I had just walked through the door when my eyes landed on Xavier who looked as though he was ready to leave the house.
"Where are you going?" I found myself asking as I looked into his eyes, seeing them burning with rage and anger.
"I saw everything!" He yelled, snapping at me as he raised his voice. "Why didn't you tell me?" He yelled, his loud voice reverberating in the huge living hall as his body shook with anger pulsing through every single vein inside his body.
I raised my brow at him as silence enveloped us both for a brief moment while I stared at him blankly.
"What?" The word finally left the tip of my tongue. "What are you talking about?" I asked, my voice laced with a hint of confusion as a puzzled look was plastered across my face. My mind started to race with thoughts and questions at that moment and I watched as he marched towards me, closing the distance between us in a few large strides.
Then all of a sudden, he opened his arms and pulled me into a hug. My face collided with his chest and my arms hung limply by my sides for a brief moment as my mind struggled to comprehend the situation. Slowly, I reached up to hug him back, wrapping my arms around his torso.
"I know Henry touched you," he admitted as he mumbled in a low voice beside my ear. "Are you okay? Did he do anything else?" He quickly asked with concern as he tried to suppress the anger that was boiling in his blood.
I pulled back to look up at him with wide eyes. "How did you…"
"I saw it," he quickly answered. "Evelyn sent it to me thinking that she could try to ruin our marriage and accuse you of seducing another man," he explained and I could hear the disdain in his deep voice.
A cold chuckle left my parted lips as I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"I knew it," I muttered under my breath. "Of course, it would be her, trying to get in between us and ruin our marriage," I sneered, the words that left my lips dripping with malice.
"I will deal with her later," he proclaimed in an icy voice. "As for Jones…" he drawled, his voice trailing off as he clenched his fists tightly beside him.
"He can look forward to spending time behind bars," he spat the words out like they were poison in his mouth as an angry expression masked his sharp features.
I didn't know why but at this moment, I couldn't control my emotions any longer. Hot tears stung my eyes and tears were starting to form at the brim of my eyes, threatening to spill at any given second.
I broke down within the next second without a single warning and I dropped into his arms as he caught me easily.
"I'm sorry, Xavier… I'm sorry…" I apologised profusely, repeating myself over and over again as I mourned the fact that I lost this opportunity that I had been dreaming of for the longest time because that man couldn't keep his hands to himself.
He held me up so that I was standing up straight. Reaching up, his thumb wiped off the tears that were rolling down my flushed cheeks.
"What are you apologising for?" He asked, his voice soft and gentle as his brows were furrowed together. "You did nothing wrong at all, it was that bastard's fault."
I continued to sob, drawing in deep breaths as I tried to speak with much difficulty.
"I.. I…" I stammered, struggling to get the words out of my mouth as if there was a lump stuck in my throat. "I know it isn't… easy to get this opportunity for… me. But I… I ruined everything. I'm never going to be a successful artist."
"Hey," he said, his voice stern and a serious look hung on his face as we locked eyes. "Don't say that. What makes you think you have ruined everything? What makes you think that you are never going to be successful? Because of this? Because of that sick bastard?"
I nodded as I reached up to wipe the tears streaming down my face.
"After what happened, I wanted to leave," I began to explain. "Then he blatantly told me that he wouldn't be displaying my art anymore because of this."
He grabbed me by my shoulders and pulled me into a tight embrace once again. He murmured beside my ear, "That's not going to happen," he reassured with a slight smile on his face. "I will make sure that your art will go up at that exhibition and Jones will be sent to jail."
There was a brief moment of pause before he opened his mouth to speak once again and his features softened as his eyes captured mine effortlessly.
"You got my word on this."
***
Third Person POV
"Henry Jones!" Xavier's voice boomed loudly, echoing in the office space as everyone lifted their heads to stare and watch with curiosity burning in their eyes.
He came barging into Jone's office with a dark look etched onto his face and his eyes fixated on Jones through the tiny gap in the blinds of the window. He ignored the secretary chasing after him, protesting and asking him to stop.
The door swung open in an instant, the sound of the back of the door banging loudly against the wall rang in their ears, eliciting gasps from the people working in the office that day.
Henry finally looked up this time and they locked eyes from a distance as a frown crept onto his face.
"Xavier, what brings you –"
Before the words could leave the tip of his tongue, he was met with a hard punch to his jaw and a surprised yelp emerged from his throat while everyone else watched with wide eyes, shock and anticipation evident on their faces.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Henry sneered as rubbed his jaw. "Have you lost your mind?!" He spat the words out of his mouth as he narrowed his eyes into thin slits, glaring right at Xavier.
"Aurelia's my wife!" Xavier yelled, his voice trembling with anger as he glared at him with a fiery blaze swirling in the depths of his dark eyes. His voice dropped to a hush whisper this time as he grabbed him by his collar and pulled him close enough to murmur into his ear. "How dare you touch her?"