Chapter 40: Chapter 40

XAVIER

I had been driving for an hour now and had called her a hundred times, but her phone was switched off. I was raging like a beast. How could she scare me like this?

I was going to hunt her and fuck her until she couldn’t think clearly. She couldn’t disappear like this.

I called Stefan. “Any news?” I barked.

I could hear him sigh. I had been calling him every ten minutes. “Her phone is still switched off, so I can’t tell her exact location, but her phone was switched off at the airport.”

“That’s all you have to say?” I snapped. “It’s been half an hour. I told you to track her number.”

He growled irritably. “I’m trying to look up flight details, and I will if you stop calling me every two minutes.”

“I’m not calling every two—wait! You said ~airport~?”

“Yes, that’s what I said! Are you fucking high?!” he hissed. “Calm the fuck down. We will find her. I’m working on it.”

How could I calm down? I was far from calm. So very fucking far from calm.

I hung up and called Asher to ask where Melody and Matt were staying. He texted me the name of the hotel and their room number.

Dan and her other friend might have been there as well. I needed to talk to them to see if they had any idea where she could be. After half an hour, I pulled into the parking lot of the hotel.

Maybe it was time for her to know what had happened that day after she’d left. As fucked up as the situation was, I knew if I didn’t tell Melody now, I might never get another chance.

^SEVEN YEARS AGO^

~And S—Melody and her boyfriend?” I asked Lisa.~

~

~Lisa looked up. There was something in her eyes, but before I could decipher it, it was gone. “She left too, with Dan,” she said, placing her laptop beside her.~

~

~“Excuse me.” Lisa left the room, leaving me frozen.~

~

~She’d left.~

~

~She’d left me again.~

~

~The anger swelled in me like a balloon ready to pop and threatened to overwhelm me.~

~

~“I will never forgive you this time, Sara. Now you will see the real Xavier,” I growled. She still didn’t know who I was and what I could do.~

~

~I closed the door behind me with a bang and walked straight to my room in the left wing. My room still smelled like her. A sudden pain went through my chest, and I hated it.~

~

~How could she leave me again?~

~

~I sat there, thinking about our conversation. She’d said last night she was thinking about us. Then what had changed overnight?~

~

Something is not right here~, the nagging voice in my head persisted.~

~

~Something was missing. I could practically feel it.~

~

~I replayed her promise in my mind.~

~

~“I promise I won’t leave you again until I get a reason to leave you. I promise I won’t ever leave you if there is a way we can sort out whatever shit is going on. If we can’t, I will leave.~

~

~I knew for a fact she wouldn’t have left me, not without a reason.~

~

~When Lisa had told me Melody had left, I’d wanted to scream in denial. I hadn’t wanted to believe Melody would leave me again. I knew she loved me as much as I loved her.~

~

~I’d seen love for me in her eyes. I’d seen pain, and I’d seen everything she had been trying to hide, fear of losing me, fear of losing her family.~

~

~What had I seen in Lisa’s eyes when I’d asked about Melody? I had to talk to her again. I was fucking sure now she was hiding something. What if Melody had told Lisa about us and…~

~

~“Fuck!” I screamed.~

~

~I leapt to my feet and stormed into her room. She was standing near the window, facing outside. She was relaxed, like she’d known I would come, and I was right.~

~

~She said, “I knew you would come. After all, you are a lawyer, the biggest criminal lawyer in the whole of New York.~

~

~“I knew it wouldn’t take long before you put the pieces together and came to a conclusion, and here you are, standing in my room for an answer.”~

~

~She laughed, not a real laugh. Her laugh was hollow and cold, just like her.~

~

~My body shook with fury, and my hands tightened into fists until my knuckles hurt from the pressure. “Where is she?” I growled.~

~

~She turned, and her eyes were cold, distant. “I told you. She left with her boyfriend.”~

~

~My jaw tensed, my teeth grinding in an attempt to control my fury. “Tell me what happened before I woke up,” I hissed. My knuckles were white with the pressure, and my veins throbbed in my throat.~

~

~“Nothing.” She shrugged innocently. “I just told her I’m pregnant with your baby,” she announced.

~

What the fuck!

~I stumbled back and grabbed the door to hold myself up.~

~

~“Why are you shocked, Xavier? I told you I’ve missed my period.” She stepped forward. I automatically took a step back.~

~

~“That doesn’t mean you’re pregnant. I never fucked you without a condom,” I growled. “And how do I know you’re not lying?”~

~

~“I’m pregnant. I took a test this morning. Here.” She stretched her hand out, holding a plastic stick. I ignored it. I didn’t want to see it.~

~

~“Well, it’s not mine, because I’m sure as fuck I never fucked you without a condom,” I snapped.~

~

~She smirked and bent down to open the bedside drawer. She took out a box of my condoms and held the condom near her face, like she was fanning it.~

~

~“What did you do with my condoms?” My voice boomed around the room.~

~

~“Take a wild guess.” She took another step toward me, smiling like she’d won the battle.~

~

~The anger that took over my body was indescribable.~

~

~“You fucking bitch!!” I lunged and grabbed her throat, squeezing her windpipe.~

~

~“Were you so desperate to get fucking pregnant that you messed with my condoms?” I growled, tightening my grip around her throat.~

~

~I had never put a single finger on a woman in my life, but now I wanted to kill her. Lisa’s eyes rolled back. I’m…pregnant,” she coughed out.~

~

~I jerked back as if someone had slapped me. “That’s not mine.” I nodded toward her stomach. “Go find the real father of your baby.”~

~

~I turned to leave. If I stood here one more second, I would definitely kill her.~

~

~“The baby is yours.”~

~

~I froze, hearing the confidence in her voice.~

~

~Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath before I swiveled. She was still clutching her throat. I felt bad. I really felt bad for doing this.~

~

~“I want a paternity test,” I snapped as I took a step. Her eyes were filled with terror.~

~

~“Where is Melody?” I asked, my voice low in warning. I saw her flinch, and satisfaction coursed through my body.~

~

~She knew me. She knew better than to mess with me, yet she had. What had driven her crazy? She knew I didn’t love her. She knew I was very well trained in hurting someone if I wanted.~

~

~I wasn’t the man Sara thought I was. I had kept that side hidden from Sara, but she’d seen a glimpse of me last night. She’d been scared. I had been afraid she would leave me, and she had left the room.~

~

~I wanted her to feel safe and not scared. I would cherish her. I would keep her safe from everything, even from me.~

~

~Being a criminal lawyer meant you had to deal with them every day, and you should know how to deal with them before they came for your throat.~

~

~I had my own demons, and I dealt with them every day, but ever since Sara had come into my life, I’d found my peace. She was my calm.~

~

~“I don’t know,” she whispered.~

~

~My temper flared. Leaning forward, I snarled into her face. “Why?”~

~

~Her body shook in fear, but she refused to answer. “Fucking answer me!” I growled as I punched the wall. I wanted to squeeze the life out of someone, and that someone was standing in front of me.~

~

~“Don’t test my patience,” I growled, raking my aching hand through my hair. I gripped it tightly as rage pulsed through my body.~

~

~She flinched, and suddenly her expression shifted. “Because I love you,” she screamed angrily. “I told you I loved you every time, and still you fucked Melody.”~

~

~She shoved into my chest. “I was there for you. Then again, you were desperate to find the girl you met in a club.” She jabbed her finger in my chest.~

~

~“We were together for three years. You never felt anything for me, but you fell in love with a girl who gave you a fake name and disappeared,” she shouted.~

~

~Fake name?~

~

~I hadn’t even known about the fake name until I’d met Sara at her graduation.~

~

~“How?” I whispered, and her eyes widened as she realized what she’d just blurted out.~

~

~I grabbed her chin in my hand, my fingers digging hard into her cheeks. “How did you know?” I growled, my voice hard.~

~

~“I saw the sketch of Melody,” she hissed and jerked my hand away. “I knew from the start. I knew the girl you were looking for was none other than my sister, Melody.”~

~

~I couldn’t believe my ears. Was she saying she’d known and she hadn’t told me when I’d searched for Sara like a madman?~

~

~She laughed at my expression. I was confused.~

~

~She laughed maliciously. “Oh, poor Xavier. You thought it was a coincidence you met Melody. No, it was all calculated, plotted, and perfectly planned.”~

~

~I was looking at her with wide eyes. I had never seen this side of her. She wasn’t the Lisa I knew.~

~

~“And just as I assumed, Melody fell for you, and she fell hard. You want to know how I knew she’d fall for you?” She smirked.

~

~“I read the note she left you. I know her. I just needed to give her a chance, and she would fall head over heels for you, and see? That’s exactly what happened.” Lisa grinned at her victory.~

~

~I was speechless for the first time in my life. I still didn’t know what game she was playing. She continued. “You didn’t touch me for a whole year.~

~

~“Hell, you didn’t touch anyone for a whole year, and I knew I had to do something. Remember the night we were celebrating?~

~

~“I spiked your drink, and guess what? You finally broke your dry spell, and we fucked. Yes, I messed with your condoms, and it worked. I’m pregnant, and Melody is out of your life.”~

~

~She winked and sat on the bed with her legs crossed.~

~

~Rubbing my face in frustration, I took a deep breath.~

~

~“Why?” I simply asked.~

~

~I stood there, looking at her closely, watching her every expression. I saw rage, hatred. She stood and walked closer until she stood in front of me. “I hate her,” she hissed in my face.~

~

~My shoulders ached with the tension, but I kept my face as blank as I could. I waited for her to continue.~

~

~“I wanted to hurt her. I wanted to punish her for everything she did to me. Boys dated me because they wanted to get close to Melody. Every time, they wanted to know what Melody was like.”~

~

~“Melody this, Melody that. She never had to work hard for attention because she’s always been beautiful.”~

~

~She shook her head, and her eyes softened. “Then Duncan came into my life. He was with me because he liked me. I fell in love with him, and he loved me back.”~

~

~She had a faraway look in her eyes. “Then, again Melody happened. I saw her sleeping in the arms of Duncan, wearing his shirt.”~

~

~“Nothing happened between them,” I growled.~

~

~“She told you, huh?” She chuckled. “I know nothing happened.” She stopped, her eyes glassy.~

~

~“I didn’t break up with Duncan because I thought they fucked. I broke up with him because he ruined my plan!” she growled.~

~

~“What plan…” I trailed off as understanding dawned. My blood roared in my temples, and I could feel the veins throbbing.~

~

~She chuckled. “Yes! It was my plan. I helped Melody to sneak out of the house so she could go to a birthday party, and Clay—”~

~

~Before she could finish, I slapped her hard, and she stumbled back and fell on the floor. I didn’t care if she was pregnant. I wanted to hurt her for hurting Sara.~

~

~How could they be sisters, one so pure and innocent and the other pure evil? How could she let anyone rape her sister? Fuck! How could she plan her sister’s rape?~

~

~She rubbed her cheek, grinning at me and sitting on the floor, folding her legs. I could see my fingerprints on her cheeks, and I wasn’t feeling bad, not a bit.~

~

~“Well, hit me all you want. I got what I wanted.”~

~

~“You’re stupid if you think I won’t go for Melody just because you’re pregnant. I love her more than my life, and I won’t believe you until I see the result of the paternity test,” I spit.~

~

~She smirked like she still had the upper hand. “I’m not stupid, Xavier. After all, you taught me how to play mind games, and you used to say to always hold back your master card.~

~

~“You never know when you will need that.”~

~

~She’d repeated my exact words.~

~

~My muscles tensed even more than before. I was waiting and waiting for her to continue, but all she did was grin at my misery.~

~

~When I couldn’t take it anymore, I walked straight up to her. I squatted down, stopping only an inch from her to grab her neck.~

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~She choked, sputtered, and flailed, but she couldn’t escape my unyielding grip. “What did you do?” I hissed, squeezing hard.~

~

~She pointed to her bag, and she emitted a gurgling sound. When I saw her starting to lose consciousness, I let go of her neck and stood.~

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~I grabbed her bag from the coffee table. There was an envelope with my name written in bold letters in a writing I recognized.~

~

~Sara.~

~

~I glared at her one last time and walked back to my room. I quickly opened the envelope.~

~

Xavier,

I’m leaving again like I did last time, but this time I’m only leaving your house because I can’t stay anymore. But I’m still in town, and I want to meet you before I leave.

Please meet me, you know where.

I’ll wait for you.

Yours, only yours,

Sara.

~I closed my eyes, clutching the note close to my heart, and let out a huge breath, like a heavy burden had been lifted off my chest. She was giving me a chance to explain myself.~

~

~After a shower, I was getting ready to head out so I could first meet Gunner and then Sara. I saw a packet on my bed, with Watch Me written in bold letters.~

~

~“I opened the packet and saw a pen drive. My heart started beating wildly in my chest.~

~

~I fired up the laptop, giving in. The drive loaded, and a five-minute video clip popped up.~

~

~The cursor hovered over the play button for several minutes until finally, I had the balls to click play, ready to put myself out of my misery.~

~

~The screen started off with a guy dragging a girl into a room. I looked closely. I still couldn’t see their faces clearly. They were kissing.~

~

~His hand was kneading, groping her tits. They looked like teenagers.~

~

~The boy opened the button of her shirt, and the girl was trying to stop him. It looked like she was drugged. The boy pushed her on the bed, and the girl’s face came into view.~

~

~She looked familiar, so familiar. He towered above her and sucked on her tits. “Clay stop,” she moaned.~

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~My blood ran cold when I realized who she was.~

~

~Melody.~

~

~She looked different. He didn’t stop. He kissed her again and bit and sucked on both her nipples. Leaving her nipples, he went down and started working on her jeans.~

~

~She tried to protest, but she was too weak to stop him. Within a second, she was naked in bed; he was naked too. “I love you, Mel,” he whispered and positioned himself between her legs.~

~

~And the video ended. Slamming the laptop shut, I fisted my hand in my hair. My body vibrated in anger.~

~

~Rage built like deep water currents inside me. My hands tightened into fists, so hard, so tight that my knuckles started to hurt, and my hands slowly went numb.~

~

~I looked up and saw Lisa standing, leaning against the door, smirking. “I hope you liked my gift.”~

~

~“You fucking bitch! I will kill you!” I roared and took a step. She held her hands up to stop me. “What do you want?” I asked.~

~

~She was too smart to give me the only copy. She definitely had a copy of that video.~

~

“You.” One word.

“I don’t love you. Fuck! I hate you. I loathe you!” I hissed.

She grinned. “The feeling is mutual. I used to like you. I even loved you. Now,”—her eyes were hard, and lips sneering, she hissed—“I hate you back.”

“Then why?” I tried to keep my anger in check, but it was coursing through my body with such ferocity that I was shaking with it.

“Because seeing you with me will hurt her. It will pain her. She will cry every night, thinking of you with me. Hell, you should have seen her face when I told her I’m pregnant.

“The pain in her eyes—I enjoyed it. I want her to feel the pain I felt all those years when boys wanted her. Now she’ll think you want me, not her.”

She turned to leave, then stopped suddenly, and turned back. “And it’s not only about her, but it’s also for you too, for rejecting my feelings.

“She didn’t just lose you, but she lost her family as well. All thanks to the acting classes I took during high school.”

She winked and left, not before I heard her muttering, “Two birds with one stone.”

She was punishing me too for rejecting her and her feelings by keeping me away from Sara.

A crushing pain radiated throughout my chest, spreading to my entire body at the thought of living without Sara. I needed to get the fucking video from her before she blackmailed me for more.

With a roar, I hurled the laptop at the wall. The device slammed against the wall with a deafening bang, tearing a hole through the plasterboard.