Chapter 2

When Jamie finally opened her eyes again, it was a good half an hour later.

Slowly, her memories came back to her, and Xavier's handsome face also appeared in her field of vision.

Jamie immediately sat up straight.

Xavier observed quietly the way Jamie reacted to his presence. However, his emotions didn't flicker.

"Are you behaving like this because of your upcoming SATs? Is it because of the stress?" Xavier asked in a low voice. "Is that why you're thinking all sorts of nonsense?"

Xavier neatly avoided talking about what happened before this. Instead, he thought of another possible reason Jamie might have acted like that.

"Jamie, if the SATs are giving you too much pressure, I can always send you abroad anytime," Xavier said faintly. "I'll send you to the best college abroad. You'll be able to graduate as long as you show up for your classes."

Xavier had already planned out Jamie's future for her.

He was going to marry Andrea soon. So, he couldn't let Jamie stay by his side anymore. Otherwise, she might end up being the victim of gossip.

For him, the best way out was to send Jamie abroad for her studies. That way, he could curb Jamie's budding emotions for him and also ensure her safety at the same time.

Xavier went silent for a while. Then, he continued, "You're already 18 this year, so you need to start living for yourself. You shouldn't revolve your life around me anymore. Do you understand that?"

He was trying to draw a firm line between them.

However, Xavier knew that this was not the same thought running through his head when Jamie kissed him just now.

He'd just tasted how sweet the forbidden fruit could be. He was tempted to continue spiraling down the abyss and claim Jamie as his own, hiding her away from the rest of the world so that she would only belong to him.

Still, on the surface, Xavier made sure to keep those impure thoughts from showing. He was only Jamie's uncle and that was that.

Jamie listened quietly to what Xavier had to say to her. She knew from her past life that Xavier never loved her. She had been the one who greedily went after him, seducing him and ruining his marriage, causing him to get embroiled in the Walkers' wrath and revenge.

She had dug her own grave in the past.

However, now, she no longer wanted to see the hatred in Xavier's eyes toward her. She didn't want to make the same mistakes again.

After being given a second chance at life, Jamie had already figured everything out. She would give up on this doomed relationship before it could go on. She wasn't going to keep it around anymore.

All of her love for Xavier had died in that bloodbath in the past. Everything was long gone.

Jamie lifted her head and segregated herself from her thinking. Then, in a quiet voice, she said, "I'm sorry, Uncle Xav. None of this would happen again next time."

Jamie said it sincerely. She meant every word, and the longing in her eyes had already dissipated. She just looked sad and forlorn now.

Right at that moment, there was a loud knock on the master bedroom door. Andrea then walked in with a smile on her face.

"How was it, Jamie? Did you thoroughly enjoy yourself?" she asked gently.

Jamie just turned to look at Andrea.

Andrea was wearing a baby blue dress and had put on some light makeup on her face. Her long hair was tied up in a loose bun with a few loose strands framing her face. Her facial features were so delicate that they made her look like a human-sized doll.

Her immense beauty was well-known in Asteria, standing out the most amongst the other elites and heiresses. Plenty of men tried pursuing her, but she only had eyes for Xavier. She had also been engaged to him for a long time.

That wasn't all. Andrea and Xavier used to grow up together as they were childhood friends.

The Walkers were able to provide Xavier with enough support to handle everything within the Lockharts.

And Jamie Norman, an orphan, could never hold a candle to Andrea.

However, none of this had been her fault! Jamie wasn't about to admit to something she hadn't done.

In her past life, Jamie had indeed been in love with Xavier, but she had never been bold enough to boldly seduce Xavier at the mere age of 18. Andrea had wanted her gone, which was the reason why she'd drugged her.

And as expected, Xavier had immediately sent Jamie away after that so that he could finally marry Andrea without any hiccups.

As Jamie thought of it, she just kept a calm expression on her face and looked at Andrea.

"I'm sorry for making you worry, Andrea. I shouldn't have kept begging you for alcohol," Jamie said apologetically.

"You drank?" Xavier asked, his eyes turning dim as he looked at Jamie. "Who let you drink?"

As Jamie spoke, Andrea watched her silently, a slight frown creasing her face. What she was thinking was anyone's guess.

The tension in the air rose.

Jamie broke the ice by looking at Xavier with an innocent expression and explaining, "I met Andrea after school. She told me that you were still on a work trip, so she said she'd celebrate my birthday with me.

"I saw her ordering a drink. And I thought that I wanted to try it too, since I was already of legal drinking age, and I made her order it for me. I probably got drunk after that and lost my mind afterward," Jamie said.

Then, she raised three fingers to chest level and said, "I swear that this is going to be the first and last time this ever happens."

"You had dinner with Andrea?" Xavier asked after a pause.

"I did. Andrea came to get me at school and said she'd celebrate my birthday with me. She even got me a birthday gift," Jamie said innocently. "But I messed up. I shouldn't have begged her to let me drink. I'd never have caused you so much trouble otherwise."

Xavier's eyes turned slightly dark. He could read between the lines. Jamie was basically telling him that whatever she did just now had something to do with Andrea. And Xavier knew that Andrea had always held a grudge against Jamie.

Xavier turned to look at Andrea with a clear expression.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have let her drink," Andrea apologized softly.

"Uncle Xav, this has nothing to do with Andrea. It was my fault," Jamie said in a low voice. She then looked at Andrea and apologized once more. "I'm sorry, Andrea. I didn't mean to get you into trouble."

Andrea just smiled at her and said nothing.

Before Xavier could say anything else, Jamie spoke up again. "Uncle Xav, I don't want to study abroad. Can you please give me another chance?

"I want to try getting into a local college and stay in Asteria. I'm used to living here. I don't want to live elsewhere and change my surroundings," Jamie said sincerely and seriously. It didn't sound like she was joking.

She was desperate to prove herself.

Xavier suddenly didn't know what to think of Jamie. He thought that she had finally grown up in the blink of an eye. She used to be less reasonable.

Andrea just kept quiet and cast Jamie a faint look.

Jamie caught her gaze and smiled back at her innocently.

There was something about Jamie that had changed, but Andrea just couldn't put her finger on it. Was she perhaps overthinking things?

Things hadn't turned out the way she wanted tonight either. That was unexpected.

On the other hand, Xavier fell into deep thought for a short while before answering curtly, "Okay."

Jamie sighed in relief as she buried her head under the covers once more. "I'm tired, Uncle Xav. I'm going to sleep now."

Then, Jamie closed her eyes and went absolutely quiet.

Xavier looked at Jamie and said nothing. He clenched his fist slightly before unclenching it.

Jamie was probably as exhausted as she said. In two shakes of a duck's tail, she was fast asleep.

It wasn't until Jamie fell asleep that Xavier left the room with Andrea.

They got into the car. Then, Xavier's expression turned dark and grim.

"Andrea, I warned you not to go looking for Jamie before," he said, his voice laced with dissatisfaction.

Andrea didn't lose her temper. She just sighed and defended herself. "It's Jamie's birthday today, and you weren't around. That's the only reason why I took her out for dinner.

"She said that she was already of legal age and wanted to try alcohol, so I ordered a drink for her. It's actually a mocktail with no alcohol content in it. Surely whatever happened couldn't have been because of that drink?"

She didn't know how much Xavier believed her words.