The Devil's Good Girl
Chapter 122: Conditions

Chapter 122: Conditions

"I’m just... surprised, that’s all. But I understand the dilemma."

A moment of silence fell on them as both of them indulged in the quietness. For some reason, even though people were coming and going, they didn’t seem to matter at the moment.

"Last night..." Fil broke the silence with her quiet voice, still not looking at him. "Vincent went to my place."

His brows rose in surprise. "Did you two... get back together?"

"What if we did?" this time, she faced him. "Was that enough to make you stop?"

Marcus couldn’t answer, knowing whatever answer he would give her would put him in a tricky situation. If he said yes, chances were she wouldn’t go out with him. But if he answered no — which he almost said — then she might criticize him as a man who was willing to have an affair with his best friend’s lover.

"Marcus..." Fil scratched her temple in distress. "Why me, of all people?"

"If I knew, I would’ve dealt with it without telling you."

She glanced back at him. "We didn’t make up. I mean, Vincent and I."

"Oh."

"But I gave him a chance to fix the unfixable," she confessed, holding his gaze. "It’s the first time I’ve seen Vincent cry while begging me. I don’t have to heart to push him away when he’s like that."

"Is that so?" Marcus forced a smile but to no avail. He slowly lowered his gaze, rocking his head in understanding. "Then, that means..."

"But I also don’t have the heart to turn you away. Not when you courageously put your heart out here in front of me," she added, making him lift his gaze at her. "You were honest, and I know you have a good heart. Though I believe this feeling is not out of love, but out of confusion, I’ll help you get your clarity under a few conditions."

His expression slowly changed from a little hurt to surprise, eyes wide on her.

"I’ll go out with you, but no one has to know. After all, I don’t want this little experiment to go out of hand," she started, this time, her tone was stern. "I’m doing this because you’re confused and it may be a little farfetched, but I still hope once you get the clarity you want, we can still be friends."

"I understand." He nodded, not telling her it was actually one of his plans. He didn’t want to let others know about this until they were sure. After all, if it didn’t work, he knew the consequences. However, she didn’t need to know about that.

"Second, I need you to know that Vincent and I aren’t over completely," she continued. "He hadn’t let me go, and he still affects me one way or another. We might get back together while we’re doing this little experimentation, so don’t get hurt if we do."

"Third, no kisses and no sex. Don’t expect those from me," she stressed each word as if that carried the most importance. "This is the line you shouldn’t cross. Even Vincent didn’t cross this line, so if you cross it... forget about everything. I’m out."

Marcus nodded. "I know that much, at least. No kisses and sex until marriage — hold hands?"

"Do you want to hold my hand?" she asked, and he nodded. "You do?"

"Kiss and sex too." He shrugged, watching her face instantly turn red. He chuckled. "I’m a man, so it’s only natural for me to want more. Since we’re being honest, I’m not going to filter the fact I’ve been with women before. But I respect your beliefs and principles."

Fil cleared her throat and puffed her cheeks. "Goodness. That’s too honest."

"Haha. What else?" he asked curiously. "Keeping it a secret, knowing you still have unresolved issues, and abstinence. What else do you want to add?"

"Lastly..." Fil drew a deep breath, facing him squarely. "Don’t fall for me because I won’t."

"Huh?" Marcus furrowed his brows, confused. "Isn’t that the point of this conversation?"

"The point of this conversation is to clear out any confusion you have," she clarified. "I’m going to do this with the thought of doing you a favor. I don’t want to get hurt, Marcus. And right now, I’m vulnerable. You asked me to go out with you, knowing I was in a vulnerable and confused state. I don’t want to make a bad decision and end up hating myself."

Another wave of silence washed over them, holding each other’s gaze.

"You saw through my scheme?" he chuckled, shaking his head. "That’s embarrassing."

"I just think it’s very calculated," she humored indifferently. "What do I expect from you? You’re in that position in your life, not just because you’re born rich. But you’re an important person in the Arkwright Corporation because you’re good at what you’re doing — cunning, if I may add."

"Is that supposed to worry me?" he returned. "I don’t want to turn you off right off the bat."

"The perk of knowing each other for years is that we’ve seen each other’s worst. I know you can be quite a jerk too, so I’ll keep that in mind."

"Right, we know each other for a long time..." Marcus leaned back on the couch, cocking his head and sliding his eyes to the corner. "You know me already, but I feel like I’m just starting to know you."

Fil smiled. "I feel offended."

"I’m sorry."

"But I don’t blame you." Fil also leaned back, smacking her lips before smiling subtly. "The Fil you know is always behind Vincent’s shadow. She’s pathetic."

"She’s just in love, blindly in love."

She slowly faced him, only to see his subtle smile. "She is, and I don’t want to be like her again. I’ve had enough of her."

"And you’re better this way." His smile stretched wider. "I think I’ll have a lot of fun getting to know the real you."

"Don’t smile like that. I’m your best friend’s ex." She squinted her eyes, folding her arms under her chest. "You and I both know this is wrong."

"Yet, we’re doing it, anyway." Marcus shrugged, peeling his eyes from her to look at the high ceiling of the studio. "And surprisingly, even when I know this shouldn’t be happening, I’m happy for the chance. It may have these strange conditions, but... it doesn’t seem to matter."

"I asked my best friend’s ex-fiancee to date me," he continued, shifting his eyes back to her. "But I’m more relieved that I did. It doesn’t feel wrong now. If anything, I feel... fine."

"Don’t screw it up."

"If I do, that’s on me. Put me on the death sentence." He winked. "Should we go out later?"

"I already gave my word to Anton, sorry." Fil smiled. "You can come, though, I think? They won’t just kick out Director Marcus Arkwright just because, right?"

Marcus chuckled. "I’m starting to worry about how bad you see me."

"It’s not that bad," she quipped. "Trust me."

His smile remained while staring at her. Just hours ago, his heart was heavy and his mind was in a haywire. But after confessing what had been burdening him and talking to her, everything suddenly cleared up. His heart wasn’t as heavy, but rather, it was fluttering. And his mind didn’t feel as suffocated anymore.

"I think I really like you," he blurted out while staring at her, biting his tongue, but didn’t regret the slip of the tongue. "And I find it strange."

"I also find it strange..." Fil trailed off when he reached out to hold her hand. Her brows rose, glancing at his hand on hers, and then met his eyes once again.

"Thank you," he expressed from the bottom of his heart. "But know that I might be genuinely grateful for the chance, but it’s just another excuse to hold you. I missed you."

"Marcus, did you forget the first clause —"

"I really hope I’m just confused, Fil," he continued, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Because if I’m not, I will be in trouble."

"Many things are at stake here," she smiled. "I hope you get clarity soon."

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