Page 50 of My Fake Fiancé

I reluctantly get off of her, turning off the alarm and lying on my back for a few seconds. I close my eyes and feel Juliana shifting beside me. I feel her weight climbing on top of me as she straddles me. I open my eyes to see such a pleasant sight of her perched on top of me. I put my hands on her hips and smile up at her.

“I’m not stopping here,” Juliana says with a big smile, leaning down to kiss me. “I just wanted to tease you as I got out of bed.” With that, she continues over me and climbs out of bed. Now, it is my turn to groan. Juliana laughs at my agony as she skips off to the bathroom.

I join her in the bathroom a few minutes later and we stand side by side brushing our teeth together. I finish first and leave her to get ready alone. When she finally comes out, she goes immediately to the closet and gets changed. She leaves the door open so I take it as an invitation to take a couple of peeks. She changes with her back toward me so the only view I can admire is her backside and her panties cover the best part, but it’s still an amazing view.

When she comes out of the closet, she winks at me, clearly knowing what she has done to me. I shake my head at her and she giggles.

“Hey, do you need a ride to work? I mean, do you want me to drive you?” I ask as we head to the kitchen for breakfast.

“Okay, that would be great. Thanks,” Juliana says, smiling at me.

Juliana whips up a quick breakfast of eggs and cuts some fruit for us both. We eat at the kitchen table and Juliana chatters away, telling me all about her upcoming job interview she got called back for. I want to tell her to drop it because I can easily take care of her but I understand her need to contribute and she seems excited about the job, so I keep my mouth shut and just ask questions here and there.

When we are both finished, we walk hand in hand down to my car and I rest my hand on her thigh while I drive her to work. Juliana seems happier today, more relaxed than she has been in a while. I can only hope both of our good moods continue for a while.

Chapter 44

Juliana

When I come home from work, there is a weird quietness in the apartment. The past week has been normal, with nothing eventful happening, thankfully. Kurt and I are learning to adjust to each other's schedules but we still find time to hang out with each other even when we aren’t pretending to be engaged. We haven’t done anything more than some heavy make-out sessions lately but most days we are both tired. Kurt is busy working on an important case, and I am exhausted from working extra hours and job hunting.

Callum hasn’t messed with us since I ran into him outside of the dress shop and I’m starting to calm down, just enjoying my time with Kurt. Unfortunately, we have yet to talk about the growing relationship between us. I haven’t wanted to say anything yet because I’ve been too busy enjoying whatever it is that is happening. But when I open the door to the apartment, I can feel something has shifted.

“Juliana,” I hear Kurt’s voice and I follow it into the bedroom. I see him standing by the closet where a big bag is hanging.

“Hi, what’s that?” I greet him, smiling. My smile disappears when I see the look on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“This was delivered today while you were out.” Kurt steps away from the bag as I approach and reach for the zipper. There is no label on the bag but I can tell it’s for some type of garment. When I unzip the bag about halfway, I gasp.

“Oh my god!” I step back from the bag letting go of the zipper. I look over at Kurt and he kind of looks scared.

“Look, Juliana, I like you, I really do but this isn’t real. This wedding that you’re planning, it’s not actually happening. You shouldn’t be purchasing a dress, or well, I guess my mom purchased it for you.” Kurt tries to explain and I can tell he is trying to be nice or polite but he isn’t phrasing it well and I interrupt him.

"Kurt," I say and put my hand over his. I decide against sharing my own feelings and instead, explain. "I am so sorry, you were not supposed to see that. Hell, I didn’t even know it had been purchased, let alone already on its way here…”

“We already had this conversation and I thought we were on the same page. I know I mentioned maybe some time in the future thinking about marriage but I didn’t mean, like, a week in the future. I meant a couple of years, at minimum.” Kurt runs his fingers through his hair and he starts to pace, a pattern I’ve grown familiar with.

“No, no we are on the same page, Kurt. I told you, that day after church, that’s what your mother had planned for a girls’ day. I didn’t tell you but there was a dress that everyone fell in love with. I mean, I did too but I knew it wasn’t for me, for obvious reasons. I told them that I couldn’t afford the dress at the moment so I thought that was the end of the conversation. I had no idea she would buy it for me.” I try to explain but Kurt still looks sort of panicked.

“I think this has all been too much. Everything we've done. Every party we've been to, everyone we've deceived. Maybe we started to believe the lies too.." Kurt trails off. "We went too far this time. I think we should stop. I think that we should end this. I'll tell everyone we broke off the engagement... don't worry about anything. I'll fix this..." He watches me with wild eyes and then he stands, clearing his throat.

“It’s okay,” I say when I finally find my voice. I’m choking back tears but I hold my head high. “I got you into this situation, I will figure out how to deal with the consequences of the fake engagement coming to an end. But what about the real relationship we’ve developed?” I hate that I have to ask, especially when he is so upset, but I need to know if this means everything is over. I don’t want to lose him.

“What relationship?” Kurt practically scoffs in my face. “So we’ve made out a few times and I went down on you once, that does not put us in a relationship.”

His words sting and my heart throbs, I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach. I am completely caught off guard. I know he is upset but I didn’t think he would hurt me like that.

I blink a few times, trying to keep the tears from spilling out. “Okay, you’re right.” I try to remain calm but I can feel my strength wavering.

He hesitates and I can see him searching my eyes, almost as if he feels guilty for what he said, but I refuse to give him anything. He doesn't seem completely satisfied with this conversation but he gives a curt nod. "I'll give you some space to pack your things."

I thank him and then watch as he leaves. I wait until he has left the apartment before I let the tears fall. I lie on the bed and curse myself, I curse Callum and the stupid things I did. I try not to think about the "what ifs". Everything had just started to get better, to get real, and now it is all coming to an end.

After crying for what seems like hours, which was probably only twenty minutes, I get up and begin to pack my things. I shouldn’t have let myself get so comfortable here.

It's all too much for me and I feel as if I'm going to have a breakdown any moment when suddenly, the door of the apartment flies open and I see Tatyana come in carrying a huge grocery bag and a box I can only recognize as the one filled with my favorite movies. I smile, feeling the meltdown slowly fading, and then I think of what she is doing here and know Kurt must have called her. Instantly, I start crying and my heart aches. He is so kind. Even when he is hurting, he puts others first.

"Honey, I'm hooooome!" Tatyana shouts and I hear her dumping stuff on the kitchen counter. I come out of the bedroom and sniffle a bit, wiping my eyes. I walk into the kitchen.

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