What the hell was she doing? Xavier had just confessed to getting personal information about her from her gynecologist without her consent and she was breathing under him, desperately waiting for him to touch her and relieve the ache between her legs. He had sneaked into her room somehow without wanting to tell her how. He had returned from god knows where only because she had sent him a text implying she would let him do anything to her. The bad signs were there, yet her brain managed to minimize all of them. “You had no right to do that,” she whispered, hoping that maybe hearing her own voice would knock some sense back into her. At the same time, she wanted him to somehow turn her own words into something sexual like he always did, and make her forget about the things she was so afraid of. “I’m sorry,” he said instead, surprising her. “I shouldn’t have done that.” Why did he have to apologize…? Now she felt bad for accusing him. A simple apology had changed how he was in her
Everything was going so well until something began to vibrate close to her knee. Xavier groaned in her mouth, but it wasn’t a groan of pleasure. His phone was ringing at the worst possible time and neither of them were happy about it. He kept kissing her though, so she completely ignored the vibration of the phone until it stopped ringing. Unfortunately, it started to ring again and then again. Frustrated, Xavier grunted and reluctantly pulled his lips away from hers. He angrily pulled the phone out from his pocket and she simply watched him since he still had her around his waist and pinned to the wall. She waited patiently, sure he was going to end the call and switch off his phone so that they could continue what they started. Since they were so close to each other, she was able to see the caller ID. The name ‘Samantha’ was written boldly on the screen of his phone. He saw the name at the same time she did, and to her horror, he quickly released her. Her legs were not steady on t
Charlotte’s mouth hung open when she saw the first news headline: Laura Roman sues billionaire husband Xavier, over physical abuse allegations. Xavier was an abuser? But why would he ask her to search him up online when he knew that news like this about him existed? Was it his way of warning her about what she was getting herself into? Maybe he had hoped that she wouldn’t scroll past the first few articles about his life in general, the ones that made him appear to be nothing but a trouble free hardworking billionaire. There was a video underneath the article. It was a video of Laura, Xavier’s ex-wife crying and relaying her story about the things she went through in Xavier’s hands. It was a video from the court during their divorce and it seemed quite serious. The woman’s eyes were filled with tears as she recounted the several times he had hit her, brought women over, abused her and turned her into a jobless, controlled trophy wife. She even went further to show the court the
“What do you mean the articles cannot be published?” Valerie White blared at her husband in the car after he just told her that the plan to tarnish Charlotte’s image had failed yet again. “Each time my journalists try to publish anything about her, somehow it gets deleted before it goes mainstream and a warning sent to them,” Jonah explained. “I’m also confused about it myself.” “Do I have to do everything myself?” Valerie attacked him, crossing her arms in disgust. “What kind of silly excuse is that? You had just one simple job that anyone could have done, yet these people just told you an obvious lie and you swallowed it whole. Is this how gullible you are?” Jonah’s hand tightened on the steering wheel. He wanted her to stop talking. They had only been engaged for a few days yet all Valerie ever did was nag him morning and night. This was not how he thought being with her would look like. Unfortunately, all he could do was sit back and let her speak to him however she wanted. He
Charlotte could barely sleep through through that night Xavier had left her. When she woke up the next morning, she was still asking herself certain questions which she had no answers to. Like ‘was Xavier really that bad of a person?’ and ‘who was Samantha?’She eventually managed to go to sleep and woke up pretty early the next day. Feeling bored, she got out of the room and perused the outside of the mansion, walking around comfortably in her night robe since it was still a little dark out and no one was outside. There was a garden close to her side of the house. She went there and plucked a flower or two. While she sniffed the flowers, she heard a rustle behind her and spun around, afraid someone would show up to tell her she was in trouble for picking flowers in Xavier’s house without his permission. Fortunately, no one was behind her. It was probably just the wind or something, she thought. When she was done walking around, she sat down by the pavement and began to kick the ai
Charlotte glanced around anxiously in Xavier’s office as she waited for him to prepare for their discussion. He took his time removing his jacket and rearranging his already arranged desk before eventually sitting down to face her. “So, you were saying?” He asked when he was done, sitting behind the desk opposite her and giving her his full attention. Did he want her to repeat the fact that she wanted his money again? “You promised I would get paid for being your wife,” she said. “It’s in the contract. I want to be paid now.” He gave her an empty blank stare for a full minute while she melted under it. What was he thinking about and why wouldn’t he say anything, she wondered. “Should I be concerned?” He asked finally, raising a brow. “You’ve never mentioned anything about money before now and suddenly you want your full pay. What’s the problem exactly?” She straightened in her chair and tried to look as professional as the nightdress she was wearing would allow her. “I never m
Maybe it was the hurt look on his face that touched Charlotte, but while Xavier was still speaking, she placed her hand on top of his and rubbed it. It was the most innocent gesture, a sign to show him he wasn’t so alone in the world, but it shut him up immediately. His eyes darkened when he looked up at her and she removed her hand from his, mistaking his look for annoyance. However, he pulled her hand back and placed his hand over it. “Thank you,” he said. “It felt good to let that out after a long while.” “You’re welcome,” she replied with a tight smile,, looking down at where their hands were joined together. He still didn’t release it. From how he was holding her, she doubted he planned to let her go. “So…do you still want to leave?” He asked uncertainly. She sighed deeply. Although she felt bad for him, it was still his word against all the internet said about him. He never cared what she thought about him until it came to the point of her leaving him. What if he had only
As Xavier kept watching her, Charlotte felt her resolve breaking. She knew that if he made even the slightest move, she would surely fall. She wanted to stay strong, yet she wished he would do something already to wear her down and make her imaginations come through. He was staring at her, trying to hold himself from doing something he would regret. Their relationship was still on shaky ground. If he made the wrong move, she would leave and everything he had worked for would go to waste. From what he could see in her eyes however, he started to wonder if not making a move at all would be the wrong move. Suddenly, Xavier’s phone dinged, breaking both of them from the spell they appeared to be under. Xavier looked at the screen of his phone without bothering to pick it up, but when more dings came after, he picked it up in frustration. Charlotte watched his facial features twist from mild irritation to full blown anger. Whatever he had seen in his phone must have been really bad to b
“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