Chapter 58: Believable Brother?

*Please let it be some random stranger…*

I silently begged as the car came to a stop and the person walked out of the parked car. I released a long sigh as I hung my head.

*Of course, it’s him…*

“You found me pretty fucking fast.” I spat as Julian approached me. “You put a tracker on me or something?”

Though my fire and hateful words Julian still walked up to me and gently placed his big hands on my shoulders. The concerned look in his beautiful blue eyes never faded. “Are you alright? You look sick.”

“Yeah? If I do then you only got yourself to blame.” I snapped and shouldered his hands off of me. His touch was just as soft as his voice and it made me want to weaken my defenses but my wall remained uncracked. I still didn’t trust him. There were too many unknowns and shady things that just kept seeming to grow around him.

“I took care of the video.” Julian’s reassurance did ease my wariness ever so slightly. I didn’t realize I was avoiding eye contact with him until he lifted my chin with his finger where my face would get pulled closer to his. “Everything will be alright. I’ll take care of all of it, so there’s no need to fret. Alright, Beautiful?”

The sincerity in his affectionate voice would’ve been enough to finally relax after such a shitty day but that single word at the end of his sentence was enough for me to jerk my head out of his grasp, the memory of him forcing me into submission making my heart burn once more. “I told you not to call me Beautiful. I’m not a dog.” my aggressive sass came from a quiet voice. It was times like these when two sides of my body went to war – whether or not to lean on him or push him away. The old me would’ve pushed him away and danced on his body. But the current me…

*Damn, this shitty-ass bastard! Why can’t I…!?!?*

I managed to bring myself to look up at him. Cold fire in my eyes as I spoke seriously while keeping the caution out of my voice. “Well, we’re face-to-face, asshole. Did you get that maid killed?”

My words were, as always, blunt, harsh, and straight to the point but Julian didn’t look phased one bit by my surly attitude. I had a feeling he knew I was being extra because I was blaming him for everything.

“I think you’ve had a long day and need some rest, Sukia. You’re not thinking clearly.” before I could snap at him in my defense he put his finger on my lips. “I had nothing to do with that maid’s death, I promise. All I did was talk to her last night and ask her to keep what she saw a secret. She graciously agreed and that was the last I saw from her.”

I swatted his finger away from my lips. “She *graciously* agreed? Bullshit, Julian. She just saw the master’s son and his wife’s daughter fucking on the staircase. Did you threaten her?”

A frown that I didn’t see too often creased the corners of Julian’s lips and the look in his hypnotizing eyes that I kept trying to avoid looking at changed ever so slightly into a look that I wasn’t familiar with. “I reminded her that I’m her master’s son.”

“So you DID threaten her. Ha! Didn’t think you had it in ya, pup.” I shot my remark at how he always reminded me of a kicked puppy. I had to admit, it was surprising that Mr. Charismatic Charmer actually threatened somebody, even if it was as settled as that.

*Desperate times call for desperate measures… I guess I should be more impressed by his balls instead of mocking him. I was sure that he would’ve weasel out with his blinding words like he always did to Mom and everybody else in that damned mansion. I would’ve given that maid more than a ‘reminder’ threat.*

I looked away from Julian while rubbing the back of my neck, falling for his words and believing that he really didn’t have to do with Elena’s accident. “Alright… fuck it, fine, I believe you. It’s just shitty luck that it had to be that maid of all the stupid ass maids… my mom was close to her, ya know.”

I didn’t even realize I was hugging myself until Julian’s strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me into his chest. I was about to fight against his embrace but the heat from his body and the sound of his heartbeat soothed me so quickly that it felt as if the world around me had slowed to a stop. He stroked his big hand across my head as if he were petting a dog. As much as I wanted to bite off his fingers, it oddly felt pleasant…

“Come on. Let's get you home,” he murmured softly before taking my hand and leading me back to his Tesla which almost looked identical to my own. Without resistance, I followed. This left me feeling confused and mildly surprised by my own actions. I hate this bastard with every bloody vein in my body and yet I…

I couldn’t understand my own feelings. My own emotions. But, for some reason, I couldn’t explain, I kept getting drawn back to the man that was supposed to be my step-brother. It was at this moment that my memory of my date with Liam crossed my mind, how the kind man was about to kiss me over a romantic interest in me but I rejected him because of my attachment to Julian.

*If I got lovey-dovey with Liam then Julian would lose his fucking mind. Again. That’s the only reason I didn’t accept Liam’s feelings. Besides, I don’t even know how to be lovey-dovey. What does lovey-dovey even mean? How will I know that I’m feeling it when I don’t even know what it feels like?*

The car roared to life and Julian glanced over to me from where I sat in the passenger’s seat. My silence and the faraway look in my eyes told him that I was practically in a whole different dimension from being so deep in thoughts, tangled in my mind of neverending chaos. I didn’t even notice him lean in my direction until I felt his hand on my chin again and he pulled my head towards his. I was dragged back into reality by the warmth and texture of his lips, the gentle pressure and scent that I could annoyingly never get enough of kept me rooted in place. All of a sudden, I felt something in my chest that I’d never felt before. My heart had been heavy all day until this very second. Somehow, it reminded me of a stupidly big swarm of butterflies taking flight.

And I hated butterflies.

Yet I stayed rooted in place like a tree until he leaned away from me, I sucked in the breath I had been holding the entire time without realizing it and looked up at him with wary confusion. “What the fuck was that about?”

There was a sheepish look in Julian’s eyes that reminded me of a puppy begging for scraps as he spoke. “I think we both know that, after last night, we’re far past the brother-sister relationship.” he turned his head away from me. “I’m sorry. I gave you my word and I couldn’t keep it.” when he looked at me again, his blue eyes locking with my green ones, he stroked my cheek with the back of his fingers. “I know you’ll reject my feelings, but… I really can’t stop caring about you. And not in a family type of way.”

My jaw clutched as I watched him. Once again, I was filled with emotions that I couldn’t describe, let alone know what they were. All I did know was that it left me confused, annoyed, a little pissy, and… it felt good.

I looked away from him and stared out the window before finally mumbling the words that both of us thought would never slip past my lips. “...It’s fine.”