Chapter 7
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After the umpteenth argument with Chloe, I couldn’t take it anymore–the distorted three- way relationship that had festered between us.
I drowned my frustration in the dim haze of the bar, drinking until I was a mess.
Just as I was preparing to pay and leave, a group of men surrounded me, closing in like wolves sensing prey.
“Hey, beautiful, drinking all alone? Something on your mind? Come on, tell us. Maybe we can help you out,” one of them said, his voice slick with intention.
I was drunk, but not foolish. I knew exactly what they wanted.
The problem was, they were too many, and I was just one girl.
I tried to scream, but the noise in the bar swallowed my voice whole, leaving me with
nothing but the hollow echo of my own panic.
My struggle only seemed to excite them further, pushing me into a corner.
“Don’t shout, sweetheart. We’re more than enough to keep you entertained tonight,” one
of them sneered, reaching out with a hand that was far too eager.
As his dirty fingers neared my face, my last shred of dignity snapped. I was ready to fight.
But just then, like a bolt from the blue, the lead man was thrown backward, his body hitting the ground with a sickening thud. He spat blood, the scene so grim, it looked like something straight out of a nightmare.
The crowd turned, and there, emerging from the shadows, was Xavier–his presence alone
as commanding as a storm.
“Are you tired of living?” he said, his voice low, controlled, but carrying a weight that made
everyone pause.
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Chapter 7
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Despite being alone, he made quick work of dispatching the thugs, effortlessly bringing them to the ground.
He walked toward
me, his gaze softening as he saw how drunk I was, my body swaying, barely able to stand.
With a heavy sigh, he swept me up in his arms, lifting me like a child. “Where do you need to go?”
I mumbled an address, too intoxicated to protest. He carried me home, tucked me into bed, and seemed ready to leave. But I gripped his hand tightly, pulling him back down.
“Who said you could leave?” I whispered, my voice thick with alcohol.
His face was so close, I could feel the warmth of his breath. For a moment, his heart seemed to skip a beat.
“Alyssa, stop this,” he said.
Hearing my name from him, my mind, foggy with drink, blinked into focus. “You know me?”
He sighed, a look of resignation crossing his features. “Yes. Back in New York, you used to follow me around. Don’t you remember?”
I was too drunk to think straight. All I could do was smile foolishly at him, my face flushed with embarrassment. “So we know each other? Then… can you stay? I’m scared to be alone.”
Before he could respond, I threw my arms around his neck, pressing my lips to his in a kiss that was more clumsy than calculated.
Xavier froze, his hands gently pressing against my restless head.
“Alyssa, I like you, but you have a boyfriend. Do you understand?”
At the mention of Scott, my pent–up frustration broke through like a dam giving way.
Chapter 7
I burst into tears, my voice thick with bitterness.
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“Don’t mention him! I hate him! He has another woman in his heart. Tonight, he forgot our anniversary to have dinner with her. I waited for him all night… all alone! Why? Am I really so awful? Why does he treat me like this?”
My words came out in a flood of emotion, and my hands, still frantic, began tearing at his
clothes.
At first, he resisted, his body tense with refusal. But slowly, his grip loosened, his arms
circling around me as if the fight had drained out of him.
In that moment, we were tangled in each other’s arms, and just as I thought the world had narrowed to the space between us, he gently cupped my chin.
“Alyssa, have you thought this through?” His voice was quiet but serious. “If we do this,
I’m not letting you go. Not ever.”
I was drunk, but his eyes held a strange comfort–one I couldn’t quite explain. A sense of
peace settled over me as if nothing could harm me as long as I stayed in this moment.
I nodded, my voice soft, “Mmm… then I’ll stay with you… forever…”
Before I could finish, his lips were on mine.
From that instant, our fates were intertwined, irrevocably so.
And for the first time in a long while, I didn’t regret a thing.
