Third person POV
He questioned as he gritted his teeth.
Henry gulped audibly as his eyes widened in horror. A mixture of shock and surprise was swimming in his dark eyes as a flustered look was now stretched across his face when realisation dawned upon him.
"I didn't touch her," he said in a low voice, keeping his voice steady.
Tension continued to thicken in the air between them. Xavier eventually released his grip on him as he shoved him aside, causing him to stumble a little before he found his balance once again.
A cold chuckle left his parted lips as he raised a brow at him.
"Didn't touch her?" He sneered, tossing his words right back at him with an incredulous look etched onto his face. He stepped forward, closing the already tiny gap between them. "So… are you trying to say that my wife lied to me?" He asked, his tone carrying a sharp edge to it, piercing through the tension lingering in the air.
Henry walked over towards the door, his eyes darting around the office. "What are y'all looking at?" He snapped in frustration. "Get back to work."
As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone began typing away at their keyboards and kept their eyes on their screens, not daring to look up again. He slammed the door shut and closed the blinds before turning back to face Xavier.
"All I'm saying is that she could have misinterpreted my actions," he began. "I was just being friendly."
This time, Xavier pulled his phone out of his back pocket and flashed the same picture that Evelyn had sent to him just yesterday night. Henry's gaze flickered down to stare at the screen.
"You call this being friendly?" Xavier spat and watched as Henry's eyes immediately widened in fear as a wave of realisation washed over him. "Don't fuck with me, Jones," he threatened in a low voice as their faces were dangerously close.
Henry was rendered speechless for the moment before he let out a shaky breath. "Look…" he drawled. "I don't know how –"
"Save it," Xavier butted in, cutting him off mid-sentence. "There's no way you can get yourself out of this mess," he said in a cold and distant voice.
Henry stepped forward, grabbing onto Xavier's arm, desperation evident on his face. "Xavier, come on," he pleaded. "Don't do this to me. You are not going to spread this picture to everyone, right?"
"I don't know about that, Jones…" he mused as Henry's face fell in an instant. "But actually… I know a way you could save yourself."
There was a pause and he watched as Henry's dark eyes lit up with hope and anticipation.
"Is that so?" He asked. "I knew you won't do this to me," he muttered to himself, a slight smile starting to form on his lips.
A low chuckle left Xavier's lips. "Not so fast, Jones," he taunted, his dark eyes gleaming with a knowing look. "I know that you also threatened to remove her spot at the art exhibition."
"I –"
"But you best believe that, I will take this picture and send it to everyone in this industry and let them know what kind of person you are, Jones," he threatened as his face darkened visibly. "Wouldn't want that, would you?"
***
First Person POV
"Who were you on the phone with?" I asked casually with curiosity as I watched Xavier hung up on the call.
He turned to face me and we locked eyes. He inched closer towards me. "It's my mother, she wants to meet you over dinner," he explained. "It's been long after all."
My eyes widened. "Oh," I mumbled under my breath. "When?"
"Tonight."
Before I knew it, I found myself sitting at the table filled with plates and bowls of food specially prepared by their in-house chefs. Xavier's parents were sitting right across from me while he sat next to me. He held my hand under the table, our fingers interlocked together as he gave me a light squeeze of reassurance and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
"Mum, dad, this is Aurelia, she's my wife now," Xavier announced. "You guys know her, so I'm going to skip the introduction."
Paula laughed. "Can't believe that I have to learn about my son's marriage from the news. What happened to telling us everything?" She joked but a hint of sharpness laced her voice as I laughed awkwardly in response.
"Charles and Paula, it's nice to see you again after all these while," I greeted as I let a smile grace my lips, breaking the slightly uncomfortable silence that had settled among us.
"Yeah…" Paula's voice trailed off as the corners of her lips twitched upwards into a warm smile and her features softened. "It has been a long time indeed, how are you doing, sweetheart?" She asked kindly as our eyes met.
"Yeah, how have you been, Aurelia?" Charles asked as he chimed in.
I turned to look at Xavier with a smile still on my lips. "I have been good actually. Xavier has been nothing but nice and loving to me."
"Is that so? That's good to hear," she said before leaning forward. "If he bullies you, you got to let us know, we will take care of that for you," she teased and we erupted into laughter.
The dinner went by quickly and as the night slowly came to an end, I turned to see that Paula was already looking at me from the couch and she opened her mouth to speak.
"Aurelia?" My name left her lips in a soft voice. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure," I said after a while. " Why not?" A smile fell on my face.
Xavier grabbed me by my hand as I stood up. "Where are you taking my wife?" He asked in a playful tone as he arched a brow at his mother.
"Oh come on, I don't bite," she joked as a soft chuckle left her lips. "I just want to have a talk with her, girl to girl."
He smiled. "Alright, bring her back in one piece!"
"Alright, alright."
I followed her into one of the many rooms at their place and watched as she closed the door behind us before gesturing for me to come sit on the chair next to her. She turned to face me as we came eye to eye. Within a split second, her demeanour shifted entirely and her features hardened.
"Leave my son."