Page 113 of Maddening Fixation

“I could give you stability. A normal life. A future far away from the constant pressure your family puts on you. You deserve peace, Juliet.”

His voice softened.

“You deserve someone who chooses you every single day.”

A pause.

“And I want to be that man.”

I stared at him for several long seconds, allowing his words to settle between us.

Then I shook my head.

“Egor, you’re not listening.”

My voice remained calm.

“No is my answer. I am not accepting this proposal. Not because you aren’t a good person, but because this is not what I want.”

Slowly, he closed the velvet box.

The sharp click echoed through the quiet driveway, strangely loud in the silence between us.

“So...” His voice was barely above a whisper. “You’re rejecting me.”

“I am.”

I nodded once, refusing to look away.

“And I think it’s better for both of us if we end this friendship here. This isn’t something we can pretend didn’t happen.”

His brows tightened slightly.

“I think we should stop contacting each other.”

For several seconds, he simply stared at me.

Then something shifted.

The disappointment disappeared.

So did the warmth.

The easygoing, cheerful Egor I’d known for months seemed to dissolve before my eyes, replaced by someone colder.

Someone I didn’t recognize.

“No woman has ever rejected me, Juliet.”

A chill crawled down my spine.

He looked past me toward the estate gates, staring into the darkness for several moments as though wrestling with himself.

When his eyes returned to mine, they carried an intensity that made my instincts immediately scream at me to step back.

“I’ve always gotten what I wanted.”

He smiled again. “This is... new.”