Mia’s mouth hung open as she mumbled unintelligible words. Xavier was staring down at her with a look that showed he knew the truth from the start but had been waiting for her to talk herself into a corner and expose herself. “Julia, could you leave us for a moment dear?” She said sweetly to her daughter who hesitated. “Julia!” She snarled, before her daughter finally left reluctantly. “It wasn’t necessary for her to leave,” Xavier said. “I’m sure she already knows how much of a loser her mother is.” Mia swallowed, torn between being angry at his statement and making Xavier believe she was innocent. The man she had called to blackmail the owner of Grot had assured her nothing would traced back to her, however, she already had a history of doing this kind of stuff so she was easily the prime suspect in his list. “What do you want?” She asked, giving in. “Now you’re talking,” Xavier smiled and sat back down on the bed. “Where’s Jonah?” “He doesn’t live here.” “Oh, he lives with h
Xavier ran a hand through his hair as he tried to ignore the scary images his mind painted. He had to keep reminding himself that his wife was capable enough of taking care of herself but at this point, he couldn’t just remove the possibility of anything. “You said she left with someone with a car. Which way did they go?” He asked the gate keeper who had given him the news. “I don’t know which way they went because I went back inside but I’ll check the tire marks.” He left his post to check. “They went that way, to the left.” Xavier nodded. “What type of car was it? I want to know the color, everything.” He dialed a number on his phone as he spoke. “Did she seem comfortable around the person? Did she look like she was being forced to do something?” “It was a man in the car,” the gatekeeper answered, furrowing his brows to remember all the details. “It was a grey Audi. I couldn’t really see her face but she didn’t look excited to see the person. She was just neutral to me.” Xavier
The ride home was quiet but the tension in the car was sharp enough to cut through steel. Xavier was so angry because of how nonchalant Charlotte was being with the whole thing, that even the fear of her running away no longer made him watch his mouth when he threatened her. Charlotte on the other hand was angry, but her anger was more or less a mask to conceal her fear. No threats could pass the one she had just been given a few minutes ago by the driver of that Audi. From how Xavier had attacked her without trying to convince her to explain herself, it was obvious he wouldn’t believe her even if she told him the truth. When they finally reached the house and got down from the car, Xavier held her hand and pulled her to her side of the house. “Stop holding me like that. You’re hurting me,” She cried out because he was dragging her roughly, but he simply ignored her. He opened her door with one hand and pushed her in, while his curious guards watched everything unfold from a dista
It was a few days to the wedding, yet Xavier and Charlotte hadn’t seen each other since after their last fight. Just as the first rumor about Charlotte had been released, other worse ones had followed suit, spiraling out of control as if it was a contest to see which publishing company could release the most scandalous news about her. It was all Xavier saw whenever he opened his phone and it was all everyone who was close to him spoke about. It was tiring, it was draining, but there was nothing he could do about it. There was though, but for the first time in so long, Xavier was confused. After their last fight, he had acted true to his words and conducted a deeper research on Charlotte. He had found nothing seriously incriminating then, but soon, each of his detectives began bringing stories that were worse than the last all of a sudden. They all swore by their source, but it was easy to tell what was happening. Someone or rather, some people were still actively trying to ruin C
Charlotte lay down in her bed, staring up at the ceiling like he had been doing for the past four days. The only sound in the room was the sound of the TV showing a program she never bothered to glance up at. She left the TV on to leave some semblance of reality in the otherwise quiet house, to keep her from going insane in that cold and gloomy house. It had been four days since Xavier tugged on the strings of her heart and broke them to pieces, four days since she had been threatened by Matt and four days since she had spoken a word out loud. Matt’s threats no longer bothered her. In fact, she never answered his calls, just let them go to voicemail and never listened to them either. How could she be bothered about one person soiling her name when her reputation had already been soiled, ruined and damaged by the entire internet in less time than she thought possible. Charlotte neither felt sad nor heartbroken. There was just a numbness that settled below her chest. No matter what
Charlotte cleared her throat and looked away, trying to get her body and mind to cooperate. It wasn’t fair. Xavier didn’t give her ample time to prepare to meet him. He just showed up at her doorstep when he was ready and now he was demanding they talk. As she stood up and sat back on the bed, she frowned, promising herself to not embarrass herself any further in front of him. “That we do,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. Instead of talking however, his eyes left her face and trailed down slowly to her chest, where her arms were crossed together. She swallowed. If she had known he would come today, she would have made herself look more presentable. Charlotte hadn’t showered that day and to say she looked a mess would be an understatement. She really hope the bath she had at night would keep her from looking too rough or smelling weird. “You said we had to talk,” she said, not liking the way he was checking her out. “Well talk.” Without a word, he got up and began to
Xavier watched her comfortably from the couch where he was sitting, with a smug expression on his face. Charlotte’s face was frozen in shock at what he had just said and he couldn’t be more satisfied. If only she could read his mind, she would have known she was the one who had the upper hand here. Each day he expected the maid to tell him one or two things about how Charlotte was doing, but if there was a problem, the maid never showed it. She didn’t even say anything when he first handed her the key to Charlotte’s room and gave her the instructions to lock it back up after giving Charlotte her meals for the day. Xavier hadn’t been able to bring himself to ask her the question either. His workers already suspected their marriage was not normal so he didn’t need to confirm it to her, but on the other hand, he hadn’t only been thinking about how he would react when he finally met Charlotte again, but he had secretly been hoping to find her just like this. It was proof that she was
Charlotte swallowed, completely stunned by his words. For several seconds, she stood frozen, unable to pull her eyes away from his gray ones which she was lost in. Her chest swelled repeatedly as she drew in deep breaths, trying to come to terms with his words. She struggled to prevent her shock from showing. Xavier had confessed to her how much he enjoyed toying with her just a few minutes ago. She half-expected him to laugh in her face and tell her he was only joking about needing her, but when the seconds passed and his expression still didn’t change, it became evident he wasn’t joking. Xavier was staring down at her with a longing that verified his last statement. He was searching for something in her eyes, a confirmation perhaps that she shared his feelings.“What do you mean?” She asked, breathing fast. “You understand perfectly well what I mean, Charlotte,” he said, placing a hand under her jaw and forcing her to look up at him. “You need me?” She asked. “For what?” His gaz
“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