The silence she left behind was deafening.
Cody stood at the bar, glass in hand, one brow lifted as he watched the front door click shut after Sophia's dramatic exit.
"Damn," he muttered. "She even walks out like a soap opera villain."
Xavier didn't move. His fingers were still curled around the envelope Sophia had slapped against his chest.
He slowly unfolded the letter, eyes scanning the elegant script that reeked of control.
> "The families will convene Saturday evening to agree on a formal engagement between yourself and Miss Callahan. Your father expects your cooperation."
Of course. Just like that.
His mother didn't ask.
She never did.
She expected.
Just like his father commanded.
The paper crumpled between his fingers before he let it drop onto the table.
"Well?" Cody's voice was quieter now, but it still carried that knowing edge. "That what I think it is?"
Xavier didn't answer right away. He turned to pour himself a drink instead. His movements were too calm. That kind of calm that only came before destruction.
"They picked a date," he said, voice like steel.
"Thought so," Cody muttered, swirling his own glass.
Xavier leaned on the table, one hand braced on either side, head bowed. "They didn't even ask."
"They never do."
"They just expect me to sit there like a good little heir and smile for the photos."
Cody took a slow sip, his eyes not leaving him. "And what are you gonna do?"
A pause.
Xavier's jaw tightened. "I don't know."
Silence hung between them.
Cody walked forward and picked up the crumpled letter. "You know, your father's going to lose his goddamn mind if he finds out what just happened in this room."
Xavier stiffened.
"I mean, I've seen you screw around before, man. But that? That wasn't a quick lay. That was messy. That was..." Cody tilted his head. "Different."
Xavier said nothing.
"She looked at you like she wanted to burn and didn't care if it killed her."
Still nothing.
Cody chuckled, dry and low. "You gonna tell me that was just stress relief? That she was another warm body?"
Xavier's voice was quiet. Flat. "Don't push it, Cody."
"I'm not pushing." He leaned against the counter. "I'm reminding you of who raised you. That man-your father-he built you for power, not softness. Not emotions."
"I'm not soft," Xavier snapped.
"No. But she makes you human. And that scares the hell outta you."
Xavier shot him a sharp glare.
"And I get it," Cody said. "She's off-limits. She's your employee. She's not from your world. But that didn't stop you from kissing her like she's the only goddamn thing that matters."
A breath shuddered out of Xavier's chest. He turned away, fists clenched.
"Don't," he growled. "Don't make this real."
"It already is," Cody said simply. "Whether you admit it or not."
Another silence.
The kind that suffocates.
Cody looked down at the crushed letter one last time, then flicked it onto the floor.
"You think your father's gonna care about what you feel? He finds out you're tangled up with your secretary-he'll call it weakness. He'll destroy her. And you."
Xavier didn't flinch.
But his voice came out hollow.
"He's already destroyed everything else."
The room was dim, just the low light from the bedside lamp casting a soft golden hue across the space. Sasha sat curled at the edge of the bed, knees tucked beneath her, her arms wrapped around herself like a barrier. She hadn't moved since Xavier told her to wait upstairs.
But when she heard the door creak open, her head lifted.
Xavier stepped in.
She rose immediately, anxious, hopeful. Her eyes searched his face, but all she found was silence - a heavy, guarded silence that made her stomach twist.
"What happened?" she asked, voice low. "Sophia... she said something about marriage. About your father."
Xavier didn't speak.
"Xavier?"
Still nothing.
She stepped closer. "Please. Talk to me. What's going on?"
He looked at her then - but not like before. Not like the man who kissed her breathless in the car, or held her like she meant something. No, this stare was cold. Flat. The same one he gave people in the boardroom before tearing them down.
"There's nothing to talk about," he said.
She froze.
"What?"
"I said-" he walked toward the window "-there's nothing. Sophia and I are engaged. It's arranged. Has been for a while."
Her chest tightened. "You... you didn't tell me that."
"I didn't think I needed to."
"And what about earlier today?" she whispered. "What about everything you said-"
He cut her off. "I was out of line."
Her mouth fell open. "Out of line?"
"It was a mistake."
The words hit like a slap. Her eyes stung.
"A mistake," she repeated. "So, what... all that stuff you said to me? That you-" Her voice cracked. "That you cared?"
"I don't," he said, too fast. Too sharp.
She flinched.
His jaw locked.
"I used you, Sasha."
Her breath hitched.
"For what?" she choked.
He hesitated - the crack in his armor showing for half a second before he buried it again.
"To take the edge off. I was frustrated. You were there."
She staggered back like he'd punched her.
"No," she whispered. "That's not true."
"It is."
She shook her head, tears spilling now, angry and confused. "You kissed me like I meant something."
"I was horny."
"You touched me like you needed me."
"I needed relief."
Her lips parted, but no words came.
Just silence.
Pain.
She turned away, shoulders trembling, voice breaking. "I thought you were different."
"I'm not."
She stood there for a long moment, trying to catch her breath, trying to stop the shaking.
Then slowly, she bent down and picked up her clothes - the same ones he'd started pulling off hours ago.
Xavier watched her.
He didn't say anything.
Didn't stop her.
Didn't explain that he was lying through his teeth. That he was doing this because if his father found out - if he knew Xavier had touched his secretary, cared for her, wanted her - he would destroy her. Ruin her.
So Xavier did the one thing he could.
He pushed her away.
Sasha grabbed her bag, wiping her cheeks roughly.
She turned at the door.
"For what it's worth..." she whispered, her voice barely holding together, "I didn't think you were capable of something like this."
Then she walked out.
And Xavier didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
He just stood there, every muscle
in his body screaming at him to go after her.
But he didn't.
Because protecting her meant losing her.
And maybe... maybe that's what love really looked like for a man like him.
Suffering in silence.