*****
Of all the things Xavier had visualized his first meeting with his fiancée would be after five years, this definitely was never one of them.
He remained dumbstruck for a long time, gaping, with his head pounding hysterically in disbelief as he stared at the couple who wouldn't tear from each other even after his intrusion, only stopping after they finished having their climax.
They finally glanced toward the door, wondering about the person who had dared to intrude on their room.
"Which motherf*cking bastard are you?" Victor, a short man with an unremarkable appearance, demanded with rage while Jennifer's eyes grew cold, unable to believe that someone had dared to barge into her room while she and her partner were together.
Infuriated, Jennifer quickly rolled herself into the duvet on the bed and leaped to her feet, pointing aggressively at Xavier.
"You!!!" She barked, wanting to curse but then she went into a daze the next second, unable to believe her eyes.
"How—how could it be you? Weren't—weren't you only supposed to be back 15 years from now? How—" she stuttered with shock, disbelief, and panic, staring at the face she had almost forgotten.
As soon as Xavier, who was still struggling to process what he had just witnessed, heard Jennifer, he found himself smiling in the most heartbreaking way anyone had ever seen.
"Yes, how could I be back now when I was sentenced to 20 years in prison?" he asked self-mockingly, his voice raspy and unlike his usual tone.
Meanwhile, a frown immediately spotted Victor's face when he heard the exchange between his woman and the stranger, and being the possessive sort of person he was, became so ugly in an instant, glaring at Jennifer.
"I…" Jennifer immediately returned to her senses from this glare and subsequently, the expression of panic and disbelief on her face disappeared, only to be replaced by mockery.
"Don't you know him?" She inquired, pointing at Xavier in disgust.
Still infuriated by how his woman had communicated with another man, Victor's eyes flashed aggressively. "How am I supposed to?" he asked darkly and Jennifer smiled wickedly.
"He was the bastard you threw away into prison 5 years ago."
"Huh…"
"Huh…"
It wasn't only Victor who was dumbstruck, Xavier was as well.
His face returned to being dazed as he heard Jennifer, unable to believe how she had just addressed him.
"Did—did you just call me a bastard?" He asked with shock, making Jennifer give him the sort of stare he had never received from her since knowing.
"Aren't you one?" She inquired with derision before seeming to have recalled something.
She immediately smirked. "Isn't even calling you a bastard me trying to respect you when I was supposed to address you as a…. Priisoonner."
That was all Xavier needed to hear.
His heart shattered into millions of pieces in an instant and he became suffocated.
"You… you… you just called me a—a prisoner?"
"And so what? Aren't you one?" Jennifer snapped back, with contempt and sarcasm, causing Xavier to tremble, almost fainting the next second.
His ears began to ring hysterically as those words echoed repeatedly. Xavier's eyes turned crimson red as he pointed at Jennifer in disbelief. "You… you actually dared to call me a prisoner?" His voice shook badly.
If anyone who had known Xavier during his time in prison saw him now, they would be completely stunned, feeling the need to repeatedly check their eyes and ears to believe what they were witnessing. The man who was always known for his unwavering calmness was now shaking uncontrollably.
"You—you… have you forgotten the reason I was imprisoned?" He suddenly inquired.
"Hahahahah! Obviously, I sent you to prison!" Victor, who had initially been too stunned after what Jennifer revealed to him abruptly laughed out loud.
He was a young master of an influential third-rated family, and for this reason, he had always been having his way since he was a child.
One thing he particularly enjoyed was taking other people's women, especially right in front of their partners, but he had never experienced this level of fervor before.
He couldn't help but tremble with excitement, wondering what Xavier must be going through, returning from prison and finding his fiancée and the person who sent him to prison making out in his house and on his bed.
….
After he finished speaking, Victor thought Xavier would completely lose it, thereby giving him the chance to teach him a lesson for the second time.
Contrary to his wish, however, Xavier did not react.
He only spared Victor a single glance before ignoring him, dumbfounding both Victor and Jennifer.
"You…" Jennifer opened her mouth, but then Xavier interrupted.
"My eyes might be deceiving me but isn't that the guy who almost raped you five years ago?" he suddenly asked, glancing back at Victor as though he just recalled the face.
Both Jennifer and Victor instantly exchanged gazes, but in the next second, beamed.
"And thanks to you, we got together," Jennifer responded making Xavier's tongue become tied for a second with astonishment.
"I—I attacked him five years ago when I caught him trying to assault you and was arrested for it, eventually being charged with attempted murder," Ares suddenly began, his voice trembling so severely that anyone who knew him would be chilled to the bone. "I wasn't given the chance to get a lawyer and was immediately sentenced to 20 years in a prison meant for hardened criminals." He concluded before his eyes suddenly flashed with hatred.
"Not only have you betrayed me upon my return, but with someone like that?" He inquired with disbelief, curling his fists so much with pain as he felt his heart being clenched tightly.
Jennifer remained silent after hearing Xavier and Victor did not say anything, waiting for how Jenifer would react.
With that, the room turned silent for a while before suddenly, Jennifer scoffed with ridicule.
"You said you were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for defending me?" She inquired coldly but continued before Xavier could respond, her voice turning icy cold. "Did I send you to defend me back then?" She demanded, stunning both Xavier and Victor to the core.
Xavier wasn't able to react for a long time, while Victor, after struggling to control himself, finally erupted into laughter only after which Xavier regained his senses and felt his body go cold. Yet before he could say a word, Jennifer continued, her voice still dripping with coldness and scorn.
"You acted as though you were unjustly thrown into prison. Did you not attempt to murder my man five years ago? Criminal!"
Xavier's vision immediately darkened while his head became light.
"You—you—you—you…"
"Me what?" Jennifer snorted with disgust. "Did I lie?" She asked, making Xavier finally unable to hold it anymore.
"To think I rushed out of prison for you, hoping to give you a lifetime of happiness and make up for everything you desired for the rest of my life!" He suddenly laughed bitterly, his voice dripping with pain, self-mockery, and disappointment.
No sooner had he finished laughing, however than two jeering voices responded to him.
"Did you just say you rushed out of prison?" Victor inquired.
"And you, an ex-convict who had stopped having life 5 years ago dare to tell me how you wished to give me a lifetime of happiness?" What a joke."
The couple laughed as though they had heard a joke, but Xavier didn't show any painful emotion, instead, said seriously after a moment;
"I could have given you the best life and made you the envy of all the ladies in this world if you had waited."
"Fool," Jennifer scoffed, her eyes filled with disdain as she stared at the plain dress on Ares's body.
"You couldn't give me one percent of the life given by my man before you were imprisoned and you think you'd be able to do that now that you've become an ex-prisoner?" She asked with sarcasm.
Perhaps because his emotions were too disordered or for another reason, Xavier neither got angry nor hurt by Jennifer's words. He simply realized that the Jennifer he had always loved might have disappeared the moment he was sentenced to prison five years ago.
With that, Xavier breathed deeply. Although deep down, he wanted nothing more than to destroy the cheating duo, he chose not to act on those whims.
"Since you've already moved on with your life, can you and your man at least get out of my house now? Also, I will need my company back," he said calmly, his demeanor having turned indifferent.
The moment Jennifer heard him, however, she finally panicked.
"I…" she opened her mouth to speak, but then was interrupted.
"Which stupid company and house?" Victor asked, not hiding the mockery in him.
"Since you were rotting away in prison, and I couldn't squeeze a dime out of you for the damage you caused, my babe and I decided to sell off everything you owned, tossing whatever pathetic scraps were left to your parents after deducting my medical bills."
"This!" Xavier's eyes widened with disbelief.