Julienne POV

Julienne POV

My mother's had said nothing, or at least she saw it as nothing because she trusted me when I said I was having lunch with Alex. If she knew that I had been with Corey well then my father would know and that would be disaster that I could not afford to happen at any point in time in fact.

" You can give us something to take now " I smiled shakily and she grinned

" Of course, I made plenty just for the same reason" she muttered

" Enough about food " my father muttered

" How has business been" he asked taking a piece of his meal and I smiled

" Its been well sir. My uncle sends his greetings" he muttered and I nodded except that was likely a complete lie

" That's good send him my regards as well" he mumbled and I still

" We need to get together sometime" my mother whispered and I nodded, grateful for the change in topic, that was all I could hope for right now that we would drift so far away from the topic that I would not have to worry about it or think on it again.

" That's a good idea,maybe sometime before the wedding then" my mother straightened immediately, excitement dotting her features

" You mean your father" she asked giddily, if there was one thing my mother loved more it was a wedding, she like to think about the joy of couples coming together in matrimony, to her it was great but I could understand how she felt that way, she had planned many weddings for several of her friends unofficially, she was the matchmaker.

I was proud of her for it and sometimes sorry that my wedding may have given her a disappointment in preparing it.

" Yes, Trent and his fiance are hoping to get married at the end of the year "

" Well tell them that I am available to plan their day if they need me" my mother said softly and i smiled

" Mom you really should ask them first " I whispered and she nodded

" Of course that's why I'm asking Alex to let him know" she replied primly and Alex laughed

" Of course. I'll ask them. I'm sure they'll be pleased " he replied and she smiled

Looking to me triumphantly and I couldn't really fault her for it.

We had meaningless small talk over the rest of dinner and Alex promised to make an appointment with my dad as soon as he could.

" I got some gifts for you too, I wasn't sure what to get but I hope you like them" Alex mutter rising from his sit , he gave my father his, and my mother her little book, she squealed and clutched it to her chest

" Ohh Alex this is beautiful, " she whispered opening the book, it was a simple book but she loved it anyway,

" Thank you" she whispered and looked to my father

" What did you get" she asked looking into his hand

" Ooh isn't that the watch you were admiring" my mother said and he huffed clearly uncomfortable

" It is " I sighed, he didn't like it or what my mother laughed

" Oh he likes it, he just thought it was for the younger generation" my mother whispered exposing his secret, he looked at her balefully and she grinned

" Of course, now say thank you Richard" she urged patting his hand harshly , he sighed

" Thank you Cross" he mumbled with less effort and strength almost as if it was taking something out from him.

My father rose from the table

" I'm tired, need to take my meds and go to bed" he mumbled. He looked to me and nodded slightly, a sign of approval walked away from the dining room.

" I think we'll be in our way now" Alex muttered and my mom sat up

" Let's go get you your take aways" she said and hustled to the kitchen.

I followed her as she was stacking plate she had already packed and I sighed

" You didn't have too" I said softly and she smiled

" Of course I didn't but I wanted to and Alex likes my food" she replied then handed me the dishes

" You both can come back for more" I nodded my head

" Are you happy" My mother asked as we walked back to the dinning room, I wanted to tell her yes but that was a lie, I wanted to say no but that was not really the truth either and frankly I couldn't tell her that at all.

My mother loved me, if I told her that she would be worried and I wasn't not happy at the moment I was sad but not unhappy. So I told her the only thing I could

" Maybe. I can't tell yet" I replied, I must have said that in a way that she understood either that or my gaze had been imploring enough so that she knew that I couldn't answer that question right now.

" Well that's fine, we'll get there " we arrived to the dining room, and she handed the dishes with her to Alex who gaped for a moment before turning away from her to me

" You should have stopped her, we can't finish this " he muttered and my mother scoffed

" Do you not eat at home, you're not birds. I expect this to be gone in two weeks and the containers returned for more food" she huffed, Alex started to protest when I shushed him

" The queen had spoken and we will obey" I muttered,he sighed and nodded.

Pleased my mother gestured to the door

" Go home before it gets too late "

" Thank you so much for dinner" Alex said to my mother warmly as we stood to leave,he hugged her and she smiled patting his back slowly

" I hope you come again" she said looking to me

" Bring him again" I laughed, I had been completely replaced

" Yes mom" I said making my promises and playing my part.

The drive to the house was silent and fraught with tension, he attempted talking to me again and yet it didn't seem like he was going to say anything.

The longer that the silence lasted the more i felt like I could not breath, like a rope was wrapping itself around my throat.

I wanted him to say something because if he did I could defend myself but he was not giving me the satisfaction and so I got angry because why should he make me feel this way when he had done the same thing.

Why should I be the only one suffering like this.

We arrived home, in that same chilling suffocating silence, my brain a mess of thoughts and emotions.

We got off the car and I carried the food my mother had packed, he grabbed some of it as well and we followed each other inside the house and I to the kitchen, where we dropped them all on the counter and then he moved to leave and I was unable to take it anymore.

" Aren't you going to ask" I muttered to the back of his head and he sighed

" I'm not sure what you want to say " he asked and j shrugged.

" You could look at me, you could ask me why" I said softly and he ran his hands through his hair and turned to me

" Why " he' asked and I hissed

" What the hell is your problem" I cried out and he roared

" No what is your problem"

" I'm looking at you and I'm asking you 'why'. What the hell do you want me to say next"

" You're asking like you don't really care, do you not care, really" I asked and he sighed

" Is that what this is about, it doesn't matter if I do " he replied and i cut him off

" Is this because you don't want me to ask about her" i mumbled and he stilled.

" I don't know what you're talking about " he muttered and I scoffed walking away from the counter tapping my phone as I went. I pulled up the photo and looked to him shoving it in his face.

"I know you met her, I know you had dinner with her but you said nothing to me when I asked " I croaked, my voice wobbling with emotions u could not name, I hated it that he could do this to me even when we were nothing.

" Is that what this is about, you saw Corey Montgomery and then you saw the pictures and you felt guilty but you want to make this about me instead of you" He muttered and I flinched as the truth hit too close to home so much so that I wanted to lash out and say no, I wanted to tell him that he was lying but the words wouldn't leave my mouth.

He took my shoulder in his grip and looked at me deeply, his gaze boring into mine, into my soul.

" You don't need to be guilty"

" When you came to me, you asked me to help you get revenge. I can't be mad when you try to do what we need to get that revenge" he said softly smiling lightly. He was making sense, he was being reasonable and i hated it with every fibre of my being

" We are partners in crime, what we do in our personal time outside of this revenge matters only to ourselves" he whispered softly. He patted my hair and walked away from me.

" I'm going to bed " he called back.

And I stood there dumbfounded like some idiot. But I was an idiot. Interested in a man who didn't want me.