Charlotte walked into the room when Xavier stood aside from the door to make way for her. She tried to hide the smile on her face as she walked in, and headed straight for the dresser. Xavier shut the door behind her and locked it. She ignored the tremor in her heart at thought that that she was now locked in with him. “Where exactly did you last see the phone?” She asked without looking at him. “I’m not sure, but I have a feeling it might be at the head of the bed,” he mused in a deep voice, taking slow steps toward the bed. “Why don’t you come check?” Strangely, she was enjoying the game he was playing. Tucking her tongue inside her cheek, she walked to the side of the bed where he assured her it was. She bent over and raised the pillows, knowing her short sheer nightdress bunched up at the sides and revealed more of her thighs. She smiled to herself when she heard his sharp intake of breath. “I still can’t find anything here,” she said after a while, straightening up. When she
“How do you feel?” Xavier asked Charlotte with a lazy smile on his face. He was intoxicated by everything about her- her smile, her smell, how easily she caved under him when he kissed her. Charlotte blushed and glanced away momentarily. “Great,” she replied. Xavier pursed his lips. He hated the way she was still not free around him. It always seemed like she was holding back, even on things that she clearly wanted. She had come into his room on her own and when he opened the door, he had seen the fire in her eyes and the way her nipples poked out of her nightdress and immediately knew what had brought her to his room. Unfortunately, at the slightest distress, she had guarded herself up again and tried to leave. Xavier knew that if he left her alone for just a few seconds, she would rethink everything and immediately get up from his laps and run back into her room. He was greatly to blame for it, though. Although he could blame her fear on all she had gone through in her marriag
Charlotte bit her lip as Xavier massaged the back of her thighs, rubbing slowly but expertly and making her yearn for more. It was getting harder to concentrate. Each time his fingers brushed against her butt, her breath hitched and her core tightened automatically. She desperately expected his hands to go up. Xavier seemed oblivious to the dilemma she was facing. He simply massaged the places he promised to massage, not going anywhere explicit. She was completely naked under him, free for him to do anything, yet he maintained his position. Charlotte twitched and eased down a little each time his hand ‘accidentally’ came so close to her dripping core. She wanted more, for his fingers to go in and relieve her of that undeniable ache within her, but she wasn’t brave enough to voice out her desires. Maybe it was the pent up emotions for years, the wine, the aphrodisiac or simply the fact that she was reacting like any other woman who was in a room with a man as hot as Xavier would re
Xavier struggled to control his breath. She had just said she wanted him. She was literally rubbing his erection, yet he couldn’t bring himself to make a move. That was very unlike him. He was so afraid to do something wrong and mess this up just like he always did with her. Sure she looked excited now, but what would happen when she was no longer under the daze of desire? “Please,” Charlotte muttered when she noticed his hesitation. She could almost guess what he was thinking. He probably didn’t want her to run off and close up on him after they had come this far.Xavier kept watching her with an expression on his face that she couldn’t read. He was searching for something, probably the level of her sincerity before he pushed further. “You don’t have to worry about me,” he whispered, rubbed her head and got up with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll sort myself out.” Her gaze dropped down to the bulge in his shorts that was literally standing out for attention and was impo
When Charlotte woke up the next morning, she was slightly disappointed when she felt the empty space beside her on Xavier’s bed. It was so bright that morning which meant it was a bit late. She had overslept and he hadn’t tried to wake her up. Maybe he didn’t want things to be awkward between them. She yawned and stretched on the bed. She tried to tiptoe out of the room but when she got to the door, it opened on its own. “Good morning madam,” an unfamiliar older woman wearing a maid’s uniform greeted her. “Uh, good morning,” Charlotte muttered, wishing the woman would just leave and let her go back to her room before Xavier returned. “Where’s Marcella. The other maid.” “She had other duties,” she responded. The maid looked Charlotte up and down and smiled, making her self-conscious. Without thinking, Charlotte covered her chest protectively because the nightdress she was wearing now felt too exposed. “You must be tired after your wedding night,” the woman said and Charlotte’s ey
“Let’s go,” Xavier told his bride as he held her hand in his and led her toward the private jet that was parked just a few feet away from them. Charlotte followed with her mouth hung open. Sometimes, she forgot just how wealthy her husband was and then he did things like this, to remind her. “Are you comfortable?” Xavier asked her when they were seated in, waiting for the contraption to start flying and lead them to Europe. “Yeah,” she nodded and glanced around at the beautifully designed interior of the plane. It almost looked like a luxurious living room with so much space and not a plane. “It’s just weird that it’s just the two of us in here.” His lips curved up slowly into a smile and Charlotte rolled her eyes and blushed when she realized where his mind had gone. “I like it when it’s just the two of us, so you?” He asked. How was she even supposed to answer that? She went with the truth. “I do. The few times when you’re not actively being a jerk.” Instead of taking offens
Charlotte preferred not to hold back when she told him how she felt. It didn’t make sense to let herself get used to this part of him, only to watch him change whenever he pleased. Xavier pursed his lips, but he didn’t stop stroking her hair. “I already apologized for what I did, more times than I can remember. Can’t we just let the past be in the past?” He asked. That was a passive aggressive response, but at least he didn’t stand up or try to walk away. Not like he could anyway. They were on a plane. "It's not completely in the past if there's still a chance of it happening again, Xavier," she said. He sighed. "What do you want me to say now? I already promised it won't happen again. This is getting tiring." Charlotte remained silent. He made it seem like she was purposely trying to start an argument, which she didn't like at all. His hand that was stroking her hair stilled, as if he was waiting for the next thing she would say to make him flip. Charlotte hated the fact that s
“Yes,” Charlotte responded immediately. She didn’t try to hide her eagerness. Even if this new proposal was fake, it was still better than what she had before, so she was willing to accept it. Even if it meant living a lie for a whole month, she would take it. After all, the truth she had been living all her life was not any better. Charlotte understood his fear. He had let it slip once before and let her know why he was so unstable with her. Beyond his tough exterior was a man inside who was scared of getting hurt again. Xavier lightly squeezed her hand and gave her a small smile. “Before we begin, I want to say something,” she said, clearing her throat. “Go on…” he said uncertainly. “I know you want to keep me away from your personal life because of what happened with your ex-wife Laura, but I want to tell you again that I’m not her and I’ll never be her. I also have a lot of trauma from my past marriage. I think instead of letting it put us down, we should walk through it with
“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