Love & Conditions (New York Billionaires Book 2)

14| Conditions

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Conditions

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Chapter 14: Conditions (Christian's POV)

I lay in bed that night, replaying our conversation from earlier over and over again. 

Jules wasn't wrong when she said that I knew she wouldn't tell her parents the truth about why things ended between us, but I would never blame her if she did. What surprised me was that she let them believe something that wasn't true for so long. She could have easily told them that we weren't together without revealing the details, I couldn't bring myself to understand why she would blatantly lie to her parents. 

But what if she kept the truth because she could hardly believe it herself? What if she simply couldn't bring herself to say it out loud, to admit it?

Fiancé. She wanted me to be her fiancé again, even if it was just for one night or a week at most. 

It took more from me than I expected to not agree right away on the spot regardless of how much it shocked me that she came to me with this. But then again, who else would she go to if it was me her parents expected to see? 

I had some thinking to do if I was to grant her this favor since that's what she's calling it. I didn't like Jules a lot at this very moment because things between us were purely hostile and there was animosity and too much hatred brewing between us because both of us refused to let go of the past, Jules because she was still hurt, and me because my hands were tied. There was truly nothing I could do even if I wanted to sort things out with her, which I truly didn't. 

Distance was best for us, we would only hurt each other. 

Jules said she hated who I really was but I couldn't believe that for one second. I was the same person. The Christian she first met, the Christian she fell in love with, and the Christian she left were all the same. 

The only difference was that by the time we fell apart, we'd stopped showing the best versions of ourselves to each other. All the shining glitter had rubbed off and we were bared to each other. Jules just didn't like the person she found beneath all the flirty grins I gave her. 

After all, all that glitters isn't gold. 

Ever since I've known her, Jules hated my family and I didn't blame her, I hated them too. They weren't the most welcoming either when they found out she was Luke Declan, the Lukov's biggest business rival's daughter. When we first got together, we were so cautious of only showing the best versions of ourselves to each other because there were too many eyes on us, too many people betting and holding their breaths, just waiting for us to fall apart. 

Well, they won because we couldn't make it last. Because we took everybody else's words over each other. 

My phone started ringing on my nightstand, snapping me out of my thoughts. With a soft grunt, I reached over and stretched, taking my phone and reading 'Mom' flashing on the screen. With a roll of my eyes, I answered the phone, holding it to my ear. "Da?" 'Yes?' 

"Chem zanimayesh'sya?" she asked immediately. 'What are you doing?' "Are you still awake?" 

"No," I deadpanned, tucking my free arm under my head, staring at the ceiling.