*******Rachael held the phone to her ear while she tried to chew the freshly baked buns, trying to curb them from scorching her tongue."Hello Rachael" she heard the voice and froze momentarily. She brought the phone down to look at the number on the screen."Xavier?" She blurted, alarmed. "How did you get this number?" "The same way I tracked you down effortlessly," he asserted, placing forth the obvious.If he could track her in less than 3 hours, getting her number was a lesser walkover."What is it?" She inquired, crouching on the handle of her sofa."I heard you have been having difficulties finding a job" he uttered, calmly. Rachael was astounded by his right inference. "How did you know?" she asked, looking around her house to detect if there was any CCTV camera installed to watch her every move. Probably he had them fixed when she was away. When she found none, her mind relaxed a bit."Can we meet?" he said and Rachael didn't let his dismissal of her questions go by."How t

"come with me" Donald, the old man from the other day said to her. She gave him a slight nod and he left to call Xavier.Rachael while seated, joined her sweaty shaky hands together to help with the apprehension she acquired the moment she trudged into his house. This was the third time she was here but still didn't change the nervousness that frequently emerged. Her hands instantaneously adjusted her hair, tucking it behind her ear and also her black dress.The sound of footsteps from the stairs, halted her actions as she sat up, waiting for him to show up. He came into view, dressed in a blue tuxedo and red bow. Rachael was stunned. The first reason for her reaction was how insanely attractive he looked. Everything about him emitted perfection_ the way he walked, even his aura. The second reason was how overly dressed he was for a meeting with her. Probably he wasn't ready for "therapy" today and was going somewhere instead. "I didn't expect you to show up so early" his voice echoe

The stares Rachael got from the people of the restaurant made her slightly uncomfortable. She had thought she was already used to it, but that was a lie. The stares still made her feel like a reject. it had been so long since she ate out because of the persistent stare. Either out of curiosity or resentment. of course, she was the woman who killed the famous Hardy.If Andrew hadn't insisted they met at a restaurant, she wouldn't be here. She occasionally bent her wrist to check the time at the same time, tapping incessantly on the table nervously.The waitress's voice behind her made her jolt in fear due to how distracted she was. Bringing her hand to her chest, she gave off a fake smile. At least the black-haired waitress didn't have a judgemental look on her face. "Is there. Something you'll like to order ma'am" the young girl said in the most polite tone. It threw Rachael off. She hadn't remembered the last time she was treated so kindly by a stranger after the whole incident."Oh

"Mr. Collin" Rachael called out and he looked at her. "You seem a little distracted today" He paused for a while before finally opening his mouth to speak"There's a fashion exhibition coming up tomorrow. A lot of people will be there. Would you like to come?" he inquired, taking Rachael by surprise. "I don't like fashion exhibitions". Rachael retorted plainly"Coming to meet me in public isn't going to redeem you to the public. You know that right, Rachael?" "So you know what I was doing. How will a fashion exhibition do otherwise?""You'll see" he shrugged. "Are you coming?""The stares are already getting to me. I suppose I can use the help" she said, trying her possible best to sound nonchalant when in a real sense, she felt exhilarated by the thought of going somewhere with Xavier Collin "but why are you trying to help me?"Xavier exhaled sharply. "I don't know" he spoke truthfully. "Cosmos will be at your house tomorrow to pick you up" he added.The surreality of the scenario

After the thrills of the exhibit ended, Rachael was left to face reality again. The show was over and they were supposed to leave, but the scoop of journalists outside the door scared her. They were as desperate as a lion who had starved for days, ready to feast on its prey. Xavier looked undisturbed as they walked towards the door with his guards at the front, ready to prevent any reporter from touching both of them.The moment they got outside, the reporter rushed them instantly throwing questions at them. They didn't answer the questions, but Rachael couldn't help but feel disturbed by these questions."Did you kill Hardy Collin..... What is your defense to the accusations to the charges laid on you..... How close are you with Mr. Xavier... Photographs of the two of you caught in public have surfaced on the internet. What do you have to say about that?" Rachael managed to ignore all the questions but one question got to her."How do you feel about the reopening of the case?"Rachae