My eyes slowly fluttered open and I found myself in Xavier's arms as he carried me effortlessly. I blinked a couple of times, letting my vision adjust.
"Xavier…" His name left my lips in a voice barely above a whisper but he heard me.
In an instant, his gaze snapped down and we locked eyes. When he realised I came to and was okay, he let out a soft sigh of relief and I could see his features visibly soften and he became at ease.
"Are you okay?" He asked in a hurry, his voice laced with concern and worry as there was a small frown resting between his brows. "How are you feeling?"
Our faces were barely inches apart. It was only now that I realised he had a small bruise forming at the corner of his lip and a tiny cut above his brow. My eyes flickered with worry as I examined his features carefully. Naturally, my hand reached up to hold his face and my brows were knitted together in worry.
"Your face…" I muttered under my breath absentmindedly, my voice filled with concern. "You are hurt."
The corners of his lips curved upwards into a slight smile. "I'm okay, it's no no big deal," he reassured. "Don't worry about me. I'm more worried about you, you fainted earlier," he reminded me.
I let a smile fall on my face. "Don't worry about me either. I'm okay."
"Then that's good," he muttered more to himself.
There was a brief moment of silence that lapsed between us before I said something as the thought had been bugging me at the back of my mind for a while now.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Why haven't you brought me to meet your parents?" I asked seemingly out of nowhere. My question must have caught him off guard as I saw the way his eyes flickered with a mixture of surprise and shock.
"What? Why are you asking this?" He put me back down and I was now standing on both feet and looking up at him with anticipation and curiosity swirling in the depths of my eyes.
"Nothing, I was just curious," I lied. This wasn't just purely curiosity, it was more than that. I didn't tell him about my doubts and suspicions.
He cleared his throat audibly. "I was just busy and caught up with work, so it didn't cross my mind," he explained casually.
"Right… of course…" I mumbled under my breath as I lowered my head to stare at my feet. There was a brief moment of pause as I contemplated before I looked back up and our gazes matched. "Then what about this weekend? We could meet them for lunch or dinner," I suggested casually.
"This weekend?" He repeated, and there was a moment of hesitation before he spoke up. "I doubt they would be free," he said, brushing it off completely.
"How did you know? You didn't even ask them," I snapped in frustration as a hint of doubt laced my voice. 'Don't you find that suspicious?' Evelyn's words from earlier were starting to haunt me and it got to me this time, despite me trying my best to push them out of my mind.
He was shocked by the aggression in my tone, and silence stretched between us for a moment before his voice sliced through the tension that was starting to brew in the air between us.
"They are on a business trip, Aurelia."
I accepted his answer that day, telling myself that I must be overthinking it and that I shouldn't be doubting him. The next time I asked him the same question, he told me that his mother had fallen ill. Another time, he told me that his parents happened to be out of town on vacation.
I was starting to get suspicious again and one day, I just lost it and I snapped at him.
"Are your parents really out of town or do you not want me to meet them?" I questioned. "Are you hiding something from me?"
"I'm not. Why would you say that?" He asked, his tone was slightly defensive as he met my eyes.
"Why would I say that?" I repeated, unable to hold back any longer. "Every single time I ask to meet your parents, they are always conveniently not available. I'm starting to feel like you are just coming up with excuses and trying to keep me away from them for whatever reason," I blurted out impulsively, my voice laced with a mixture of sadness and anger.
"I'm not giving you any excuses and I'm not trying to keep you away from them. I was just –"
"It's fine," I interrupted. It was toxic I admit, but I couldn't think straight anymore as doubt and sadness clouded my judgement at that moment. Emotions were running wild in my eyes as we locked eyes. "I won't keep asking you about this anymore."
I turned to leave and he reached out to grab me by my arm. "Aurelia…" my name left his lips. "Don't do this," he said, his voice firm and unwavering as he shook his head lightly.
Tears glistened in the brim of my eyes as I slowly pulled my hand out of his grasp and I kept my eyes on him.
"I'm sorry, I can't do this right now," I said before turning around and walking off.
***
The next morning, I woke up extra early even though I barely slept. I had plans to head to the office alone, still upset over what happened the day before. I grabbed my purse and was ready to step out when the sound of the phone ringing reached my ears, catching my attention.
I whipped my head around, my eyes darting around in search of the phone when I finally laid eyes on Xavier's phone lying on the table. I turned my head to look at his room, hearing the faint sound of the water splashing on the ground filled the air.
He must be in the shower right now and somehow left his phone outside.
My gaze glanced back down to look at the phone. For some odd reason, there was a voice in the back of my mind nagging at me to pick up the call despite how wrong it felt, like it was an invasion of his privacy.
After a brief moment of hesitation, I found myself reaching out my hand to grab his phone, my finger hovering above the screen as my mind raced with thoughts.
I answered the call, before I could even say a word, a voice came from the other end of the line.
"Good morning, Mr Wilder. I'm calling to inform from Trustcare Medical Group you that the medical report you requested on behalf of your wife, Mrs Aurelia Wilder, is ready."