Chapter 3

Xavier

Mr. Shirley's death is the one of the reasons why I'm here, but it's not the main reason. The old man may have been a great man and a friend, but he's not worth abandoning my business for a whole week.

Taking a deep drag, I watched the smoke from the blunt in my hand roll up into the cold night, the peace and serenity a welcoming feeling. Vera is going to lose her cool if she finds out I smoked in her garden, but then who cares? It's not as if she's going to complain aloud, Natasha will be the one receiving the scolding on my behalf.

My silent yet peaceful moment was cut off when an intruder stomped into the garden. With the heavy footsteps, anyone with working pair of eyes should be able to tell that she's barely containing her anger.

I silently observed her, awaiting her appearance into the solar pathway lights so I can get a glimpse of her face and when she did, I inhaled sharply.

Angela Shirley.

How long has it been? Three years and two weeks.

I watched her answer her call and although I couldn't make out everything she's saying, I could tell she prefers the company of the person on the line than the people inside.

My eyes trailed her long legs until it got lost in her big sweater. Why is she showing much flesh on such cold weather? As if to concur to my question, she shivered and my feet pushed into action.

I approached her and covered her with my jacket before I could talk myself out of it. She tensed up, no doubt surprised by my intrusion.

"I find your long legs quite attractive, but I don't think it's appropriate to flash them outside in this cold weather." I always did find her long legs attractive, still do.

She turned around; although she tried to hide it, I could see the frustration and obvious displeasure written all over her face. "Xavier!" She called out in a ridiculously high-pitched voice, a fake smile plastered on her lips. "I wasn't expecting to see your face until tomorrow?"

I flashed her an enigmatic smile. "Yet, here I am love."

"Do not call me that!" she hissed. "I'm sure Natasha won't appreciate you calling me that."

Seems she hasn't gotten over what happened three years ago. "Natasha doesn't appreciate a lot of things, I'm sure adding this to the list won't make any difference."

"She's your wife," she chastised "don't talk about her that way."

It's really cute when she defends her sister that way. She shrugged off my jacket and threw it to my face. "That isn't a very good way to thank someone who just saved you from freezing to death."

"Don't be dramatic." She took deep breathes as she massaged her temples. "Look Xavier, I'm here to mourn my father and to bury him, if you have any respect for Mr. Shirley, you'll allow me do that without creating any problems for me."

Angela was really fond of her father and I'm sure his death hit her the hardest. "How are you Angela?"

She blinked rapidly at my sudden switch. "I'm fine." she croaked. "I can't wait for all of these to be over."

She isn't comfortable showing her vulnerability before me and although I do not like it, I'll have to respect her emotions. "Why are you in a hurry to leave?"

The pain in her eyes vanished immediately, anger taking its place. "Do you honestly not know the answer to that question?"

I do, and I hate to think that she's running away again because of me. "Angela, how long are you going to hide your face because of what happened three years ago? Three years." I do not see the issue here. "What's wrong with adults having consensual sex?"

She pursed her lips, her face scrunching up. "What is wrong with two adults having consensual sex? Really?" Chuckling bitterly, she clenched her fist. "I had sex with my sister's husband! My own sister! And you stand there and tell me trash about consensual sex?"

The bitterness in her tone aggravates me. "You speak as though you regret it."

She arched her brows. "Don't you?"

"Regrets are for the weak, I do not regret things that I've done, I learn from it and move on." I stared at her pretty face, the event of three years ago still fresh in my head. "But if at all I regret anything, being inside you will never be one of them."

Her fist tightened the more. "You're disgusting!"

"I can't say same for you. When I was with you, you were far from disgusting and I want to relish that memory again."

Her palm twitched, hoping to grace my cheek. "I'm done having this conversation with you Xavier as you're seemingly unashamed of our act, but please do not heighten my guilt by showing your face around me."

She glared at me one last time before walking away while I stood there like an idiot, smiling over nothing. I was expecting to see her, but not this soon. Guess my stay here is going to be fun after all.

I returned back to the dinner that I planned on ditching just for the sake of the pretty lady trying her hardest to ignore me. Natasha, ignorant of the heavy tension between me and her sister passed the wine glass to me.

"We were hoping for a grandchild," Veronica pointed out "or maybe an evidence that it's on the way. How long has it been? Three years?"

Natasha dropped her fork noisily but apologized when her mother shot her a look of disapproval. Lifting my wine glass, I twirled it's content. An old French wine always does the trick. "Who are you again?" I questioned the noisy woman. "I might have missed you while studying the family tree."

My words angered her. "What do you mean by that young man?! I won't sit here and watch you insult me!"

"Leave."

Her jaw dropped at my word. A satisfying smile teased Angela's lips.

"You just said you wouldn't sit there and watch me insult you." my brows arched, mocking her. "News flash, I don't enjoy seeing your face either, so leave." My men who knows how serious I am with my words jumped in to help get her out of my presence.

Veronica who is still shocked by the whole thing looked to Vera for help, but she simply shrugged. "You should be careful with your words Veronica, you didn't just insult my daughter, you also insulted her husband who by the way is someone you shouldn't mess with. Your dinner will be brought to your room."

"Are you serious?" Her lips twitched with anger. She glared at me before stomping out of the dinning room.

"Well at least, this evening isn't going to be that bad." Angela mumbled which made me wonder if Veronica is the reason behind her foul mood.

"Where have you been all these years Angela?" Vera asked, switching topic.

Angela tensed at the question. Guess that makes me more eager to hear her response. "Tell us Angela," I had to remind myself not to call her love in the presence of her family. "How come the tabloids and paparazzi didn't get a glimpse of you or your lifestyle for the past three years?"

Shrugging, she scowled at the cutleries. "Guess I wasn't really the centre of attention, besides my life has been boring, nothing serious or exciting."

She's hiding something, I can sense it.

"That doesn't explain where you've been." Natasha rasped. "I know I said I wasn't going to question you, but I'm curious too."

"I_" she paused, choking on her words. I may be curious as to where she has been, but I refuse to watch her feel inclined to explain herself to these two.

"Where she has been or what she has been up to is none of your fucking business," three pairs of eyes snapped towards me. "stop pretending as if you care, it's irritating to watch."

"I care about my daughter." Vera argued.

"Yet you watched your sister insult and upset her." Her guilty face confirmed that Veronica is indeed behind Angela's ugly mood. "I'm going to be here for a week, and for that period of time, nobody should question her on matters concerning her private life." I'm the only one permitted to do that.

"It's really crazy what fear makes you do." Vera muttered. She grabbed her glass, emptied it, offered Angela a tight smile before walking out of the dining room.

"Well... I guess dinner is over." Natasha stood up and kissed Angela on her forehead. "I'm off to bed, I'll see you tomorrow. Good night." We both watched her climb the stairs until she disappeared from sight.

Angela waited for few minutes before releasing her venom. "I never asked for your intervention." she eyed the stairs, considering the possibility of Natasha eavesdropping on our conversation.

"I think the right word is thank you." I refilled both our glasses again. "Even without uttering the words, your eyes said everything I needed to know."

"Which is?"

"You're hiding something." She paled instantly "Don't worry," I reassured, "I have no intention of poke nosing."

Her frown held firmly in place. "Look, I know you're just looking out for me, and I appreciate that, but please, I'm literally begging you, do not look out for me... Please."

"I'll always look out for you Angela, that's non-negotiable." I am amazed by you. "We can't be enemies just because of something that happened in the past. How about we consider friendship, love?"

"No." she said, her voice tight with annoyance. "I would have taken up your offer of friendship if you didn't just call me love."

"Old habits die hard love" Her flushed cheeks made me offer her a rare smile. "I've missed this look." She cleared her throat, her mask falling into place once more. "I'm still insisting on friendship Angela, I'm not going anywhere, I'm going to be here for a week, you can't continue scowling at me every time to see me."

Pushing her seat back, she stood up. "You're right, I can't keep being aggressive towards you over both our mistakes. I'm willing to be your friend if you do not cross that line." She outstretched her hand. "A seal of friendship..."

The moment my hand enveloped hers, I knew I was going to break this seal, her warm and soft hand reminded of things I shouldn't even be thinking about right now. Fuck this friendship deal, I'm having her in my life once more, I'm having her in my bed again.