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 was quite dark by the time the jet landed in London. Maybe it was the difference in time zones or just the weather in general, but neither of them could stay awake for long. Charlotte wasn’t even in the mood to admire the very grand building they were to stay in while they remained in London like she usually did. All she wanted to do was hug a pillow and sleep for the next several hours. She woke up with a start some time later. She was breathing fast because she had just had a bad dream, although she couldn’t remember what it was. As Charlotte calmed herself down, she couldn’t tell if it was still night or whether it was the next morning because of the blackout curtains. Deciding to check for herself, she got up from the bed and walked down to the window. Save for a few lights here and there in other buildings, it was pitch black as it was still deep in the night. “What’s wrong?” Xavier asked her sleepily. “Why aren’t you in bed?” Charlotte tiptoed back to the bed. “Is it o
"Still don't feel sleepy?" Xavier asked after a long while, surprising Charlotte who assumed he had gone to sleep because of his silence. "No," she whispered as he began stroking her hair again. "Neither do I," he said. Charlotte wondered if he had simply lied to make her feel better about keeping him awake. "What do we do now?" A blush colored her cheeks when a certain thought occured to her. She had several ideas of what they could do that night and none of them was innocent. "How about we see a movie," she suggested. "Alright then," he said, getting up slowly from the bed so as not to disturb her. He switched the Tv on and began to peruse through the various cable channels available, trying to select the one that was the most bearable. When he finally settled on an 80's sitcom, he asked Charlotte if that was what she wanted and returned to his position behind her. By then, she was sitting up, so when he returned to his side of the bed, she rested her back on him and he wrappe
"Come on," Xavier whispered in her ear as his fingers slipped into her shorts and parted her soaking folds. "Don't make this so easy for me." He was taunting her, doing these things on purpose when he knew how she would react to him. She arched her back slightly, but his hands did not stop their sweet torture, not like she wanted them to. At this point, she didn't care what he thought about her. She would gladly lose his stupid game if it meant she could finally get that release she had been craving ever since the air hostess interrupted them on their flight here. "Xavier," she moaned and shut her eyes tightly when one of his meandering fingers finally penetrated her core. His thumb remained firmly pressed on the lower part of her clit, rubbing ever so slightly as he added a second finger into her mound. "Yeah?" he breathed against her as he ran his tongue over the sensitive part of her neck. His right hand interchanged between breasts as he palmed each one at a time, paying close
Xavier yawned as he opened his eyes slightly. It was bright because for some reason, the lights in the room had come on automatically and were painfully bright. Even with the uncomfortable light, Xavier still felt very relaxed. When he felt a weight on his chest, he looked down and smiled, figuring out the reason behind his great mood that morning. Charlotte was fast asleep on his chest, straddling him. Her hair was all over the place,so he moved some parts of it away so he would have a clearer view of her face. He smiled when he looked at her. Her mouth was slightly open and her hands and legs were wrapped around him, as if she was afraid he would disappear during the night. Xavier wanted to watch her sleep for longer, but unfortunately, a loud knock came from the door. Charlotte twitched a little in her sleep, but she didn’t wake up. He pulled away from her carefully, and although she twisted and turned, when he was finally standing, she was still asleep. It made him laugh to
“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