The nightclub pulsed with blinding lights and heavy bass that shook the walls like thunder.
Amelia sat at the bar with a half empty glass in her hand, staring at nothing while the bartender poured her another drink without asking.
Usually, Elizabeth would have dragged her home by now with a lecture about bad decisions and hangovers.
But tonight
Amelia had come alone.
She wanted silence inside her head.
She wanted one night where memories of blood, betrayal, court files, and unanswered questions would stop choking her.
The whiskey burned her throat, but it did not burn enough.
"Another?" the bartender asked.
Amelia gave a lazy nod.
"You planning to drink the entire club dry?"
That voice.
Deep. Familiar. Dangerous.
Amelia slowly turned her head and found Xavier leaning against the counter beside her. Black shirt. Sleeves rolled up. Dark eyes fixed on her with that same frustrating confidence that always made her pulse betray her.
"What are you doing here?" she muttered.
"Could ask you the same thing."
"I asked first."
Xavier smirked slightly. "Business meeting."
"At a club?"
"Sometimes deals are made with loud music and overpriced alcohol."
Amelia laughed bitterly. "Sounds illegal."
"Baby, everything sounds like crime when you say it like that."
She rolled her eyes but failed to stop the small smile pulling at her lips.
Xavier noticed.
He always noticed.
"You are drunk," he said softly after a moment.
"I am stressed."
"Same thing."
She emptied the glass and signaled for another.
Xavier caught her wrist gently before the bartender could move.
"That is enough."
Amelia narrowed her eyes. "You are not my boyfriend."
His expression shifted for half a second.
Something darker. Something almost hopeful.
"Not yet," he murmured.
Heat rushed to her cheeks instantly and she hated herself for it.
"Shut up."
Xavier chuckled.
God, she hated how good he looked laughing.
The music grew louder as more people flooded the dance floor. Amelia suddenly felt trapped in the noise, trapped inside her own thoughts. Her parents' faces flashed through her mind again. The files Beth had shown her earlier. The truth she could barely process.
She stood too quickly and stumbled.
Xavier caught her before she fell.
"I am fine," she snapped weakly.
"You can barely stand."
"I said I am fine."
"You are coming with me."
"I am not going anywhere with you."
Five minutes later she was in Xavier's car.
The city lights blurred outside the window while silence stretched between them.
Amelia rested her head against the seat, dizzy and exhausted.
"You always this stubborn?" Xavier asked quietly while driving.
"Yes."
"Good. I like difficult women."
She groaned. "Please stop flirting with me."
"No."
Amelia turned to glare at him but the look in his eyes stole the words from her mouth.
He was serious.
That terrified her more than anything.
The hotel suite was elegant and warm, overlooking the glowing city below. Xavier helped her inside carefully, his hand steady against her waist.
"You should sleep," he said.
Amelia sat on the edge of the bed, kicking off her heels with frustration. "You sound like an old man."
"You sound drunk."
"I am drunk."
"Exactly."
He handed her a bottle of water.
She ignored it and stared at him instead.
Xavier loosened the top buttons of his shirt and sighed. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Because you are annoyingly handsome."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Xavier froze.
Then slowly, very slowly, a grin spread across his face.
"Well," he said softly, stepping closer, "that is the nicest thing you have ever said to me."
Amelia laughed helplessly.
Maybe it was the alcohol.
Maybe it was the loneliness.
Maybe it was the way Xavier looked at her like she was something precious instead of broken.
Whatever it was, her defenses started crumbling.
"You know," she whispered, "I had a crush on you the first day we met."
Xavier blinked in surprise.
"At that party?" he asked.
Amelia nodded.
"You were standing near the stairs acting all mysterious and dangerous." She pointed at him accusingly. "It was annoying."
"You liked me because I was annoying?"
"I liked your eyes."
Xavier stared at her for a long moment.
Then he walked closer until he stood between her knees.
"And here I thought you hated me this whole time."
"I tried to."
His fingers brushed lightly against her cheek, sending warmth through her entire body.
"That bad, huh?"
Amelia swallowed hard.
"Xavier…"
His voice dropped lower. "Tell me to leave."
She should have.
God knew she should have.
Instead her hands reached for his shirt, clutching the fabric as she pulled him closer.
Xavier kissed her slowly at first, like he was giving her time to change her mind. But Amelia kissed him back with all the frustration and desire she had buried for months.
The restraint between them shattered instantly.
His hands slid around her waist while her fingers tangled in his hair. Every kiss felt dangerous. Heated. Addictive.
Amelia could barely breathe.
"You are trouble," Xavier murmured against her lips.
"You still stayed."
"Could never walk away from you."
Her heart stumbled at the honesty in his voice.
The night blurred into soft sheets, tangled limbs, breathless kisses, whispered confessions, and burning tension finally unleashed after too long.
For the first time in months, Amelia stopped thinking.
Stopped fighting.
Stopped hurting.
There was only Xavier.
Only warmth.
Only desire.
Morning sunlight spilled through the curtains, landing directly across Amelia's face.
She groaned softly and buried herself deeper into the pillow.
A strong arm tightened around her waist immediately.
"Good morning," Xavier's sleepy voice murmured against her neck.
Amelia's eyes flew open.
Oh God.
Memories from last night crashed into her all at once.
She turned quickly and found Xavier watching her with pure amusement dancing in his eyes.
"You are blushing," he teased.
"I am not."
"You definitely are."
Amelia grabbed the blanket and covered half her face. "Stop looking at me."
"That is impossible."
She peeked at him suspiciously. "Why?"
"Because you look ridiculously cute after ruining my self control all night."
Her face burned hotter.
Xavier laughed quietly before leaning over to kiss her forehead.
"You know," he said casually, "I could get used to waking up beside you."
Amelia stared at him.
There it was again.
That dangerous sincerity.
She looked away first.
"This changes nothing," she whispered.
Xavier's expression softened though disappointment flickered briefly across his face.
"Whatever you need," he said quietly. "I will wait."
That should have made her feel relieved.
Instead it made her chest ache.
After that night, everything changed
between them.
Not publicly.
Not loudly.
But privately.
Secret dinners. Late night drives. Hidden kisses inside elevators. Xavier showing up at her apartment with coffee when she worked too late. Amelia pretending she was annoyed every single time.
He wanted more.
She knew it.
Xavier wanted the world to know she was his.
But Amelia could not give him that yet.
Not while the truth about her parents remained buried beneath layers of lies and blood stained history.
Which was why she now sat inside Beth's office, staring at files spread across the polished oak desk.
The room smelled faintly of coffee and old paper.
Beth looked calm as always, though concern lingered behind her sharp gaze.
Amelia flipped through another document, her stomach twisting tighter with every page.
Two years.
Two years of loving Xavier.
Two years of laughter, arguments, stolen glances, and kisses that still haunted her.
And now this.
His family's connection to her parents' deaths.
Even if they had not directly killed them, they had been involved.
That truth poisoned everything.
"I knew something was wrong," Amelia whispered hoarsely. "But I never imagined this."
Beth remained silent for a moment before speaking carefully.
"You can sue him if you want. But legally there is nothing substantial against Xavier himself. He was young then. And now everything tied to the family business is technically legal."
Amelia let out a hollow laugh.
"So all those nights crying over my parents meant nothing?"
"That is not what I said."
"But it feels like it."
She shoved the file away angrily and stood, pacing the office.
"I want someone to pay," she admitted quietly. "I want somebody to hurt the way I hurt."
Beth watched her carefully. "And does Xavier deserve that pain?"
Amelia froze.
Images of him flashed through her mind instantly.
Xavier kissing her forehead while she slept.
Xavier laughing in her kitchen.
Xavier holding her like she might break.
Her chest tightened painfully.
"I do not know," she whispered honestly.
Beth sighed softly.
"Revenge feels powerful in the beginning," she said. "But eventually it starts eating the person holding it."
Amelia looked down at the files again.
Then another memory surfaced.
Last night.
Xavier pinning her gently against the kitchen counter after arriving unexpectedly at her apartment. The heated argument that had quickly dissolved into tension thick enough to suffocate them both.
The way his eyes darkened whenever she pushed him away.
The way her body betrayed her every single time.
Desire and anger had become tangled together so tightly she could no longer separate them.
Meanwhile Elizabeth and Jacob were somewhere living peacefully, loving each other openly without secrets poisoning every moment.
Amelia envied them sometimes.
Just briefly.
Before guilt ruined it.
Beth leaned back in her chair. "You need to decide what you actually want, Amelia."
"I want answers."
"And after that?"
Amelia hesitated.
Did she want justice?
Closure?
Revenge?
Or Xavier?
The last answer scared her most.
"I want him to understand what this did to me," she admitted finally. "Even if the law cannot punish him, I need him to know."
Beth's expression softened slightly.
"Then uncover the truth first," she said firmly. "Every detail about the mafia connections. Every hidden deal. Every lie. Once you know everything, then you choose your future."
Amelia nodded slowly.
Outside the office window, the city moved endlessly beneath the afternoon sun.
Somewhere out there was Xavier.
The man she should probably hate.
The man she could not stop wanting.
And somehow, despite all the danger surrounding them, Amelia knew one terrifying truth.
This story between them was far from over.