Susie, God bless her soul, stayed behind until I was ready to leave with my new meal. Xavier stayed behind too but he merely crossed his arm across his chest, looking at us as we passed by him. Susie made sure I walked in the front while she stayed behind me in a protective manner.Guys, always remember to get a best friend who will be true to you as my Susie."Don't think I'm letting her go just because you are acting as a bodyguard, okay?" Xavier said when we were halfway through the stairs.Susie and I both knew he was referring to her, so she responded."How about you try to touch her on my guard? I promise you won't live to tell the tale.""Don't worry, Susie darling. I know just how to handle you. You just wait," Xavier said calmly.If not for that I didn't want to betray the confident pose I was aiming for, I would have looked back in fear at the man. I know you always think I've never been afraid of him. And yes, I have never been. Confused? Let me explain.Do you know when th
A loud banging on the door woke me up the next day. At first, I ignored it, praying that whoever was the culprit would take the silent answer as a cue and leave but the sound only intensified. When the knocking was beginning to give me a headache, I forced myself out of bed to turn whoever was at the door away.I opened the door just as Xavier was about to knock again. His fist stopped midway as he saw me. He made a quick scan of me before he dropped the hand and looked me squarely in the eyes. When he didn't say anything for a minute, I looked away from him, feeling a little shy. He just saw me when I woke up with all my messy hair and puffy eyes.My eyes fell on his chest and I saw the sparkling white shirt he had on along with a polka dot red and black tie. I allowed myself the luxury of letting my eyes roam down his long legs and the red trouser he had on, then straight down to his black polished shoes. I could tell that he was still going to wear his red suit once he was ready to
"Never thought I would see the day when my dearest Hailey would fall into sin. I mean she didn't just fall, she fell deep into it," Susie chuckled at me when it was just the two of us left.Of course, by now, you all should know that Susie was not just a devil incarnate, she was the devil herself. I, however, refused to give in to her taunting. I knew she just wanted me to say a word, then she could continue to make fun of me. Who was I kidding? With the characteristics of the woman I had chosen to be my best friend, I knew she would make fun of me for the rest of our lives."Churchy girl?" She called again.Do you guys see what I'm talking about?I took a glance at her and she raised a brow at me, "Tell me how it feels touching a dick for the first time," she said. Her voice held the excitement of a little child just exploring their world. "Come on, tell. Tell, tell, tell, you tight lips human." She singsong. "Don't hide things from your best friend."Knowing I would never hear the
After my lady maid was done dressing me up, I refused to go out for breakfast. My mind kept reminding me about the incident with Brenda the previous day and how I would regret it if I skipped my meals again but the thought of sitting at the same table with Xavier to have a meal rooted me in a spot.How could I even face him after our little performance?"Mrs. Lowell?" I heard my lady maid call me and I looked at her. "Mr. Lowell is not home and neither are the two Lowell elders." She informed me.My relief was visible as I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. Even though I was curious about where they all went so early in the morning without even having their breakfasts, I was glad there would be no battle that morning. I switched on my phone and read the numerous messages Duncan dropped for me about grandma Margaret's burial and I sighed.At the junction where j was, I had no other choice than to just let it all go. I called Susie on the phone to remind her about the cerem
"Didn't you all hear my question? I said, who had the audacity to disrespect my wife?" He barked at everyone again.I tugged at the sleeve of his shirt which was now a powdered blue instead of white. I didn't fail to notice that his tie was gone too and his trouser was now black instead of red. This means he had changed before coming here."The media people are filming," I reminded him."I know." He answered me. "No one to answer?" He asked again.I heard Susie click her tongue loudly and I buried my head deeper into Xavier's shirt, knowing the chaos my best friend was about to cause. She would fuel Xavier's burning anger."It's her," she pointed to Celine first. "And her." Her middle finger rested on Laura whom I now remembered her name. "They both dared to call Hailey a whore." She said."Have you no shame, Celine? To insult a woman like you? And then, dragging her family into the insults?" Xavier reprimanded the woman."No shame at all," Susie coughed out.Celine looked like she wo
And of course, we all managed to get home without one murdering the other. Hallelujah. Susie and I sat on one end of the backseat of the car while Xavier and his friend sat on the other end of the seat. However, the moment we stepped out of the car, Seth crossed over to Susie."Hi." He said to her."Fuck off!" Susie warned him."Why do you hate me without even getting to know me?" Seth asked her.Rather than a reply, I heard Susie hissed loudly before she promptly disappeared into the house, leaving a dazed Seth gawking at her behind which I'm sure she purposely sahayshed for the man."Bye guys," Seth said barely ten seconds later before he ran after Susie.Then, it was just Xavier and I walking alone to the door. I didn't know what to say to the man, so I just kept walking, albeit a little too fast."Running away, Hailey?" He called after me. "I'm not," I argued but I didn't slow down or even wait for him to catch up."Really?" He chuckled. A few quick steps sounded behind me and th
I went inside the house and the first person I saw was Brenda who smirked at me. From her smug face, I could tell that she heard every argument that occurred between her son and me. I was not in the mood to talk to her, so I just went straight to the stairs."Did you really think you could get away with treating me wrongly?" Her voice stopped me. "My son loves me a lot more than for you to get away with maltreating me."I turned around to face her, "Congratulations to you, Brenda," I told her. "By the way, I hoped your mother-in-law was a mother-in-war to you the same way you are to me?" I asked her. I spread my hands to the iron made for the stairs. "Because I don't know why you have nothing but hatred for me for a marriage that would only last three months.""You took money from my son. That shows that you are nothing but a wimp who would stop at nothing to attain great height." She accused. "I have to make sure this house feels too hot for you to start having any second thoughts ab
By the time I opened my eyes, I was in a strange room. Susie, Seth, my lady maid, Xavier, and even Brenda surrounded me. I was disoriented for a minute and just kept looking at everyone like a zombie."Are you okay, love?" Susie asked me.That one question brought back all the memories I wished would remain lost to my senses. I got up abruptly from the bed I slept in and nearly cursed at the headache I got. Funny how I know curse at almost everything."Are you okay?" Susie asked me again.I shook my head to let her know I wasn't."What's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?" She asked, checking every part of my body. Tired as I was, I merely pointed to my head. Susie understood and she began to massage my temples for me softly."Thanks," I croaked out after a minute or two. "You're welcome." My best friend sighed."Where am I?" I asked, looking around."First, tell me why you fainted," Susie asked a question of her own instead."Are you back now?" Xavier asked.Shame didn't let me answer h
"Aww you look so beautiful," Laura commented, dabbing her eyes with a napkin as she pretended to cry. I laughed and twirled in my Cinderella wedding dress, feeling every bit like a Princess.Susie pouted, sitting on my bed and rolling her eyes. It had been a month since Xavier had dropped in on my launch day. We were finally getting married. A real marriage. I was super excited. Finally, Xavier and I would be together without the influence of the people or his mother. It was thrilling. It seemed that I was finally having my dream life. And it had been a long time coming. After all the betrayal, hurt, heartbreak and pain I had to endure. I deserved this. I deserved a happily ever after. And I was going to cling onto it forever. Susie however seemed less excited than I did. Which was quite understandable. "Aww, are you still sad that I'll be going for the honeymoon?" I teased and she huffed at my words. "Do you guys have to go that far? Who's going to do the accounts? You know numb
"When will you go to the Cafe?" He asked, his hands still doing crazy things on my skin. "Uhm... In an hour." I murmured sliding my hands under my breasts to prop them up further into his touch. "We've got time." He said, capturing my lips again, this time for an even deeper kiss. He tasted familiar. His kisses were hot and filled with so much passion, I thought I would combust. Hanging on to him tightly, I moaned as he slipped his tongue into mine, stroking and clashing with mine several times. "I need you," I whispered between kisses as we broke apart to catch our breaths at intervals. "We can't go too far baby," he hummed, lifting me up by the waist until my legs were wrapped around his. Striding towards my bed, he lowered himself to the bed, sitting with me on his lap. "Why not?" I protested, taking hold of my shirt and dragging it off. Xavier's breath hitched at the sight of my babies encased in a lacy black bra. "Oh Hailey," he murmured, unclipping the underwear behind m
"What?" I exclaimed, trying to wrap my head around what was happening right in front of me. Xavier smiled, his hands covered mine and he held them between us, holding my eyes. "I love you," He said again. "I don't want to let you go. I cannot do so. I tried this past month," he chuckled. "Let's just say more women would love my head on a pike right now." "But you... You always... You never..." I was a rambling mess at this point.His smile turned sad. "I know." He kissed my hands gently. "And I'll spend every day of my life making atonement for all I have said and done to you Hailey, only if you allow me to." "We're not married anymore. You don't have to do this to pacify me-""Technically, we are still married. I haven't divorced you yet." He grinned. "I could divorce you." Xavier chuckled and pulled me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me. "And then I'll marry you all over again." "Don't get cocky. I haven't said yes." I snapped, sinking into the warmth of his body despit
Without hesitation, I pushed the door open and stormed in. The scene before me was a surprised Xavier, lying on his bed with his hand wrapped around his junk. Holy smokes.My cheeks flamed up and I murmured a quick "Sorry," before turning to run out of the room. "Close the door Hailey," came his calm voice before I could slip out. "I'm covered, you can look now." Ashamed of my thoughts and actions, because who barges into someone's privacy thinking horrid things about them, I turned around slowly. "I'm sorry," I grumbled. "I heard sounds, I thought..." That you were balls deep in some woman? Bah, if I said that, he would probably laugh his head off."You thought?" Xavier urged, rising suddenly and I yelped in surprise. "I won't cover up if you don't tell me what you thought, Hailey." The deep timbre of his voice when he called my name had my thighs clenching with need. He was just a few meters away from me. Unclad. We were alone. The realization came with torrents of desire fl
Whatever it was that the two men had said to each other, nobody knew. And I doubted anyone would ever know. All we knew was Walter threw a punch at Xavier and even though he had been able to dodge it in time, there was no way Xavier Lowell would let it slide. He threw one at Walter's jaw in return. And a brawl broke out. "Oh shit," Susie cussed. "I'm guessing that means we can go out now," I murmured and raced out of the cafe. "Stop it right now!" The men, however, pig heads that they were, continued fighting as if I wasn't screaming my guts out, running from the other side of the road. "Stop it right now!" I yelled again when I reached them, trying to pry Xavier from pounding Walter's head to bits. "Xavier! Xavier stop it! Please!" But something had possessed Xavier and it seemed it wouldn't let go. For someone who had always cared what the people would think, he was acting quite recklessly. I latched onto his arm, tugging at it. "You're causing a scene!"That got him to let go
My world turned upside down and for a minute I just stared at him confused about how to react. Did he need me? What the hell was happening at the moment?! It better not be a prank. Fuck it, prank or not, I had work to do and he had to get out of here. So instead of swooning and falling at his feet, I opted for a second option.I laughed and shook my head. "Okay, seriously, why are you here?" Hurt slashed across his face and I was taken aback. I had never seen him look so vulnerable before and it was unsettling. He's pretending. A voice in my head whispered. You know he is. I knew. I did. But that didn't make me feel any better. Why would he need to pretend? "I..." A shadow fell on his face and he shook his head. The vulnerable look in his eyes was gone and replaced with the amused expression he always wore around me. I wasn't sure which one made me hurt worse.Taking a few steps back, he surveyed the kitchen and clasped his hands behind his back. "I just wanted to see. The news
"Sir!" I hissed, not wanting to yell because I didn't want to call people's attention to us. One paparazzi was already too much to handle. If all of them came to the counter, my first launch day would all be in the mud. The man in the hoodie stopped trying to get in through the side door. And then he lifted his head, staring me in the face with familiar dark blue eyes that grazed my entire body and sent me into freeze mode. "Xavier," I whispered, blinking rapidly to be sure he wasn't an apparition. Xavier stood before me, dressed in a hoodie and cargo pants. The last clothing I would ever imagine he would wear in public. It seemed he didn't want people to recognize him. "Let me in Hailey." He murmured. Susie gasped behind me when she heard his voice and shook her head. "Don't you dare! Go fuck yourself, Xavier." He ignored her, his eyes holding mine and sending my brain into overdrive. What was he doing here? He was not supposed to be anywhere near me! He was supposed to be in V
I eyed the crowd that had formed outside the cafe from the glass walls warily glanced back at Susie and mouthed "Oh my God." We stood in the cafe, setting the tables and getting ready for the launch which was in twelve minutes! To say I was nervous was an understatement. This was a huge deal for me. For Laura and Susie too. And it did not help that ever since I had stepped out of the house without the blonde wig, half the people we met on the road recognized me. One of them must have tipped off the paparazzi because that would explain how there were so many people with cameras and recorders, eagerly waiting. "I'm screwed," I told Susie and she shrugged beside me. "You knew this would happen." She said, I glared at her. "That doesn't mean I can't be nervous about it! Everyone will have questions! I can't handle a crowd that big!" She grinned and slid an arm over my shoulders. "You're not alone, woman. We got you. Look and you got Walter too." I looked in the direction she was tip
It was barely morning when I stumbled into Susie's car, my face stricken with tears. The sun had just begun to rise, lighting up the sky slowly. I slammed the door close and thankfully, Susie asked no questions. She simply drove out of Xavier's townhouse and sped down the road. Placing a hand over my mouth, I sobbed furiously, my head leaning against the window. It wasn't supposed to hurt so much. Leaving him finally. It wasn't supposed to feel like a part of me had been torn away and left behind with the many miles that increased between us. I closed my eyes as I recalled when I had woken up. It was my phone ringing somewhere in the house. I hadn't the slightest clue where I was at first but Xavier's peaceful snores and his heavy arm around me reminded me quickly. It had taken quite a while to slip away from the bed without awakening him and at first, I hadn't even been able to walk properly. Even now as I sat in the car, I was so sore. The caller had been Susie. We had planned th