Chapter 10 #3
The last thread of Xavier's restraint finally gave way.
"If you have a lover," he said, his voice low enough to send a chill down her spine, "then leave me already."
Elise stared at him, her eyes widening.
His gaze never left hers as another bitter laugh escaped him, humorless and hollow. "Go live with him." The corner of his mouth lifted into a mocking smile that never reached his eyes. "From the way he was looking at you, he seemed more than happy to take you away."
"He's not my lover."
The words came out without a second's hesitation.
She looked at him as though she couldn't believe what she'd just heard, a deep frown settling between her brows. Hurt flashed across her face before irritation quickly followed.
"He's not my lover," she repeated, her voice firmer this time. "Why would you even think that?"
Xavier held her gaze, searching every inch of her face for the slightest crack in her composure. He wanted to believe her. God, he wanted to. But every instinct inside him rebelled against it. The secrecy. The evasive answers. The way she refused to say the man's name. None of it made sense.
"If he's not your lover..." His voice trailed off as he took another step closer, leaving almost no space between them. "Then tell me who he is."
She lowered her eyes for a fleeting moment before looking back at him.
"I've already told you." Her voice softened, carrying the same patience she always seemed to have with him. "It doesn't matter."
"It matters to me."
The words left him before he could stop them.
His jaw tightened.
"When the time is right, I'll tell you. But right now..." She offered him a pleading smile that only seemed to fuel his frustration. "He's no one important. Please don't force me like this."
She tried to walk past him.
Xavier moved before she had taken a second step.
He caught her by the wrist once more and stepped directly into her path, forcing her to stop. She tried to move around him, but he shifted with her, refusing to let her pass. When she turned the other way, he blocked that path just as easily.
"If he's no one important," he said, each word slower than the last, "then why are you protecting him?"
His eyes never left hers.
"What are you hiding from me, Elise?"
"I'm not hiding anything."
"Then say his name."
"I can't."
The answer slipped out so quietly she almost didn't realize she'd spoken it.
Xavier's expression darkened.
"You can't," he repeated, the words rolling off his tongue with bitter disbelief. "Or you won't?"
"Xavier..."
She sighed and rubbed her forehead, exhaustion beginning to replace her patience.
"Please. Let's just go back."
She tried once more to slip past him.
He didn't let her.
Instead, he took another step forward, backing her against the sleek white wall of the yacht until there was nowhere left for her to go. Before she could react, both of his hands came down on either side of her, striking the wall with a sharp crack that echoed through the quiet corner.
Elise gasped, startled by the sudden sound.
Her heart lurched as she instinctively looked toward the party. Music still floated through the night, mingling with the distant laughter of the guests, but from where they stood, hidden behind the curve of the yacht, no one could see them.
She let out a shaky breath before turning back to him.
He hadn't moved.
His arms remained braced on either side of her, trapping her without ever laying another hand on her.
The anger in his eyes had only deepened.
No...
Not just anger.
Jealousy.
Raw, consuming jealousy that he could no longer conceal, no matter how hard he tried.
"Xavier..." she whispered, closing her eyes for a moment as though praying he would come to his senses. "Stop. Someone's going to see us."
When she opened her eyes again, the frustration on her face had softened into quiet exhaustion.
"He's just... someone I know," she said gently, meeting Xavier's eyes. "I'll introduce you to him when I’m ready."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"You just have to trust me, okay?"
She searched his face, hoping—praying—that he would see she wasn't lying.
"I promise you..." she continued, her eyes never leaving his. "He's not my lover. I'm not having an affair with someone else."
Elise wasn't ready for the truth to come out. The last thing she wanted was to make things complicated between Xavier and her parents. Until she knew how everything would unfold, she couldn't risk pulling the people she cared about into a situation that might hurt them all.
Her birth parents had made it painfully clear they wanted nothing to do with her. And now, although Logan had welcomed her into his life, a small part of her still feared that one day he might decide that she wasn't worth the complications she brought.
She couldn't bear the thought of history repeating itself.
Kevin and Grace had given her everything she had longed for—a home, a family, unconditional love. She never wanted to do anything that might bring them pain or make them question whether accepting her had been the right decision.
What if telling Xavier the truth dragged them into a mess they never asked for?
What if Kevin and Grace thought she had never truly let go of her past? What if they believed she still clung to the family that had abandoned her instead of fully embracing the one that had chosen her?
The mere possibility twisted painfully inside her chest.
People had left her before.
She had learned, from a young age, that love could disappear without warning.
Perhaps that was why she found it so difficult to believe anyone would stay forever.
Maybe one day Xavier would decide she wasn't worth the trouble and walk away.
Maybe Logan would, too.
Those possibilities frightened her, but they were ones she had quietly prepared herself to face.
What she wasn't prepared for was disappointing Kevin and Grace. She couldn't bear to see hurt or regret in the eyes of the two people who had loved her as their own when no one else had.
Xavier looked at her for a long moment, his dark eyes searching her face as though he were giving her one last chance to tell him the truth.
When none came, something inside him seemed to harden.
The anger simmering beneath his composed exterior settled into a cold disappointment that somehow hurt even more to look at.
A humorless laugh escaped him as he shook his head.
"Fine."
It was the only word he said.
He turned without another glance, his movements sharp and decisive, then strode out of the secluded corner with long, purposeful steps.
Elise instinctively watched him go, her eyes following the familiar broad shoulders until he disappeared beyond the curve of the yacht and was swallowed by the lights, the music, and the crowd.
Silence settled around her.
For several seconds, she remained exactly where she was, unable to move.