Charlotte tossed and turned for hours on the bed, unable to catch a single lick of sleep. Her mind was torn between turning to the other side and telling Xavier everything, but if she did, he would see her in a different light and all their progress so far would come to nothing. On the other hand, as she didn’t say a word, he already suspected her and that was not good either. He had looked extremely hurt when she lied to him about Matt, especially right after attacking him for lying to her about work. He had probably already found out everything and had only asked her to hear what she had to say for herself. The thought of that almost pushed her to tell him the truth, but then a stubborn part of her hung onto the slim chance that he had simply been curious. She wanted nothing to ruin this honeymoon, but it seemed like the universe kept sending hurdle after hurdle to shatter her perfect myth of happiness. Charlotte heaved a sigh of relief when she heard Xavier’s footsteps leaving t
“It took me a while but I was able to find out who exactly this Matt Sullivan is,” Xavier’s detective told him a few days later over the phone. “In fact, this was very hard to find. It was almost as if someone was purposely leading me the wrong way.” “Tell me everything,” Xavier said breathlessly. He was doing a morning run, an exercise he hadn’t done in months. Now more than ever, he needed a reason to get out of the penthouse he shared with Charlotte. He was no longer afraid of whatever answer his detective would give. He didn’t care what it would do to his relationship with Charlotte. It was long overdue. Xavier had been lied to and deceived several times in the past by people who wanted to take advantage of him in business most especially, but none hurt as much as this. The problem was not the fact that she had lied. It was his severe reaction to her betrayal that seriously bothered him. Watching her look him straight into his eyes and lie to him, not once but twice had twis
Amidst her confusion, Charlotte blinked twice, wondering if she had heard right. “What?” She muttered. “Trivial?” He had found out everything she had been trying to hide- the fact that she had been drunk one night years ago and spent the rest of the night with her sister’s husband at the time and was currently paying him to hide it, yet somehow he considered the issue ‘trivial’. “Yes, trivial,” Xavier confirmed, pulling the seat he had been leaning against and sitting on it. “Why didn’t you tell me immediately he started asking you to send him money? Don’t you think I could have done something about it?” “I…I thought you would be mad,” she said, still not sure if this was a trap or not. The space between his brows creased. “Mad? Why?” “Well, not exactly mad but disappointed,” she said, glancing around. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to cause a strain in our fragile relationship.” “Why would I be disappointed?” She looked down, uncomfortable because he was going to m
“Your breasts have increased,” Xavier remarked, tracing the outline of her left swollen breast. “What?” Charlotte chuckled as she struggled to catch her breath beside him after he had just given her an orgasm that still made her legs quake a minute after. She rubbed his hand that was over her breast with a lazy smile on her face. “You suck at pillow talk.” He laughed. “This isn’t pillow talk. I’m just saying what I see. Your skin is flourishing, your hair is longer, your breasts are bigger, in fact you look better than ever,” he praised, looking at every part of her as he did. “This vacation is really good for me, that’s why,” she said with a sad smile. “Too bad it’ll soon come to an end.” “That’s a lie. Your change has nothing to do with the vacation,” he said with a smug smile. “You changed because of me.“Don’t flatter yourself,” she said while laughing. “I don’t have to. You know that’s the truth, baby,” he continued, palming her breasts and looking over the rest of her body
“Welcome home!” The older maid greeted them affectionately once Xavier and Charlotte stepped into the house. “The house has been so empty since you both left. I’ve been counting down the days.” All the other workers stood on opposite sides of them in a straight file, but none of them was comfortable enough to greet them like that. They all curtsied and stepped out one after the other to bring in their belongings. The older woman followed Charlotte into her room, chatting all the way. Charlotte didn’t complain as she answered the woman’s incessant questions. It was much better than the awkward silence she had experienced with Xavier throughout their flight back here. “How was Europe?” She asked, standing by the door. “It was wonderful,” Charlotte answered honestly. “So,” the woman said in a whisper and came closer. “How was it?” Charlotte blushed, catching the double entendre in the older woman’s question and wishing she would just let it go. She had no desires whatsoever to dis
“Oh. He wants to give me a job or something?” Charlotte asked Carlos who looked like he regretted opening his mouth in the first place. “I don’t know. He’ll tell you why he wanted to see you, please,” he said uncomfortably. Charlotte sighed and turned back to look at the trees. There was no need to get ahead of herself and worry herself for no reason. She had never held a job before, never had to. But then again, just like Carlos had said, it was tiring to stay at home all day, doing nothing but waiting for Xavier to come home. Maybe that was why she was always thinking about ridiculous things. However, she was afraid of disappointing him and even embarrassing him. As someone with no prior work experience, she would have to be under someone at the start. What if she ended up being bad at everything and people began to talk? Here she was again, spiraling. She was making herself tensed for no reason, even before Xavier had told her anything. She didn’t need a job. She already had
“Okay,” Charlotte said, after thinking over it for a while. “Two weeks.” “Thanks a lot,” he said with a plastered smile and reached out to shake her hand. “Welcome aboard.” A little wave of anger flashed over Charlotte. From how almost desperate he was to get her to work for him, she started to wonder if there was something he was trying to accomplish by using her. Maybe he needed people to see them together as often as possible now, so that positive news of them working together would replace the negative publicity that had formed during their honeymoon. As she took his hand grudgingly, she tried not to appear too disappointed. This was why she had been paid for anyway- to enhance his image. She had no right to be angry about that. “When do I start?” She asked. “It’s Thursday today so it’ll have to be next week,” he told her, looking up at the calendar hung in his room. “I’ll give you the contact of your trainer as soon as I can.” She nodded, pressing her lips together. “Can
“I can’t leave you even if I wanted to,” Xavier said with a chuckle as he pressed her hand against his cheek. Charlotte smiled and pressed it. “You’re so annoying. I’m supposed to be mad at you.” “I know,” he said with a grin. “I’m that charming.” Without warning, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her against him, so close that she could perceive his sweet but musky scent. She didn’t try to release herself from his grip this time. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and smiled up at him. “If you ever make me doubt my sanity again, I’ll kill you,” she said and he laughed. “That sounds like a threat.” “Because it is.” With an affectionate smile, he stroked her hair with one hand while the other remained around her waist, pulling her closer even though there was no longer any space between them. She smiled back up at him, but her eyes were on his slightly parted lips. His smile reduced slightly when he looked at her plush lips that seemed to be beckoning him. “I love