“Xavier,” she whispered as tears filled her eyes. His heart rate was fortunately normal according to the heart rate monitor above him and his chest was heaving slowly, so that meant he was breathing fine on his own. “Charlotte,” Xavier whispered, opening his eyes. “Xav…,” she muttered, looking at him carefully. “Are you okay? How do you feel?” “Better now that you’re here,” he said with a smile as he tried to sit up. “No, stay…” “Relax. I’m not in any pain,” he assured her. “I’ve just been close to unconscious for so long because of all the drugs. How are you?” She sighed. “You asked me to call the police before you passed out and I did, but now they’re acting like my confession is ridiculous. Somehow they believe this is all a PR stunt you and Laura pulled to stay in the public eye.” Xavier began to laugh, making Charlotte puzzled. “Why are you laughing?” She asked. “I wouldn’t have expected any different.” “Then why did you ask me to call them?” “So that when I com
“What did you just say?” It was Charlotte who asked the question with loud voice that made the doctor flinch. He cleared his throat. “I just asked him a question to make sure…” “Make sure about what? What sort of insensitive human being are you? You’re seriously saying my husband would poison himself on purpose?” “That’s the same claim you’re making about Mrs Laura as well if I’m not mistaken,” the doctor quipped. “And let’s not forget it was an aphrodisiac. They may have both agreed to take it on purpose and accidentally took too much. And now he has seen the mess it has caused, he’s trying to pin it all on her. At least that’s what the police are saying.” Charlotte shook her head and almost charged, but Xavier held her back. “I can assure you that didn’t happen,” Xavier said with a calm voice. “Although, I must admit that theory does make sense.” The door opened and the two officers who Charlotte thought had gone for good came through it. “We’ll continue the ques
Charlotte blinked twice before laughing drily and screaming h into her hands. Kate rubbed her back, understanding her sister’s reaction to the news of the return of her ex-husband, who was responsible for more than half of her predicament. “Who told you?” Charlotte asked. “I overheard on of the officers say it before they entered the ward some minutes ago.” “Maybe that’s why they asked me to leave the ward,” Charlotte thought to herself. “You know what, he’s not my problem right now,” she sniffled. “I have so much on my plate right now, but since he was dumb enough to return now, he’ll definitely be dealt with in due time. I mean, if the police were talking about him, then that means they’re on his case. Though at this point with everything that has happened with them, I’m not sure if that’s good or bad for us.” “There’s something I want to ask, Charlie.” “What is it?” Kate sighed. “Isn’t Carlos his bodyguard? Why wasn’t he around when this happened? And why isn’t here n
“I don’t even want to see his stupid face,” Julia said, crossing her arms after the prisoners warden announced they could see Jonah. “No matter what happened, he’s still your brother and my son. If anything, we deserve some closure,” Mia said, getting up. “He could have just died there. Why bother showing his stupid face here just to bring back the shame his absence brought and to be thrown in jail?” “Julia. Stop being so insensitive. This is not the time, please,” Mia pleaded. Julia crossed her arms in defiance. “Didn’t you see the stares people gave us when we came here? We were already getting used to living like paupers with people overlooking us but now his presence has reminded them about us. It’s all over the news!” “Julia…” Julia sighed. “I’m tired mom. I’ve never been this hopeless in my life.”“It will be alright. Just believe me,” Mia said and held her daughter’s hand. “We’re at our worst now. There’s no other place left for us to go but up.” Julia pulled her hand
It was evening and Mia and her daughter had just left Xavier’s home. Charlotte was in her room with her husband, as they prepared for the night. Xavier had been irritated ever since he got back from the hospital, mostly because she vehemently refused to let him start some investigative work right after, but now, he was acting more irate than ever. “Is everything okay?” Charlotte asked him when he angrily tossed the remote when it wouldn’t work. “Of course,” he scoffed. “I almost lost all my organs because my ex wife poisoned me with what can be considered a love potion, my convicted nephew is back, your sister’s entire family is here, and right now I’m in the midst of a police investigation that might not end well for me, so yeah. I’m terrific,” he said in a dry voice. Charlotte frowned. “I was just being nice,” she said, wishing she hadn’t said anything at all. “Sorry I said anything and sorry my sister’s family is such an inconvenience to you. Maybe we can all go down to
“I’ve missed you,” Xavier mumbled, his breath dangerously close to her ear, making her shiver. “Every part of you…” He wrapped his arms around her, using one hand to rub her waist and the other to knead her butt. She could feel the pressure from his groin on her back. She swallowed, keeping her arms by her side because she wasn’t about to show him she wanted this as much as he did after all she had just said. She didn’t have to try so hard anyway. She wasn’t fooling anyone. From the sharp intake in her breath each time his fingers found a new spot on her body to nest in, he could sense the need radiating off of her. “Xav…” she whispered when he lifted her off so slightly and placed her on the bed. “Shh,” he interrupted as he lay atop her and began to place feathery kisses all over her ears and neck. She gasped once again when his hands slipped into her nightdress and pulled it off her in one swift movement. His hands were everywhere, rubbing and kneading and so was his mouth,
Charlotte’s eyes rolled into their head when the first thrust from Xavier came, shutting up anything she would have had to say. This position had always been too intense for her, especially when he held both her hands together on her back and thrust in and out of her without stopping. She moaned out loud when he began to hit her g-spot, her back arching naturally and the pressure from her body being stretched soon disappeared. Without warning, he lifted her from her shoulders and placed her hands on the headboard of the bed, making her arch her back more than before. Her mouth hung open as his thrusts seemed to get deeper and the feeling of the front of his crotch hitting her butt drove her crazy. “You think I’m still into her, huh?” He asked in a strained voice that shook as he moved. “You think I’d rather leave all of this, all of you, for her? For anyone?” She smiled as her moans got louder. “You’re literally perfect!” He groaned, turning her on her back and laying at
When Charlotte woke up the next morning, she spread her arms around the space Xavier had slept during the night but was disappointed to find it empty. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around but saw no sign of Xavier. She frowned. After everything that had happened last night, he had left without a word? Before she could come to any wrong conclusions however, she saw a white paper by the small wooden cupboard beside the bed. It was a note from Xavier that read: “Sorry I had to leave so early. I would have told you, but you looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you. I love you. It was great hearing you say it last night as well as other things…” Charlotte blushed and placed the note on her chest. Okay, maybe he wasn’t such a dick that morning. Her eyes widened when she unlocked her phone and saw the time. It was several minutes after nine. She couldn’t believe she had slept for that long without waking up. Okay, maybe she knew why, but still. Xavier had been in the same pos
“It’s time for bed, Caleb. Let’s go,” Charlotte told Caleb with her arms crossed over her chest, giving him no room to argue. “Just let me win this game…” he argued absently, more focused on the game he was playing on his iPad. “You’ve spent your extra fifteen minutes,” she said, taking the device out of his grasp. He frowned, but conceded in the end. “Fine.” As Charlotte tucked him into bed, she couldn’t imagine how the times had changed. It had been six months since Laura had been taken away, her parents had been released and since she had started running her own business. Caleb had started therapy again, and it had definitely worked. These days, he spoke so often and did whatever he wanted to do that it was hard to believe he had been the same mute boy from months ago. He had just turned four, but the topic of his birth mother never came up fortunately. He seemed to blend right in, just as sweet and annoying as any other four year old boy. “I love you mommy,” he wh
When Charlotte saw Jonah being led out by a prison ward officer, she froze and started to wonder what she had been so scared about. He looked nothing like he did before. He had slimmed down to an almost unrecognizable state and his face looked like he had permanently lost the ability to smile. He walked with the slouch of someone that had given up on life in general. Charlotte doubted that whatever he was going through had happened in that prison in such a short time. “You can wait for me,” Charlotte whispered to Carlos who reluctantly left her side when he understood. “Hi,” Jonah said when he was sitting opposite her. He tried to smile, but it ended up looking like a grimace. He couldn’t meet her eyes. “Hi,” she said simply. She couldn’t let him see she pitied him. “How have you been?” He managed to ask. “You look good.” She couldn’t say the same for him. “Why did you call me here, Jonah?” “Straight to the point like always, huh?” He said with something she suspec
Xavier could only relax comfortably when they were back on the jet and on their way back to California. He could finally let himself be convinced that his dream had been nothing more than that. It hadn’t been a sign of anything, because it had gone on perfectly with no dramatic appearances from anyone. Unfortunately, the thought of one day running into Laura again came often to him and disoriented him. However, he always pushed that possibility away to the back of his mind. He had run a background check on the psych ward Don had placed her and from his research, it was a very exclusive place, so her chances of leaving were lower than zero. It was like a madhouse for wealthy people to drop off their family members who had lost it through drug use of whatever means. Their security was so prioritized that it was practically impossible to get in or get out unless the very owner of the establishment permitted. There was also no possible way Laura could bribe anyone there. It was afte
“Xavier, wake up! Wake up!” The sound of the female voice calling out to him sounded so distant at first, but the hand violently shaking his shoulders brought him back to consciousness. He was breathing fast, as his eyes got accustomed to the light around him, his chest heaving rapidly. “Are you okay?” Charlotte asked him, peering into his eyes as she touched the sides of his face. He could see the fear in her eyes as she studied him. “Charlotte,” he whispered, holding her arms and wrapping her in a tight hug. She was alive, here in front of him. “You’re alive.” “Yeah,” she said uncertainly, hugging him back. “Did anyone kill me?” She asked with a chuckle. He finally pulled out of the hug and glanced around. They were still in the jet, on their way to Orlando. He had just had a bad dream. “Where’s Caleb?” He asked. “Right here,” she said, pointing at a part of the jet where a small makeshift bed had been made for Caleb to lie on. “Is everything okay?” “Yeah,
After bidding Kate and her family goodbye, Xavier and Kate had to take the journey back, while consoling Caleb, who couldn’t understand why the twins had to leave without him. It was a Saturday, and for the first time in such a long time, Xavier had a free day. They all decided to spend the day together, to make up for Caleb’s friends leaving. Charlotte was extremely happy. She chatted and laughed all the way to the four seasons Orlando, where they decided to spend the day with their son, since he had seen a video about it online and wouldn’t shut up about going there. She held Caleb’s shoulders during takeoff in Xavier’s private jet, more to distract herself than him. No matter how often she rode in the jet, she still got jittery when they had to go anywhere in it. She had made an appointment with Dr Anna that morning and she couldn’t wait to finally carry out the surgery the week after. “Are we really going to Orlando?” Caleb asked, peering out of the window of the jet.
The ride home was mostly silent, with Xavier at the backseat, pondering on all that had happened that day while Carlos drove them home, shooting glances at his boss from time to time. “How was your break?” Xavier asked all of a sudden and Carlos cleared his throat. “Great. Thanks again for it. I really needed it,” he said with a smile. “How did it feel to have an actual conversation with her after so long?” Carlos sighed. “Not as bad as I thought. I actually feel better. Thanks for advising me to do it. We cleared some things out. She was mature about it and that’s that.” Xavier nodded and looked out the window at the trees that were zooming past. He remembered when Carlos had come to him for help when having to see Kate after the history they had was threatening to drive him insane. He had advised him to take a break, and then discuss with her when he was ready. It seemed to have worked. Carlos looked like himself again. It had been weird to find out that there had been a
“When will you come back, daddy?” Caleb’s little voice came over the phone and Xavier smiled. He could picture his son standing next to Charlotte and holding the phone to his ear with both his hands. “I’ll be there this night, I promise,” he replied. From the corner of his eye, he saw Private trying to get his attention. “Take care of mom for me, okay? I’ll see you soon.” “Bye daddy,” Caleb said and Xavier nodded before he ended the call. “What’s up?” He asked Private. “She’s causing a scene, boss. She’s yelling at everyone and she even pushed her brother and broke a glass on the doctor’s head when he tried to sedate her,” Private told him. There was an urgency in his private investigator’s voice as he reported to him, but there was also a hint of amusement in his tone. Xavier rolled his eyes and walked past him toward the ward he had left to answer his wife’s call. “Why was there glass next to her in the first place?” He asked no one in particular when he enterrés t
“My daddy used to beat my mommy before that woman took me and told she’s my real mommy,” Caleb explained the best way he could. “He told me he’s not my real daddy and that my mommy sold me to him.” “Wait, wait,” Charlotte told him. She had no idea what he was talking about and the more he spoke, the more confused she became. None of what he was saying made any sense. At this point, he was just throwing the words ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ around. “Laura, the woman that brought you to us, she’s your mommy, isn’t she?” She asked him slowly, hoping his answers would make sense to her this time. He shook his head. “That’s what she told me and then she brought me here after,” he said. “So you had other parents before she came?” She asked and he nodded. When Charlotte realized he wouldn’t give her an understandable answer, she decided to stop asking him so that he wouldn’t confuse her more. Since Xavier had gone out to find answers, this one might be one of them. She would ask him wh
“Mommy!” Caleb squealed when he saw Charlotte and ran up to her. She carried him up and enveloped him in a tight hug. She was still not used to him calling her ‘mommy’, but hearing it was so natural and calming. Whenever she was with him, she secretly hoped something would happen to Laura or that she would say she didn’t want him again. She didn’t think she would be able to move on if he had to leave to go back to his real mother. “Did you miss me?” She asked, tickling his tummy. “Uh huh,” he replied, laughing and trying to get her hand away from him. Charlotte kissed him on the forehead and carefully set him back on his feet. She held his small hand and allowed him to lead her into the house. She had been in a sour mood after the meeting with her parents, but just a few minutes with Caleb had softened her up. Kate looked at her and smiled. With a playful frown, she nudged Caleb and asked him why he didn’t notice her. He started to laugh. “What did you do today while we were g