Chapitre 10: CHAPTER 10
While the lights inside the restaurant remained dimmed, creating a quiet environment, Skylar tapped her fingers on the table until Julian showed up. Her mind could replay James's ambiguous warnings, whose each word was shouting louder than the last as my thoughts were drowning deep into suspicion. As Julian finally showed up, casual yet concerned, she did not waste any time broaching the topic.
"Did you tell my uncle about. about my pregnancy?" Skylar's voice cut, her eyes narrowing as she held Julian's gaze, waiting for any sign of guilt.
Julian blinked, noticeably taken aback. "Skylar… what? No. Why would I do that?"
"Because he knows," she bit back, leaning into him. "And I don't see who else would have told him. I haven't breathed a word to anyone."
"Skylar," Julian's voice gentled, but his eyes showed a flick of hurt. "I wasn't even certain. You didn't ever say anything. And why would I go spreading something so. intimate?"
Susyana gave no indication of dispersing her suspicion. "You're saying he just figured it out? That doesn't make any sense whatsoever."
Julian exhaled, raking his hair. "Look, your uncle has connections and resources we don't fully understand. But why would I, of all people, betray you like that?"
Her expression faltered, but she forced herself to hold steady. "Maybe… maybe you have motives I don't know about."
Julian's face fell, his eyebrows knitting in pain. "Is that really what you think of me?
Skylar looked down, the anger faltering. She had come here ready to demand answers, but there was a hint of hurt in his eyes that undermined all her determination. "I don't know what to think, Julian. I don't know who I can trust."
"You think I'd betray you?" his voice cracked slightly, frustration and pain etched in his eyes as he inclined forward. "Skylar, I thought… I thought we were building trust here.
"Why are you then being so secretive?" The words had come out harder than she meant, and she watched the hurt in his eyes grow a little more pronounced. "Every time I ask about your past, about why you're really here, you brush it off or change the subject. I can't ignore these things, Julian."
Julian's shoulders sagged as he looked down. "I'm not hiding things to hurt you, I just. some things that happened in my life are complicated. I didn't want to drag you into that. But I see now that keeping you in the dark has only made things worse.
Her hand tightened on her phone, a flicker of doubt dancing in her eyes. "You have to understand, Julian-My uncle… he's dangerous. He manipulates people; he twists things. And I need to know that you're not working with him in some sort of way.
Julian's eyes met hers, his tone even and tinted with a flush of desperation. "Skylar, I would never do anything to harm you, and if I knew how your uncle got that information, I'd tell you."
They sat in silence, the tension heavy in the air as each warred with their share of doubts and fears. Julian's jaw clenched, his eyes staring down at his hands in frustration. When he finally raised them, there was a determined glint in his eyes.
"I know I've given you reasons to question me," he whispered low, "but I swear, Skylar, I'm on your side. Whatever your uncle knows, he didn't get it from me.
Skylar blew a frustrated sigh and was torn. A part of her wanted to believe him, to allow herself to be vulnerable with him once more, but there was that other part, warring inside of her-the part haunted by her uncle's threats and manipulations-kept her guarded.
"Perhaps I was wrong," she muttered mostly to herself. "Maybe you are right. I just. cannot rid myself of this feeling that something does not add up.
Julian leaned across the table, his hand gently covering hers. "Let me prove it to you. Let me show you that you can trust me."
She turned her hand over and looked at the feel of his hand covering hers, her heart flickering with hope. Then in an instant, her phone buzzed on the table beside her, lighting up with a text from her uncle.
"Tomorrow nite. Don't forget our arrangement. I'd hate for things to, slip out.
Skylar's heart plummeted as she read the message. Julian's presence, his warm touch, his assurances-they felt suddenly so far away, her uncle's shadow looming over every inch of her life.
Julian caught her shift and frowned. "What is it? Is it… him?"
Skylar nodded, tugging her hand free. "I need to go.
Skylar, please," Julian called after her, but she was already out of her seat, her mind spinning with the inescapable web her uncle had trapped her in.
---
The next day Skylar paced the small break room, anger and hurt swirling in her head. It was stifling to have this kind of hold her uncle had on her life; his threats wrapping around her, tightly coiling like a noose. She needed release, an answer-anything that would make order out of the chaos.
Just then, Julian stepped into the break room, looking concerned. "Skylar, I need to speak with you.
She spun, her eyes ablaze. "Talk to me? About what, Julian? More half-truths?"
Julian's face twisted in frustration. "That's not fair, Skylar. I am trying to help you, and yet you keep shutting me out."
"I'm shutting you out because you're keeping things from me!" She threw her hands up, voice trembling. "You don't know what it's like, Julian. Every time I try to take a step forward, he's there, pulling me back.
Julian's eyes softened, though he looked even more hurt. "I know it feels like I am concealing things, but I promise you, all the things I've kept from you have been to protect you."
She shook her head, stepping back. "Protect me? Or protect yourself?"
Julian flinched, his face tightening with frustration. "Why can't you just believe me?
Skylar crossed her arms, her voice bitter. "Because I don't have that luxury anymore. Not you, not anyone."
Julian's jaw clenched. "Skylar, I have done nothing but try to be there for you, to support you. But you keep pushing me away, accusing me of things I would never do.
Skylar snorted, and her heart calcified. "Support me? By continuing to sneak around and hide things? You know what my uncle's capable of, Julian. He's made my life hell, and I don't need more to be uncertain."
Julian took a deep, silent breath, his voice low and intense. "I'm not your uncle, Skylar. I'm not here to control you or manipulate you. I'm here because I care about you.
She stared at him, her defenses cracking for a split second. "Then why does it feel like I'm just another pawn in whatever game you're playing?"
His gaze softened, an aching sadness filling his eyes. "You're not a pawn. You're… you mean more to me than you know."
Skylar looked away, her voice shaking. "I can't keep doing this, Julian. I can't keep wondering if you're going to hurt me, too.
Julian stepped closer, his face a mask of anguish. "I would never harm you, Skylar. But if you can't see that. I don't know what other things I could do.
Skylar bit her lip as the walls around her heart reblocked. She had really hoped he would prove her doubts wrong, that he could be the only one she could lean on. But instead, every moment with him only buried her confusion deeper.
She took a shaky breath, meeting his gaze one last time. "Maybe we both need some distance. Until we can figure out what we really want."
Julian's shoulders slumped, resignation etched into his face. "If that's what you want, then… I'll respect it."
Skylar nodded, feeling the pang of regret as she turned to leave. But as she reached the door, his voice stopped her.
"Skylar?"
She paused, glancing back over her shoulder.
"I'm not giving up on you," he said, his voice steady. "I know you don't trust me right now, but one day… I hope you'll see that I was on your side all along."
She didn't respond to that; the weight of his words lay heavy in her chest as she walked away. But no sooner had she stepped back to her desk than her phone buzzed with another message from her uncle.
The truth has a way of surfacing, Skylar. Are you ready for what comes next?"
Skylar's heart pounded as she stared at the message, dread twisting in her stomach.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone