Free Web NovelChapter 17: Chapter 17 Insane plan
Christina’s POV
"We need to talk."Niall didn’t strike me.
I glanced at the waiting room door, my thoughts with Louisa who was currently under the knife.
"Here?" I asked incredulously. "Now?"
"Please, Chrissy."
The "please" caught me off guard. In four years, I could count on one hand the number of times Niall had used that word with me.
I reluctantly sat on one of the cold, uncomfortable benches. The waiting room was mercifully empty except for us, though I knew that would change soon enough when Clive arrived.
Niall sat beside me, close enough that I could smell his expensive cologne.
"I’m sorry," he said quietly.
I blinked. Had I misheard? Was Mercury in retrograde? Had Niall been abducted by aliens and replaced with a decent clone?
"I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you before," he continued. "And I’m sorry about what happened at the apartment. I was upset, and I took it out on you."
Akira was silent, equally stunned.
"I’m sorry things have gotten so... complicated between us," he went on, staring at his hands. "I didn’t tell my mother about us breaking up. I only told her we had a fight and were taking some space. She actually told me to go after you, to fix things."
My heart squeezed painfully. Of course Louisa would say that. She’d always wanted the best for me, even when the "best" was her disappointment of a son.
"What do you want, Niall?" I asked tiredly.
He looked at me then, eyes beseeching. "I need you to be my fiancée again. Just until my mother recovers. I need time to figure out how to tell her about... everything."
By "everything," I assumed he meant his years-long affair with my sister. How thoughtful of him to spare me the details.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?" I whispered, mindful of our location.
"I’ll make it worth your while," he pressed on, as if I hadn’t spoken. "I can get you a job at my company. Or anywhere in the city, really. An apartment. Money. Jewelry. Whatever you want."
The words hung between us, each one more insulting than the last. Four years together, and this was what he thought of me—that I could be bought.
"Let me get this straight," I said."You want me to pretend to be your loving fiancée while you figure out how to tell your mother you’ve been sleeping with my sister behind my back for years? And you think you can buy my cooperation with trinkets and baubles like I’m some kind of pack tart?"
He had the decency to look uncomfortable. "When you put it like that—"
"There is no other way to put it, Niall."
The irony wasn’t lost on me.Less than 24 hours ago, I’d considered a fake engagement of my own to escape my parents’ matchmaking efforts. But somehow, Niall’s proposal made me feel dirty in a way Hudson’s hadn’t.
Maybe that made me a hypocrite. Or maybe it just meant I still had a sense of dignity left, while Niall had none at all.
"Look, it’s not ideal," Niall was saying, his words coming faster now, like he was trying to close a business deal before the client could leave the room. "But my mother just went through major trauma. She doesn’t need more stress right now."
"So you’d rather lie to her while she’s vulnerable?" I asked incredulously. "While she’s literally fighting for her life in surgery?"
"I’m trying to protect her!"
"No, you’re trying to protect yourself," I corrected. "You’re worried what she’ll think of you when she finds out you’ve been cheating on me with Beatrice. You’re afraid she’ll be disappointed in her golden boy."
His face darkened. "You don’t understand—"
"Oh, I understand perfectly. I admire your balls, Niall, I really do. Takes a special kind of asshole to try to manipulate his mother’s emotions after she’s been in a car accident."
He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Your father is pushing you to mate with Leonard Shaw. If we’re still engaged, he’ll back off. It’s a win-win. You get some peace, and I get some time."
I almost laughed at the smug little smile he gave me, like he’d just offered me the bargain of a lifetime.
"I won’t interfere with your life," he continued. "You can date whoever you want, quietly. As long as your parents don’t find out. It would only be for a few months."
That was the final straw. I felt my control slipping, Akira’s anger fusing with my own.
"And what happens after a few months?" I hissed, trying to keep my voice down so security wouldn’t escort us out. "You finally grow a spine and tell your parents that you’ve been in love with my sister all along? That you’ve been feeding them lies like a vending machine dispensing candy bars?"
My voice shook with rage. I stood up abruptly.
"This isn’t the place to discuss this," I said. "Come with me."
Niall looked like he wanted to argue, but he followed me out of the waiting room. I led him to the stairwell, checking first to make sure there were no witnesses, no security cameras, no gossipy janitor ghosts lurking in corners. frёeωebɳovel.com
I closed the door behind us.
"Let’s make this quick," Niall said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "My father will be here soon."
I spun around so fast he actually flinched. The stairwell’s flickering lights cast eerie shadows across his face, like we were in some low-budget crime documentary. But even bad lighting couldn’t hide his perfectly coiffed hair, symmetrical features, or the custom-tailored suit.
He looked perfect. And he had absolutely no moral compass whatsoever.
I considered slapping him. My palm actually itched with the desire to leave a red imprint on his smug face. But that would leave a mark, and if Clive saw it when he arrived... well, I didn’t need any more drama tonight.
Instead, I took a slow step toward him. Then another. His eyes widened slightly as I reached up, sliding my arms around his neck.
"Chrissy?" he asked, confused but pleased. He thought he’d convinced me. "What are you—"
My knee slammed into his balls before he could get another word out.
He doubled over like a deflating bouncy castle, eyes bulging, mouth gaping open like a particularly bad poker player seeing a royal flush. He folded in on himself, sliding down to the dirty stairwell floor.
I took a step back, smoothing my blouse.
"Since you have trouble understanding the word ’no,’ let me make my answer to your idiotic proposition crystal clear," I said coldly. "I will not help you deceive Louisa. If you want to confess your undying love for my sister, figure it out yourself. Leave me out of it."
He curled into himself, reaching for my arm but coming up short.
"You bitch," he wheezed. "You’ll regret this."
