're still engaged isn't a bold-faced lie." 

"Maybe. But it wasn't always such a lie." 

"That isn't any better." 

"It's closer to the truth; it keeps my conscience clear." 

I rolled my eyes, "Because you care so much about morals," I snickered sarcastically. 

"It's different where your family's concerned. I won't lie to them," he replied with determination as he shook his head. 

"You have little use of morals, Christian, don't act so righteous now." 

"I once had even lesser use of love, Jules. People change." 

My jaw ticked as I ground my teeth, glaring at him. I couldn't stand the way he seized every opportunity to bring up the past despite being the one to ruin everything we had. I knew damn well that Christian blamed me because he believed that I threw everything away without giving us a chance; he thinks I gave up on us. 

But I knew that I didn't. I gave him every chance I could to simply talk to me, to communicate as a couple should. It was Christian who chose to lie to me and when the truth poured out, I could only handle so much. My only choice was to put myself first. I didn't want to be lied to again. "I don't think people can change," I reasoned, shaking my head. 

"Sure they can, Jules. You know damn well they can," he argued, hitching his sleeves up to his elbows, leaving his forearms on display. 

I rested my arms on the table and stared back at him, refusing to lower my gaze first this time. "I have no reason to believe you've changed." 

"Would it make a difference if I proved to you that I could change, Jules?" 

"Not at all, Christian. I told you a long time ago, that we're done. I meant it." 

His eyes stared into mine and he nodded faintly once. "So you say." 

I sighed in frustration and rolled my eyes at him. "You're the one who told me that we shouldn't change for other people." 

"The difference is you loved who I was." 

"Only because I didn't know who you really were." 

He looked away from me and stared down at his plate before letting out a soft exhale. "What is it that you want from me, Jules?" 

"I just..." Stopping myself, I took a small breath, feeling the tension in the air and it was the absolute worst kind of it. "I didn't come here to argue. I'm asking for your help because I don't have anyone else to help me with this." 

Reluctantly, he blinked and lifted his gaze to mine. 

"It's you my family wants to meet. I can't change that, Christian." 

"And what do I get in return?" he asked, pushing his empty plate away and resting both arms on the table, watching me in anticipation. 

Unable to push the words out of my mouth, I dwelled over it a little longer. Saying it out loud felt daunting all of a sudden. 

"Jules, I don't have all night," he said, his barstool suddenly screeching as he stood up and gathered his dishes. 

"I'll do whatever you want," I mumbled out reluctantly. 

His eyebrows twitched up. 

"But you have to be reasonable," I added hastily. "Worst case scenario is that you have to accompany me to this wedding and it won't last longer than a week at most keeping the holiday in mind. So whatever you ask for in return, just be reasonable." 

Christian watched me with not just amusement and humor, but even curiosity in his eyes. "I can ask for anything in exchange for temporarily being your fiancé... again?" 

"Yes," I nodded curtly once. At this stage, demanding a contract for something so small and ridiculous felt absurd, so I didn't bring it up. "Will you do it? If you get... whatever you ask for in exchange?" I asked with a huff, mumbling the last bit under my breath. 

Holding my gaze, he rounded the kitchen counter until he stood right beside me as he picked up my dishes, bringing his lips to my ear in the process and whispering, "I'll think about it," before leaving the dishes in the sink and then going back to stand across from me while I struggled to conceal any reactions I could give away. "You can leave if that's all you came to ask for. We're done here," he smirked at me. 

"Christian..." 

"What?" Slipping his hands into his pockets, he waited for a response. 

"I'm expecting you to be mature and I know that's asking for a lot as it is. I just want you to be as professional as possible about this." 

"Professional about a relationship that's fake? One that doesn't exist? One that feels like it never existed, Jules?" 

"Yes," I replied, my jaw ticking. "I wouldn't ask this of you if I had any other choice. You can't deny that if you didn't do what you did, we wouldn't be here today." 

"We're here because you lied to your parents." 

"No, Christian. We're here because you knew that I wouldn't tell my parents the truth because if I did it would ruin you too. You owe me." Pushing myself up to my feet, I rounded the corner yet stood too far from him. I felt the anger bubbling up inside of me again. 

Since we saw each other again, we hadn't been alone in a room together long enough to argue like this, and being here right now seemed too dangerous because it was impossible for a conversation between us to end calmly. 

"I owe you nothing, Milaya," he said with a smug dimpled smirk that I wished to smack off his face. "If you need my help, then you better act like it. I told you, I'll think about it. You can leave, we're done here tonight. Make sure to lock the door on your way out. Goodnight, Red," he said with his eyes roaming up and down the length of my clothes once, going down the jacket I wore before coming up my bare legs. Without another word, he left and headed upstairs to his room, the door loudly closing behind him. 

A sigh escaped me and I felt my shoulders drop. There was no man in this world more despicable than Christian Lukov, and it was my bad luck that in this life I met him.

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Chapter 14

I can't decide if I want this book to be the kind of slow burn that burns like Terms & Truths did or not... what do you guys think?

I'm thinking.... yes?

next ch: conditions