Chapter 23: chapter 23

Isabelle's POV-I woke up around 2:00 in the morning. I don't know what to do so I went out of the room.At the end of the corridor, there was a  floor to ceiling sliding window. There was a balcony out of it. I went out and sat on the sleeping chair there. Today the moon was looking bright and full.  The sky was clear. We are almost on the outskirt of the city. What I am doing here? What she said was not correct but it is also true. With what right I am living here. I have no relation with anyone here. I had a job. Eva has a school. And here I am leaving everything. It is the end of December month so the breeze was chilling. I was in my nightdress. It is a mid-thigh white satin dress. I was wearing a cover over it but it could not keep me warm. I knew I should go inside but I was not in the mood. The weather was very calming. I was remembering all the moments with Xavier. I remember when I entered his room for the first time when he was changing. I remember when he kissed my forehead. I remember how he protected me. I remember every second when he was near me.We have come very far from the day when we first met.I started to dose off. The moon was too bright so used my hairs to cover my face. The breeze was playing with them. I felt something on me. Suddenly those chilly winds stopped bothering me. It was warm. Then the curtain of my hairs moved aside. The light from the moon started to irritate me. But a shadow came over me. So much was happening which made me woke up from my daze. I looked up to see an almost black shadow. I batted my eyes and concentrated more to see who the shadow is but the shadow talked first."I am sorry I didn't mean to wake you up." It was Xavier. What he is doing here? He didn't come even after dark. I was waiting for him for the whole day and then that Victoria thing happened.I get up from the chair. I stood in front of him. He had nothing on but just a white vest and a white track pant.He was looking different. Not in appearance but something else. He seemed very lonely. His eyes were begging me for something but I don't know what that something is. We stood there just staring at each other. His eyes... They were saying so much. I don't know why but I put my hand on his chest where his heart was. "What happened? Why you look so hurt?" I asked.He didn't reply just took my hand in his and put it on his face. He closed his eyes like savoring the feeling of it.He then freed my hand and took a step away from me. He went down and sat on the chair I was on.What is the meaning of this? Did he want me to leave? I started to walk away but he stopped me by my hand. I looked down at him. He was not looking at me but at the moon. I could see his face clearly from the moon's glow. His hairs looked freshly washed. They were covering his eyes. He pulled me down. I fall on his lap. I hold his shoulders to balance myself. He encircled my waist with his strong arms. He closed his eyes and put his head under my chin. "Stay" He whispered. He sounded so vulnerable that I had no other choice but to hold him. I put my arms around his neck and one hand in his hair.I can tell he is struggling over something. He is in a position where he can not even share his problems with others. His work is really very difficult."Tell me." I asked. He didn't reply but just tighten his hold on me. Like I will go somewhere if he loosened his hold on me. "I am not going anywhere. So please tell me what is bothering you. You were the same in the morning too. What happened?" I asked again.I rested my chin on his head. I was playing with his hair. "You... Your hu... I want to... It's nothing." He was stopping himself from saying something. "Okay, then I should leave," I said and started to get up."No, please don't. Not tonight. Just for tonight, please stay." I never had imagined hearing so many please from THE BOSS.He parted his legs so I sat on the space in between his legs. I didn't know that this sleeping chair can adjust both of us. I mean he is almost like a hulk. I was sitting in between his legs. Now my back was against his chest. His arms were still around my waist. I put my hands over his. I know, what I am doing is sin. But why I don't feel like that? Why being with him feels the right thing to do? Am I prooving Victoria right by doing this? But he needs me right now. Right?I tried to console myself. "I am sorry." He said."Why?" I asked."Victoria" He replied."It was... I am... You..." I don't know what to say. The evening's event came back into my mind. I rested my head on his shoulder."I am sorry. I was not here to stop all that." He said. He brought his hand near my face and then wiped my face. Tears really don't know when to show up. It was not the time to come. He hid his face in the crook of my neck. "I am sorry. I would have killed her but she is like a little sister to me. I never imagined she could say something like that to a girl. She was such a nice child when we were young." He said. The disappointment was clearly heard in his words."It's okay. It was not your mistake. She is just a kid." I tried to comfort him.Hearing me he removed his face from my neck. "How can you say that she is a kid after what she said to you? She must be punished. I was saying sorry because I can't punish her according to her mistake. But I ordered her to go back before morning." He said.I suddenly turned to him and hold his vest in my hand."What? She was here to celebrate Christmas with her parents. You cant do that. She is Anita and Ohio's daughter. Your little sister. Please stop her from going." I said. I was damn hurt by her words. I still am. But she is a member of his family and I am no one."That's the thing, she is like my little sister. She knows about me. What I like and what I don't. She crossed the line. I will not hear a word on this topic." He took my shoulders in his hands and turned me around. I was facing the outside again. I think I have no right to talk in between a brother and sister. So I stayed quiet. We sat there, in each other's arms. My one leg was on his. It looked tangled in each other. But no one is here to care about it."My mother... She... She was a... She was a prostitute." With those words, his grip was tightened again.I just nodded. I had nothing to say. There was nothing coming in my mind right now. I just put my head on his chest and squeeze his hand. To show him that I am not going to leave just by hearing that. With that, his grip loosened a little. He sighed and remove his arms from my waist to my shoulders. He had totally covered me with his huge body. When he removed his arms from my waist, I shivered from the sudden missing warmth. He saw that so he put the blanket over us. I remembered the warmth when I was almost asleep here. So he brought this blanket for me. I smiled at that. We adjusted in the blanket. I put my head on his biceps and he put his head in the crook of my neck again. I was feeling so cozy setting like this. I never experienced something like this before. I didn't give it so much of a thought because I know if I did, I would never be so brave to do something like this. We sat quietly for long when he started talking again."I never knew who my father was. I don't think so if even my mother knew. Living in a brothel with alcohol and violence was not a good environment for a kid." He then chuckled but it was so bitter. He must have remembered something very bad. "Getting beaten by anyone all the time. When you don't even know what you did wrong. Hearing that you should not have even born from your own mother was not something a child should hear. Right?" He said and then went quiet. He had gone through so much. And that too when he was a kid. He didn't want to be like this he had his reasons."I... I killed the first person when I was 14. I came from school to see that some man almost killed my mother, so I stepped in and hit him with the baseball bat. I didn't plan to kill him but he died in the hospital. And you know what my mom did after that." He chuckled again. Again that empty, bitter, and hurtful chuckle."She cut my arm." He said and took my hand in his and put it on his left arm. Then I felt it. It was long and deep. It was not that visible because he wears long sleeves but I can feel it now. It was a long cut. I could not stop myself anymore. I started to sob. I was controlling any sound to escape my mouth but it was too much."It... It must have... hurt a lot. Oh... How could a mother do that? You were so hurt. I am sorry. I am very very sorry Xavier. You didn't deserve this." I said in between my crying. I was shivering from the shock. How could a mother do this? How could a child go through so much pain and hardship?"Shhh... Please stop crying. It was a long time ago. It doesn't hurt anymore. I just wanted to tell you that I understand how hurtful it must be for you to hear what Victoria said to you so she got what she deserves." He said to calm me. I turned and hugged him. I will never let him get hurt again. He deserves everything good. We stayed like that. Hugging each other. I don't remember when did I fall asleep after that.***********It's morning already. I woke up in my bed. Maybe he put me in. I smiled remembering the last night. I was too bold. He told me about his past. Should I tell him about my husband too? I went downstairs. I should start preparing something to eat. Today is Christmas. I should prepare something delicious for him... and for others too.Anita was already there. Then I remember Victoria. "I am very sorry. Because of me, you can't celebrate this Christmas with your daughter. I tried to convince Xavier but he didn't want to hear anything." I said to Anita."Please, Bella. She deserves it. I was surprised that Xavier didn't punish her more harshly. You don't know how Xavier hate these type of people. And knowing all this she said that to you. It was really a big mistake. And so what if I am not celebrating it with her. I have you and Eva with me. You are like my daughter too. Right?" She said. She smiled but I can see the sadness in her smile.I leave the topic because I felt that they have their own rules here so I have no right to interfere in between.There was someone on the door. Who could that be this early in the morning? I think Ben opened the door. He asked who the person is."I am here for my wife and my daughter." That person said. The plate full of cookies slipped from my hand. Richard.**********Hello, lovelies.The husband is here. Why? Why now? Now they were starting to go on the same track. Hmmm. Now god knows what will happen with #XallaHow is this ship name sound?Xavier+Bella = Xalla.Tell me in the comments.