Page 83 of Accidental Fiancé

“I was little more than a project to you. Someone to protect. Someone weaker, not an equal.”

“You’ve never been more wrong, Maggie.”

“I think you liked me well enough, but I also think you confused that with love, probably because of teenage hormones and the fact your dad just died.” I took a deep breath before I lied to him. “It’s fine, Jules. It’s in the past. And whatever this was, it’s in the past, too.” When I stepped to move around him he blocked me. “Don’t.”

He took my face in his hands and slanted his mouth over mine. His fingertips turned my head toward him. I wanted this so badly to be real. My toes curled in my ballet flats, and a thrill wound through me hard enough to get me wet.

But not hard enough to shake me from reality.

His green eyes peered into my soul. “This isn’t in the past.Weare not the past, Maggie. We are not over before we begin. We are just getting started.”

I wanted all of it—everything that his eyes and his kiss and his touch promised. But it was tinged with something awful. Something I couldn’t live with in a thousand lifetimes. “Julian, do you realize that every time you helped me or protected me, you did it out of pity?”

His face twisted like I had punched him in the gut. “What?”

I sighed, trying to fill my lungs with enough air to allow my broken heart room to breathe. “When you think about it—really think about it—you’ll understand.” I wheeled my bag toward the door. “I deserve more than pity from a partner. We both deserve to be loved the way we need to be. Goodbye, Julian.”

Chapter 30

Julian

The midday sun spilled through the half-open windows, casting a warm glow on the walls, but it did little to ease the tension crackling in the air. I stepped between her and the door. I couldn't just let her walk out of my life. After all we had been through, we were worth more than this. Fighting for her, for us, was the only thing that made any sense.

But as I stood there, she refused to look me in the eye. Her voice wavered when she glanced toward the door behind me. “Julian, I really should go.”

“Please, Maggie, just hear me out.” My heart raced. I hadn't expected the truth to come out. Chloe had millions of dollars on the line, but I guess that was a small price to pay compared to making us suffer. I would get my revenge on Chloe. I just didn’t know how yet.

Right now, the only thing that mattered was Maggie. I needed her to stay. I needed her to be my rock. And more than anything, I needed to make her understand.

The words flowed out of me like a river. “I never pitied you. I loved you back then, and I love you now. I have always loved you. Pity has nothing to do with how I feel about you. It’s not like that for me. I have and will always love you, don't you see that?”

Her eyes widened, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of hope in them. But it quickly faded, and she shook her head as if to clear away the thoughts swirling in her mind. “Julian, you don't understand,” she said, her voice breaking. “Everybody knows the truth now, and that changes things.”

“It changes nothing. You're still you, and I'm still me. I've never had this kind of connection with anyone before, and I know you feel the same. Tell me different, and I’ll walk away.” A pure bluff. How could I ever walk away from this woman again after truly knowing her, her kiss, her touch, the way she tasted? I could never walk away from her now. It would be like walking away from my own heart.

She swallowed. “Feelings don’t matter. Reality matters, and in the real world, we would never work. We both know it. Besides sex, what do we have in common?”

“Shared history, mutual admiration, chemistry, the drive to succeed… do I need to go on?”

“Don’t make this harder on both of us.”

“I’m not! You’re the one making this hard!”

“Then let me make it easy and let me walk out of this room.”

But I couldn’t do that so I changed tactics. I knew it might only gain me a few more seconds with her but I needed them. “Why do you think I pity you, Maggie? I don’t understand.”

“I just explained it to you.”

“How could I pity you?” I went on, irrespective of her thin explanation. “You're strong, you're resilient. You make me feel like I can take on the world. None of that says pity. I don't care about anybody downstairs judging us for what we did. We lied. They’ll get over it. We'll be embarrassed for the week, and then we'll leave and it won't matter because we’ll have a life together. The rest doesn’t matter. Only us.”

She crossed her arms as if trying to shield herself from my words. I could see the struggle in her eyes while fear, confusion,and a deep sadness twisted my heart. I could only assume she felt the same way.

Maggie cleared her throat, shaking her head. “I can’t be the person you need me to be. If you’ve ever pitied me, even just once, I can’t handle that.”

“Why do you keep thinking that I pity you? I'veneverpitied you.” I tried for earnestness in my tone, but it verged on a desperate growl because I was, in fact, desperate and frustrated. I needed her to understand how I felt, and I wasn’t getting anywhere in showing her the truth that was in my heart. Her words hit me like a punch to the gut.

Silence stretched between us, demanding, suffocating. Tears welled in her eyes, little stars on the verge of falling. I’d make a wish on every one of them if that meant she stayed.

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