Justin's Range Rover had just roared loudly past Lexie's house. Rafe didn't speak or move as long as Justin wasn't completely out of his way. He wanted this conversation to be private just between him and Lexie.
"What do you want, Rafe?"
"Where are you taking him?" Rafe made a gesture to point at Archer who was jumping on every checkered tile in the living room.
"I'll take him to day care. No one to look after him at home today"
"Then let's take him to day care before we talk. Do you have a car seat for him?”
"I'll get it inside."
For a moment Lexie hesitated to leave Rafe with Archer. But seeing Rafe's reaction, which was calmer than she expected, made Lexie decide to trust Rafe to look after Archer for a while while she took his car seat.
“Hey kiddo, why are you jumping around like a bunny?”
"Because I like it. Mommy forbade me to jump up and down. Especially when jumping from a high place to a lower place. Though I l
Lexie had just arrived at campus after getting off the bus. She saw several students staring at her scornfully. She didn't have any bad feelings and just continued walking towards her class. Sometimes some students do look at her cynically because she is close to Justin. She didn't mind it at all because so far they had never hurt her. Maybe it's just some cheap gossip that's spread all over the campus about her. But it is always quickly forgotten when new, hotter gossips come to replace the old ones. Lexie continued walking towards her class without any inkling. She filled her mind with more positive vibes today because now she has nothing to worry about anymore. Rafe had agreed to let Archer be with her. She would not feel anxious anymore if Rafe's men came to look for her. Last night for the first time they went for a walk to the shopping center. Lexie, Rafe and Archer. They seem like a sweet harmonious family. Rafe carried an Archer who was fussy about this and t
Lexie left Justin's question unanswered. Suddenly she got a call from day care that Acher had just fallen while playing with his friend in the yard. Lexie hurriedly went to day care to see Archer's condition because her whole mind was suddenly haunted by various bad thoughts. She imagined terrible things about the profuse blood and the Archer crying so hard. But when she arrived at the day care, it turned out that Archer had stopped crying. He only cried for a while when he saw the blood on his blistered knee. But after Ms. Ana gives him a plaster with a dinosaur print, Archer stops crying and goes back to playing with his friends. "I'd better take him home. Anyway, today I'm skipping lecturer. I have plenty of time to look after Archer at home.” Lexie said to Justin while tidying up Archer's belongings which were stored in the locker with his initials. "There's actually nothing to worry about from Archer." Justin watched Archer playing toy wi
Late in the evening Lexie actually got a shipment of a beautiful metallic blue mini cooper with a big red ribbon on it. The car was delivered by a very friendly young male courier. The courier teased Lexie all the way because he thought Lexie got a special gift from her boyfriend who is a handsome billionaire from NY. Lexie was really annoyed by the strange look the man gave her. She quickly signed the receipts that needed to be signed, then shooed the strange man out of her house. “Wow, a special gift from Rafe, eh?” Kaella whistled from the kitchen, carrying a cup of coffee, still in her work suit which had sweat marks all over her back and armpits. "I think Rafe is overreacting. I already told him there's no need to send me gifts. I will buy a used car as soon as possible.” “He won't let his son ride in a used car, whereas he can more than afford to buy you a new car. And wow, he's really romantic for sticking a ribbon over your car." Kaella giggle
Lexie woke up because her throat felt dry. She checked the digital clock on the nightstand and found that she had only slept for about two hours. She wanted to close her eyes again because she was lazy to take the water downstairs. But apparently she couldn't sleep anymore. She had to get out of bed, then kissed the chubby cheek Archer who was asleep hugging the bolster. Archer was absolutely adorable in that position. He remembered that when Archer was a baby, Archer would often suddenly fall asleep curled up. Even though she had put a bolster on the right and left sides of his body so he wouldn't move during his sleep, but still Archer would find a way to move and sleep in a crouched position like he always did when he was still in his stomach. Lexie smiled a little at the memory. Now she longs to have a baby. Archer was so cute as a baby. Even though having a baby is very tiring, she enjoys every step of the process. The kitchen was very dark when Lexie came down
Damn Xena! As soon as he opened his eyes and found himself in an old man's scented room with Lexie by his side, naked, half hugging his arm, Rafe knew this was real. Xena had forced him to sleep long enough that Xena could take him on his two-hour air journey on his private jet to Charleston, SC. Plus the trip from the airport to Lexie's house took about forty-five minutes and a few long minutes for a chit-chat he didn't know what it was. He just suddenly woke up and saw Lexie had been screaming in front of him, crying. What has Xena done? That was the first question that swirled in his head. He could hear Xena's loud laugh in his head as he watched Lexie cry while saying her love statement weakly. Then he got a faint whisper from Xena, telling him to tell Lexie the truth about his feelings. But so far he had no idea what Xena was planning with all of this. He was actually asleep when Xena took over his body. Whereas when he was taking over his body, Xena co
Lexie did not expect that today all her problems were solved so easily. Starting with Rafe and all the pillow talk they did until now their relationship has improved for the better. Then about Justin and his declaration of love at Folly Beach which turned out to be just part of the charade she didn't have to worry about. Then the scandal about her photos and Harley who was furious at her because she thought she had been hiding her relationship with Rafe from her. Harley suddenly came to her when she had just stepped into the classroom. Her face was filled with sadness and tears were almost spilling out. Harley apologized to her for all the bad things she did to her yesterday. “I should have supported you instead of being against you and gossiping about you with those bitches.” "Ssshh... It's ok. I'm fine now. Nothing to think about anymore. I have already forgiven you." "Oh my God, Lexie. You really are an angel. Thanks very much!" “I'm sorry for neve
“Sorry, Kaella just called. She said she didn't come home tonight because she was going to stay at a friend's house." "Friend or lover?" "Who knows. I don’t ask." Lexie shrugged nonchalantly, then took her place beside Archer who was busy looking at Rafe with admiration. He was astonished at how quickly Rafe put together the complex puzzles and played the amazing Rubik's Cube. "Do it again dad, how do I turn all these squares red." "Take a good look, okay. Rotate right twice, then flip this side so that all the green squares in this row move to the left side, after that slide down these white squares, then rotate the red squares to the right, and you will get all the box on this side is red.” "That is cool! Daddy's great." Lexie smiled gently at his son who admired his father so much. It seemed like Rafe would become a figure that Archer admired from now on. "I didn't know you could play these tricky games?" "Yo
"Good afternoon Ms. Ana, I've come to pick up Archer." Lexie stepped into the day care lobby with a cheerful face. She purposely picked up Archer an hour earlier than his schedule because today she was going to take Archer to buy his favorite ice cream. These days she couldn't concentrate on her lectures in class because she kept thinking about Archer and her guilt. It wasn't Archer's fault at all. She shouldn't have scolded Archer for her annoyance at Rafe. She really is a bad mother for taking her anger out on her adorable son. "Good afternoon. You came to pick up Archer?” "I'm too early. I know it." Lexie smiled shyly. “Today I want to take Archer out to buy his favorite ice cream. Where is Archer now?” Lexie had been sticking her head out ever since to look for Archer among his friends who were playing lego in the playroom. But she couldn't find Archer there at all. Maybe he was going to the bathroom with another nanny. “Today Archer has been pick
Lexie watched Rafe leave in silence. Guilt gripped her heart because Rafe saw her with Justin. Although it is unlikely that anything will happen between her and Justin, but Rafe seems quite jealous of their closeness. She was just grateful that Xena was sleeping soundly now. She couldn't imagine what would have happened if it had been Xena. "Come on Lexie. We have to hurry because we have wasted quite a bit of time.” Justin led her to the elevator. His arms were still slung over her shoulders and he pressed the lobby button for both of them after the elevator doors closed. "Is he still rude?" "What?" Lexie asked looking up. "Your husband. I used to see you cry because of that man. Is he still as rude as before?” "Sometimes." Lexie answered half dreamily. No marriage is absolutely flawless. There are always fights and arguments in every marriage relationship. Even she couldn't keep herself away from all domestic troubles. Rafe or Xena h
"Dance with me, lady?"Lexie looked up, left her cherry juice and smiled gently at the man who had just reached out in front of her. She didn't waste the opportunity to dance with this handsome man and took his outstretched hand in front of her face."Of course. It's an amazing party and I can't miss dancing with a guy like you." Lexie smiled gently.The man led her to the center of the ballroom, joining another couple who had already started their dance. His wide palm gripped Lexie's tiny palm which was so soft. He smiled widely at everyone, as if he was celebrating his success in persuading a princess to dance with him."Beautiful music. Thank you for asking me to dance."Lexie pressed herself against the man, holding on to his sturdy shoulders and they began to move in sync with the melodious classical music. The soft violins play beautiful notes with the rest of the orchestra. Lexie closed her eyes while following every movement made by her dan
Tonight was really fun for Rafe because he was in the midst of a harmonious complete family. There is a father-in-law who is so kind to him, a lover or a future wife or maybe his wife and an adorable son. They had dinner together happily at the dining table. There were loud laughter from his father-in-law and spoiled whimpers from Archer if Lexie started forbidding him to do this and that. Everything seemed so good to Rafe that he was reluctant to return to his miserable life in New York. If he could, he wanted to be in the midst of this family forever. And in order to make his wish come true, he needed to improve the conditions between himself and Lexie. He needed to make it clear to Lexie that he wanted a complete family and didn't want to live apart like he used to. “Archer is asleep?” Rafe deliberately waited for Lexie in front of her bedroom. Tonight he was supposed to sleep in Kaella's room, but he hadn't been in Kaella’s room since then and had just stood by t
Fifteen minutes later they arrived at Lexie's beautiful two-story house filled with various kinds of plants in the front yard. Rafe was almost surprised to see so much change in the house. The last time he came here, the house had no woody trees. But now the front of Lexie's house was filled with giant pots filled with woody trees that were struggling to grow into giant-sturdy trees. The flowers that were once only planted in two small pots, have grown into a bunch of colorful flowers that have been transplanted into the ground. "There have been a lot of changes in this house." “My father used the garden next to the house as a garage because it wasn't safe to park the car just on the side of the road. Sometimes there are naughty children who scribble on the car body with spray paint. Some time ago our neighbor was screaming hysterically because his Mercedes Benz had been scribbled with a series of obscene swear words.” “Your father has done the right thing as
Rafe stepped off the plane and was greeted by a light drizzle in late summer. The soothing scent of wet earth relaxes him for a moment. A little man who will be his driver today to go to Lexie's house has just opened an umbrella near the plane steps, getting ready to umbrella him. Rafe actually had absolutely no problem walking in the rain. This is really refreshing and can wash away a little bit of his anxiety that is thickening more and more. "Thank you. Before we go to Lexie's house, I will pick up my son at his day care. He'll be home in thirty minutes." The man nodded after handing the umbrella handle to him. Rafe walked slowly behind the man to his car which was parked near the hangar. He inhaled strongly the scent of summer which was about to fade and be replaced by the cold, gray scent of autumn. Time flies so fast, and he hasn't been able to summon Xena back so he can surface like he used to. "Please come in, sir." The man grabbed the handle
Lexie stepped aside for a moment from the commotion of the bridal shower which was really noisy and excited. Tomorrow morning Kaella will marry her lover, and today will be her last day as a single. So everyone was excited to have a party in one of the finest suits at a five-star hotel in Charleston. Her cell phone has been ringing loudly ever since. She had ignored the call because she was pinning the crown for the bride-to-be and taking pictures with the rest of Kaella's friends. Now she would pick up Rafe's call and talk to him because Rafe must have called her for something important. “Hi Honey, sorry for not picking up your call. I was at Kaella's bridal shower. It's very noisy in here. Tomorrow you will come to her wedding right?” Lexie finally found a comfortable and quiet place to talk to Rafe. While everyone was partying like crazy in Kaella's suit room. She has a balcony which is very quiet and with a beautiful view of the city of Charleston. Folly Beach wa
Xena looked to the side, at the statue of the cross that soared up to the church ceiling. He imagined the look on his face that looked ridiculous as he said those bullshit words. There is no love in his heart. It should be like that. But strangely he felt love when he was with Lexie. At first he felt loved, and more and more he felt like loving. It was the most complicated reciprocal relationship he had ever experienced. His week-long trip to Chicago wasn't strictly business. He purposely distanced himself from Lexie to reflect on all this. Does he really love Lexie? Did he really want to be with Lexie forever? And after a week of excruciating contemplation, he finally came to the one answer that he wanted all of that. He wanted to love Lexie, he wanted to be with Lexie, and he wanted to make Lexie happy. Unfortunately this body does not belong to him. He couldn't be selfish by removing Rafe forever from this body. And he had to do something to fix all of this."Xena... are y
There are so many things that it can sometimes be confusing to the point of misleading. Some of them sometimes appear in the form of secrets that are difficult to understand. Like Xena and Rafe who are very elusive. Even though they live in the same body, they have two separate elements. Had they come together, the two of them would probably have been a formidable fusion of two elements. It would create a man with the perfect personality. It should be like that. But in reality it is not easy to unite two elements that are already separated.Lexie stood on the balcony alone looking up at the starry night sky. Tonight the air is very warm, suddenly she couldn't sleep because she was thinking about many things. First she thought of Xena who suddenly disappeared without a word. The rest of the day she spent thinking about the man's whereabouts now and the possibility if Xena and Rafe fused into one unified element. It would definitely be great if they could unite to occupy their
"Wren! I can't believe it's you." Lexie hugged Wren very tightly after she opened the front door wide and told Wren to come in. It's really an unexpected surprise that she can meet Wren who is now super busy. After a week of living in New York, Lexie finally got to meet Wren. "Long time no see and you are getting more beautiful and sexy." Wren chuckled as he patted Lexie's shoulder a few times. God only knows how badly he missed this woman. He had lost track of Lexie ever since Lexie disappeared and Rafe gave him a stern warning not to try to get someone to track her down. "You say I'm sexy? No way. I got fatter after giving birth. Come in." "But you actually look sexier. You used to be so skinny, you know. I prefer your new look." Wren studied Lexie's body from head to toe. Her long hair has now been cut shorter with a very beautiful wavy style at the ends. Lexie gained weight of course because her arms and curves were now more beautiful than