Chapter 46 The Honest Answer
Julian froze the moment Adeline asked him if he would stab her in the back. The question hit him in a way he did not expect, way too sudden, and for a brief second, his mind went completely blank. He had been prepared for many things when she called him, an argument, a cold conversation, even another accusation, but not that, not something so direct and so pointed that it went straight to the core of what they were doing.
He didn’t even realize how long he had gone silent until Adeline’s voice came through the phone again, slightly impatient this time, asking him if he was still there.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Julian shifted slightly where he sat on his bed, running a hand over his face before answering. “I’m still here,” he said, his voice steadier than he felt at that moment.
On the other end, Adeline let out a dry chuckle, the sound low and lacking any real humor, and it made something in his chest tighten just a little. “Was the question too direct?” she asked. “Or maybe too hard for you to answer?”
Julian exhaled slowly, forcing himself to relax, even though she couldn’t see him. He leaned back against the headboard, trying to keep his tone casual, like the question hadn’t thrown him off balance at all. “What suddenly made you ask something like that?” he asked instead. “Did someone say something to you?”
There was a short pause before she responded, and when she did, her voice was calm, but there was something under it, something careful.
“No,” Adeline said. “I just wanted to ask.”
She shifted slightly where she sat, her fingers tracing idle patterns against the fabric of her dress as she stared ahead, her expression thoughtful. “Regardless of the fact that we’re getting married,” she continued, “and regardless of everything else… I’m not stupid, Julian. I know what we are. I know that we’re still rivals.”
“So I want to know,” she added, her tone firm now. “If you’re bold enough to answer me honestly… do you intend to stab me in the back?”
Julian let out a light scoff at that, shaking his head slightly even though she couldn’t see him. The question still lingered in his mind, heavier than he wanted to admit, but he wasn’t about to let her hear that. Instead, he leaned into something easier, something safer.
“In that case,” he said, “I should ask you the same question.”
There was a brief silence before he continued, his voice calm but edged with something more serious now. “After all, I have more to lose in this marriage than you do, so I’d also like to know… are you going to stab me in the back?”
On the other end of the call, Adeline’s expression didn’t change much, but her eyes narrowed slightly. Her lips pressed together before she spoke again, her tone unimpressed.
“Are you seriously trying to avoid answering my question by turning it on me?” she asked flatly.
Julian shrugged lightly, his gaze drifting toward the ceiling as he stretched his legs out in front of him. “I’m not avoiding anything,” he replied. “I’m just returning the same doubt you felt that made you ask that question in the first place.”
He paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully, not because he didn’t know what to say, but because he knew exactly how much truth he could allow into his answer.
“What we have right now,” he continued, “is a partnership, not a fairy tale, and not some perfect love story, just a partnership.”
His voice was steady, almost matter-of-fact, as if he was laying out something obvious. “And yes,” he added, “we’re still rivals, that hasn’t changed. That means we both know what the other is capable of. It means we both know that if it comes down to it, we would do what we have to do to get ahead.”
Adeline stayed quiet as she listened, her fingers slowly curling into her palm as his words settled in her mind.
“So,” Julian went on, “yes, there could come a time where I might have to stab you in the back… or you might have to do the same to me.”
The silence that followed his words was heavier this time, stretching just a little longer before he spoke again. “But I’m not about to sit here and start worrying about something that hasn’t even happened yet,” he finished.
Adeline let out a slow breath, her gaze dropping slightly as she absorbed what he had said. There was no shock in her expression, no visible anger, but there was a tension in the way her shoulders held still, like she was trying to decide how she felt about his answer.
“So,” she said after a moment, her voice calm but carrying a faint edge, “you’re basically telling me to expect you to betray me.”
Julian rolled his eyes, even though she couldn’t see it, and let out another scoff. “That’s not what I said,” he replied.
He sat up a little straighter now, his tone firm but not raised. “What I’m saying is that we both know what we signed up for. This isn’t some safe arrangement where everything is guaranteed to go smoothly. There are risks, and we both know that.”
He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees as he continued. “The same way I could betray you,” he said, “is the same way you could betray me. So instead of jumping ahead and worrying about something that might not even happen, how about you focus on what’s in front of you right now?”
Adeline didn’t respond immediately. She simply sat there, her expression unreadable as she stared ahead, his words replaying in her mind.
“Focus on now,” Julian added, his voice quieter this time but still steady. “And worry about later when later actually comes.”
There was a pause before he spoke again, his tone shifting just slightly, becoming more practical. “As long as this partnership does what it’s supposed to do,” he said, “we won’t have to worry about betraying each other just yet.”
Adeline finally exhaled, her shoulders relaxing just a little as she leaned back against her seat. His answer wasn’t comforting, not in the way most people would want it to be, but it was honest, or at least as honest as she expected him to be, and in a strange way, that made it easier to accept.
She didn’t need promises from him, promises were easy to break. What she needed was clarity, and he had given her that.
“Fair enough,” she said quietly after a moment.
On the other end, Julian let out a small breath, his grip on the phone loosening slightly. He wasn’t sure what he had expected after answering her question, but he knew one thing for certain, neither of them trusted the other completely, and if he was going to get what he wanted, he needed to find a way to make her trust him completely.