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Focus

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Chapter 39: Focus (Christian's POV)

By the time everybody got back onto the boat, Jules and Audrey had moved from their tanning spot and settled down by the bar.

Taking a towel out of the beach bag along with my clothes, I headed for the shower inside but stopped at the bar for a moment. Audrey slowly stopped talking and glanced at me before I finally had Jules's attention. 

She spun the stool around to face me and said, "Hey." 

"Hey." 

"You should have some water," she mumbled, handing a bottle to me. 

"Thanks." I shot Audrey a pointed look and she sighed, standing up with her drink and walking back to the trampoline lounge where River sat by himself. "You okay?" I asked, watching as she fidgeted with the stem of her glass uneasily. 

"Yeah. I'm all good," she replied halfheartedly. 

"Are there any dinner plans tonight?" 

"Nope," she shook her head, "everyone's just going to take it easy, so we can go down for dinner or order some room service. Up to you." Perhaps I was just reading into it too much, but it felt like her mood had changed from earlier. She seemed a bit distracted, not quite upset but... distant. 

"Milaya." 

She finally met my gaze. 

I pulled out the stool beside hers and sat down. "Talk to me." 

"I was just thinking about some stuff, about the past. I don't know," she exhaled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Glancing past me and at everybody who was lounging, she paused and deliberated. "Christian, we're here to pretend. It feels like we keep forgetting that and I know in my head that that's a huge mistake. I don't want you to expect anything out of this other than what we agreed on and what we signed those papers for." 

"Jules, I'm not expecting you to leave the door wide open for me to walk back into your life as I please. But I also hope you won't shut that door and lock me out." 

"Maybe I should," she shrugged. "It didn't go well the first time, what's to say this time will be any different? How do I know you won't hurt me again? I don't know if you've changed." 

I understood her perspective. "Then let me prove to you that I have." 

"This..." she groaned softly, clenching her fist. "This is not the right time and place to break down our relationship and try to rebuild it. We're here to put on a show and I think we should just focus on that." 

"Red, all I can focus on is you." 

"Well, I can't, Christian, no matter how much I want to. You still have things left to explain, everything was so unfinished at the end, I—" She stopped talking, glancing behind me as Alex walked past and waiting for a moment before continuing, "I don't think we can start with a new beginning of any sort," she shook her head. "And even if we do, things will never be the same again." 

"I understand that, but—" 

"Do you? Do you really?" We held each other's gaze for a moment. "Christian, you say you do and I hope to God you know what you're talking about. Because honestly, I don't think you understand what you did and how much it hurt me. I'd rather communicate with you, that's the way I've always been. I've always been truthful and bared myself to you. You ran away because you were too scared to really let me in." 

"Because I didn't want to become the man you hated, Jules." 

"You don't get to decide that," she sighed softly. "We can have this conversation repeatedly and we'll circle back down to the same damn thing, so let's skip it for now. I just hope you know that you can't expect me to let go of everything because we have these five days together. Slipping back into the way things used to be is too easy, it's too good to be true. I don't want easy with you. If I'm letting you back into my life, I want to know that you're staying. Until I know that, I..." 

"You'll keep your guard up," I said, finishing the sentence for her. 

"No," she chuckled dryly, "I wish I could but for some reason, I can't do that around you. You read me like a book." 

"Because I know you. Because I..." 

Her eyes lifted up to mine a little wide with surprise swirling in them. 

"Because I understand you," I exhaled, forcing my other words down my throat. 

"I know you do. But I want to understand you too," she said softly, standing up as I turned my stool to face hers completely. Moving forward, she stood between my legs. "I just can't do that if you're not honest with me. And you know I won't ask you to be. I want you to want it, otherwise, it's not real. You understand me, don't you?" She sighed again, seeming a bit frustrated. 

Taking her hands and placing her arms around my neck, I pulled her in. "I do. I understand." 

She stared down at me while I held her waist, bringing a hand up as my thumb brushed against her tattoo, making her breath stutter. 

"Let's take one thing at a time, hmm? Do you think your family is the priority right now?" 

She nodded with certainty. 

"Then let's wait till Alex's wedding and after that, we'll see where we stand." 

She agreed and then groaned, pushing me lightly. "I feel like I forgive you too easily. You're good with your words, I will give you that." 

"I'm good with a lot of other things too," I smiled, standing up with my hands still planted on her waist while hers slid down my chest as I towered over her. Seating her back onto her stool, I dipped down to her ear. "Can I give you that?" I whispered. 

"Baby steps, Christian," she inhaled, pushing me back slowly. "Baby steps to the shower right now though." 

Laughing, I grabbed my things and headed that way. 

 »»————　➴　————««

"Can I shower first?" Jules asked as I closed our bedroom door and set the beach bag down. 

"Of course," I nodded. 

"Make sure you take the swim trunks out of the bag," she said, pointing to it as she entered the bathroom and then locked the door shut behind her. 

I had a bit of water and before I could do anything else, my phone rang in my pocket. Everyone was informed not to call me while I was out of town, so whoever this was, they weren't from work and if they were, they were about to lose a job. 

My father's full name flashed across the screen and an annoyed sigh escaped me before I answered the phone. "Hello?" 

"If you're done with your little vacation, you need to get back to work." 

"Vacation?" I was most certainly confused because I didn't tell my parents I was coming to Santorini, nor did I say I was going on a vacation. As far as they knew, I was somewhere in the world for business. 

"You're in Santorini, Christian." 

I sat in one of the chairs by the balcony. "So?" 

"How could you be so irresponsible? You have a company to run. If you don't get back here by tomorrow—" 

"Then what? Then there's nothing you can do because there's absolutely nothing wrong with the company. I'm out for a few days and I made sure before leaving that everything would be handled correctly while I'm gone. So you will do nothing." 

"Do you hear yourself?" he scoffed. 

"How did you find out where I was?" 

He paused and attempted to dodge my question. 

"How did you know where I was, Reid?" I questioned again. 

"Don't you have any shame calling your father by his first name?" 

"No. Answer my question." 

He huffed, "I had an employee at the company find out for me." 

"Which employee?" 

"The receptionist." 

"Did she agree or did you threaten her?" I asked knowingly. "If I know you at all, I'd say you threatened to get her fired." 

"I also found out something else," he chuckled dryly, "you've rehired Jules Declan." 

"And? It's my company, I can fire or hire anybody I want. You don't get a say in it anymore." 

"Don't forget your mother and I are still shareholders." 

"Yes," I sighed, "you are. While I own the other eighty percent of Lukov Empires and Estates. You signed all your shares to me, I'm afraid you can't take it back." I leaned back in the chair, my finger absentmindedly tracing the empty spot where the tan line sat. "There's nothing you can do now, Reid," I paused, standing up and unlocking the safe to grab my ring and put it back on. 

"I can still get her fired," he replied. "I can still do all the same things I wanted to last time," he continued as I twisted the ring around my finger. "I can still—" 

"You can still what? Threaten to hurt her? Threaten to hurt her family? Threaten to tell her family what I really wanted with them when I first met her? It was you." I shut the safe and walked out to the balcony, not wanting Jules to overhear anything. "I did all those things because of you." 

"Of course, you did. You know I'm a man of my word, I would have done the things I said I would if you didn't listen to me. So, it's a good thing you did. Now listen this time as well, Christian—" 

"No. I'd really much rather not," I laughed, "you wouldn't have let me take my place at the company if I didn't listen to you back then but you have nothing on me this time." 

"It's better for both of you to stay away from each other," he warned sternly. 

"That's our decision to make. I'm not dancing on your orders anymore. That company is mine and so is Jules. You're not ruining this again." 

"Christian!" I turned around and walked in, seeing her peek her head out. "Clothes," she said, pointing to her suitcase. 

Without a word, I hung up the phone.

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Chapter 39

I took a little break for two days since I have A LOT going on with school opening and this being my last year of high school which is horrifying and the best thing ever at the same time lol

anyways

next ch: stranger