Xavier stiffened somewhat when they stepped into where all the action happened. The amusement park was filled with so many bright colors that Halle’s lips couldn’t help but curl up. The man next to her looked almost wary of his surroundings, while Halle stared at the countless rides and the food courts excitedly, her eyes drifted to his brown ones and she gave him a reassuring smile.“How many times have you been here?” He asked, his hand coming between them and joining their fingers.Halle looked down at their joined hand and then back up at him.Was he that nervous about being in such a public place?“I’ve been here twice, you’ll love it I promise!”She didn’t want him wary when he was supposed to be having fun which was exactly what he needed. “So, what would you like to do first? What rides will you like to get on?” Halle grinned, her excitement slowly drowning the strange feeling she had been harboring in her chest since they left the Manor.Xavier’s lips pursed, he w
Everything that came after was like a haze to Halle. They had come down from the carousel after at least twenty minutes getting lost in each other’s eyes and lips, forgetting everything else around them and Halle fighting the dread that slowly crept up her chest. When she opened her eyes, the sun had gone down completely and the lights in the booth had been turned on automatically. “Let’s go home,” He had told her giving her a dimpled smile that made her sink deeper into the dread she felt. He had given her so much bliss and in return, Halle’s head was a mess and so many invading thoughts bombarded her mind. They had walked out hand in hand to Xavier’s sports car, the rude security guard from the morning waving stiffly at them as they left but even that wasn’t enough to snap Anna out of her dazed state. She could vaguely remember hearing his voice after they were both seated in the car and the engines started. He was telling her a story about how Monty has been in love with Mart
“Xavier!” Halle gasped in horror, “Do you still have Simon?!”He cocked up a brow, and the corners of his lips twitched as he looked on in mirth like he had expected the question, he didn’t look surprised rather his sly grin widened and he rested his chin on his palm.“I was beginning to wonder when you’d think about it,” He chuckled humorously, sipped on the red wine Tabitha had poured for him before leaving, and then set the glass down leisurely.Halle’s heart thundered in her chest and as much as she tried she couldn’t help but feel guilty for not feeling guilty.She couldn’t believe she had forgotten all about him...She could expect such a thing from Greta because Greta hated the man but her?She loved him at some point in their relationship or at least she thought she did.Still, it was very wrong of her to—“Yes, he’s still in my basement,” Xavier replied nonchalantly and went back to eating his food like they were discussing the weather.“Oh my God,” Halle’s palms cov
It was cold. So cold that Halle’s teeth almost began to chatter, Xavier noticed right away and he looked down at her, lips pulled down with worry.He rubbed his palm up and down her skin to generate warmth while they walked and Halle’s skin broke out in goosebumps and not from the cold.The basement had dim lighting and a hallway that stretched for miles. It was practically a whole new building down here, designed like those hidden science facilities she often saw in movies.She could barely keep her jaw from dropping to the floor as Xavier led her deeper and deeper into the hallway.His expression was passive as the walked but he glanced at her face at intervals and continued to rub her arms while mumbling something along the lines of, “Should’ve brought a fucking jacket!”After a whole minute of walking, Hale began to notice doors on each side of the hallway, long and black metal doors with outdated doorknobs.“What...” She was awed by the structural design alone, how did they
“No,” He simply said. Halle’s “Please,” This time it wasn’t Simon’s voice but hers that echoed in the room, “Let him go,” She pleaded to Xavier who still stood by the door, unmoving. eyes widened with shock. Did he just— “It is obvious he has suffered enough, Xavier!” No. There wasn’t even the slightest chink in his armor or a crack on his mask. He just stared. “Not enough,” He replied coldly, “Not until I say it is enough,” Halle’s heart chilled…She took a subconscious step back. “Not even the worse of men deserve this sort of punishment, Xavier...this is cruel!” She vociferated. Her clenched fists shook at her sides. “This is my life,” He voiced out, “If you are going to be with me, then you’re going to have to get used to sights like this!” He pointed at Simon, “Don’t get all soft on me now, Halle,” His voice was low and sounded so calm but the chill she felt from his tone was enough to let her know that this conversation wouldn’t get anywhere. Yet, she felt struck by hi
“After the procedure is done, we’ll wait for about two to four weeks before doing a test to know if it was successful or not. It won’t hurt and it won’t affect your health in anyway,”A week later, Halle was in Horacio’s office in a loose fitting hospital gown. She could hear her heart pounding so loud in her ears and his words didn’t do much to calm her down.She felt a hand squeeze hers.Greta had come from where she was following a story in Mexico the second Halle had told her she would be having a procedure today.Halle was scared out of her wits the second a date was official ad she began rethinking everything but her best friend reassured her and told her she’d be there every step of the way.What surprised Halle was that Martha was in Horacio’s office as well, sitting on the waiting seat on the other side of the room.Halle had to admit, she never expected Martha to be there seeing as everyone seemed to make it obvious that they knew Halle and Xavier had a falling out a
Xavier had asked for her to be protected? Now that was information Halle wished she could ignore. “Oh...” She looked down from Monty’s eyes, somehow trying her best to make sure he would see the hurt she felt just at the sound of Xavier giving out such orders just because of her. He kept people on her tail for the past three years and even now, he was still trying to protect her, even after how complicated everything had gotten between them. “I have come to check up on you,” Monty announced his expression almost a soft one which surprised Halle just as his words did. “Check up on me?” Halle pointed at herself. She heard the girl’s loud giggles behind her, not sure what it was they were talking about, it made her lips twitch and her cheeks heat up slightly when she saw Monty’s bashed expression. He looked almost awkward just standing there, he cleared his throat and adjusted his gaze. “Yes, I haven’t seen you in a few days and…” He looked into her eyes with a rather serious expr
A week after Halle’s and Martha’s talk which ended on quite an awkward note, Xavier returned from Italy. Halle didn’t realize it at first. She spent all morning in her room after breakfast, studying for her final exams and trying to wrap her head around how she had ended up in such a situation in the first place. Right, firstly she had let a murderer into her home and then let him stay with her for three days, then she agreed to be the surrogate of the world’s most powerful family because of her desperation for money, now Halle was here, being told to be with a man she was attracted to. Sure it didn’t seem complicated on the outside, it was actually such an easy decision, just be with him since he made her happy but doing that would also be going against the morals she had grown up with. He was a killer. A man whose actions were so cruel but he still did not see them as such. What was worse was that Halle was running out of reasonable reasons why she shouldn’t accept Martha’s fa