Chapter 57: Chapter 57

XAVIER

I stared at her. I gazed at my love walking away from me once again, and that was all I could do, because she wanted to be alone. Turning my head, I glared at my mother.

She looked away, avoiding my stares.

There was no one I could blame other than myself, because I was the one. I was guilty. I had done this to Melody. I was responsible for all her pain and loss.

Maybe I really didn’t deserve her. She was better off without me.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing the same woman I’ve known for five years,” Carter said, shaking his head.

Mother’s head snapped in his direction. “You know all about this?” she hissed.

“I didn’t know anything about it, Grace,” Carter said.

“But I do know she’s a good person with a good heart. I don’t know what happened between Melody and him,”—Carter looked at me—“but I do know she’s gone through hard times.”

He shook his head like he’d remembered something.

“Maybe I should have let Lisa abort the baby,” I let out.

“Xavier!” Grace gasped.

I held my hand up to stop her.

“Yes, I should have let her abort, but I didn’t. I should have fought for Melody long ago, but I didn’t. I let her get away from me because she was too good for me, and I was too old for her.

“I thought she would forget me and move on with someone who would love her more than me, but I didn’t know I had hurt her so badly that she’s still carrying scars even after seven long years.”

I growled and wiped my eyes. “If you want custody of Mila, I will give it to you. Just let me see her once a week, but I’m not giving up on Melody this time,” I said.

Everyone’s eyes widened. But I no longer cared what they thought. I was thinking about myself. Seeing her in pain and hearing what she’d gone through had torn me apart.

It was a risk I’d take, because I knew Mom would never take my daughter from me, knowing how much I’d sacrificed for her.

“You don’t mean that!” Grace snapped.

“I mean every fucking word. If I hadn’t left Melody for the unborn baby, my son would have been alive. He needed me, and I wasn’t there for him.

“He died the day he was born because of my wrong decision. Hell, I wasn’t there even when the love of my life was dying!”

There was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach because what I was saying was true.

I regretted every decision I’d made, but that didn’t mean I didn’t love my daughter. I loved her more than anything.

Back then, I’d had zero regrets, at least when it had come to my daughter, and I’d known Melody was with someone who loved her.

For years, I’d tried to convince myself I’d done the right thing, but deep down, my heart had known I’d have to deal with the aftermath of my choice.

But everything had changed when I’d learned about my son. I couldn’t keep myself from thinking that if I had chosen Melody over Mila, we would have been happy together as a perfect family.

I closed my eyes for a second, letting my blood pressure adjust. I opened my eyes and glanced at Asher. “Call Dan and let him know Melody needs him,” I said.

He gritted his jaw. “Already did,” he hissed.

“I’m sorry,” I said to Asher.

“You will be if he asks for an annulment.” Asher glared at me, trying to mask his fear. He, too, knew how Dan was when it came to Melody, and it wouldn’t have been surprising if he asked.

I nodded. After lots of disagreement and discussion, I told them what had happened back then.

Mom had never liked Lisa, so she wasn’t very surprised at hearing what she’d done and how she’d played the villain in our life.

Leaving them, I walked out of the room, feeling suffocated under their stares. I walked back to the reception lawn and saw Mila, laughing and giggling with Sandy and Mia.

My heart flared every time I saw my daughter happy. That was all I wanted for her. Her head snapped in my direction. Her eyes twinkled, and she leapt off the chair and ran toward me.

“Daddy!” she screamed and jumped up. I gathered her in my arms. She pulled back and looked around. “Where is Aunt Melody?” she asked.

“She’s resting in her room; she wasn’t feeling good,” I lied to my daughter. I wanted to go and check on her, but I was afraid. I was fucking scared.

~What if she says she doesn’t want to give me another chance? What if I’ve lost her for good?~

~

After spending an hour with Mila and Carter, I headed to the bar, leaving Mila with Mom. Gunner, Cole, and Stefan had already left for the casino.

“You know I tried to ask her out a few times?” Carter announced, sipping his whiskey.

My heart was hammering in my fucking chest, and I wanted to knock his teeth out, but I just stared at him, shocked and angry at the same time.

Shocked because he’d never shown interest in anyone after the death of his wife.

He chuckled. “Don’t worry. She always shot me down politely. By the way, how did you two meet?”

A lopsided grin appeared on my face as I thought about the night I’d met her. “At a bar,” I said.

“And?” he prompted.

“I approached her, we danced, we drank and…” I shrugged.

“You hooked up and fell in love.” He laughed, not believing me. “I’ve only read this kind of love story in books, and Melody wrote a book about it.”

His laughter died, and he looked at me. “Was it only a one-night stand?”

“What do you think?” I smirked, putting the glass back to my lips.

“Fuck! You’re the stranger in the book she wrote.”

I gave another shrug, neither confirming nor denying.

“So how will it work? I mean, you’ll be in New York, and she’ll—”

“I’ll move to Sydney,” I mumbled.

He stayed quiet and looked away. “What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he said and looked down at his drink like it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen.

“You don’t look happy.” I narrowed my eyes.

He laughed nervously. “I’m happy, brother.” He asked the bartender for another round.

“What are you not telling me?”

He sighed. “Melody resigned last month, and I think she’s moving to L.A.”

I schooled my features, trying damn hard not to show the pain and hurt. “Are you sure?” I asked.

He grimaced. “Look, I don’t know why she didn’t tell you yet, or maybe she was planning to tell you, but I don’t want to create a misunderstanding between you two.”

After paying for my drink, I headed out and spent some time alone to think about what that meant for me. Why hadn’t she told me about her plan, not even when I’d told her I’d move for her?

I glanced at my watch, and it was 10:07 p.m.

Half an hour later, I lifted my fist up to knock on her door. The door was slightly open, so I pushed gently. Melody was sitting on the bed with a laptop. Her fingers were working furiously.

I took her in. She was wearing a tank top and booty shorts and her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, and on top of everything, she was wearing reading glasses.

I could feel myself getting hard. I cleared my throat, and she looked up. She smiled, and placing her laptop aside, she stood.

I forced a smile and stepped inside. I lowered myself on the bed and looked at the packed luggage in the corner of the room. My heart sank to the bottom. “I missed my flight,” she said.

I looked up at her, shocked. She shifted from one foot to the other. “I…intentionally missed my flight,” she whispered, blushing.

“Why?” I asked, unable to stop the words coming out of my mouth.

She sat beside me. “Because I want to give us one more chance,” she said and clasped my hand in hers, her thumb caressing my knuckles.

She looked down. “I’m not gonna lie, Xavier. I tried hard to move on.” She swallowed and looked away. “Not only with Matt, but there was also someone else too,” she confessed, looking guilty.

Everything inside me stopped hearing her. My heart wasn’t beating. My breath stalled inside my chest, unable to be expelled.

She continued. “We met at the club. He was just like me too, broken, numb, so we leaned into each other. We got each other, and most of all, we gave each other what we wanted.

“A distraction. That’s what we both were after. Distraction from everything, from pain, from memories.” She sighed.

“But after two months, you were still living inside me. So I broke it off with him. Then came Matt.” She took a deep breath and looked at me.

I didn’t like or want to hear about other men in her life, but I wanted to know everything about her, so I nodded for her to go on, ignoring the scorching pain in my chest.

“Matt and I dated for a few months in college, and we had known each other our whole lives.

“We started off casually, and he was there for me when I needed him. He helped me so much, and for that, I’ll always be grateful.

“I was in the process of healing and trying to forget you, and I didn’t realize when he started getting serious about us. I broke up with him soon after because you were still ruling my heart.

“I wanted to hate you; I wanted to forget you. Even after breaking up with Matt, we continued hooking up. I’m sorry,” she whispered and looked down.

“I was starting to go back to normal. Then I saw you again after six years, and everything came rushing back like a tsunami.

“You were happy with your family, and I wanted to live again, so I decided to move in with Matt, for real this time, and I was really very happy for the first time.”

I winced visibly.

I didn’t like the picture of someone else on her, but who was I going to blame for it? It was me who’d pushed her away, and she’d had every right to move on in her life.

A sick knot of regret twisted in my stomach for giving up on her, but not anymore. I wasn’t giving up on her anymore. Never ever.

She clamped my hand tightly and looked deeply into my eyes. Her eyes somehow searched deeper into mine, and I knew exactly what she was thinking.

“I’m not saying all this to hurt you. I want to start fresh between us without any secrets so we can trust each other fully.”

I looked away, not from guilt but to hide the pain. Every time I recalled that moment, it hurt like a motherfucker, now more than before, because I knew what I’d lost.

Tears burned the backs of my eyes, and my throat was so thick I could hardly breathe or swallow past it.

She was an angel, and she still wanted to give me a second chance. Without a word, I wrapped my arms around her and cried like a baby.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything.” My forehead dropped to her shoulder, and my face buried in the crook of her neck.

“Shh.” She wrapped her arms around me. “We can’t change the past, Xavier, but we have our future, and honestly, I’m tired of fighting too,” she whimpered.

“You know, I’ve thought a lot, and I have decided,” she said.

I sucked in one last deep breath, and then I pulled away. “Decided what?” I asked, looking at her.

She cupped my face and smiled. “I want to revise and rewrite our story again.”

I stared at her, completely at a loss.

She chuckled and placed a quick kiss on my lips. “I want to give ourselves a chance, and this time, no one will come between us.”

I swallowed hard, my throat feeling like it was closing up on me. The swell of emotion lodged in it, threatening to become something else.

Hope.

Future.

Family.

Children.

“I don’t deserve you. You’re too good for me.” I leaned my forehead against hers.

“I know.”

“I’m too old for you,” I grumbled.

She smirked. “Did I mention I have a thing for older guys?” Her smirk turned into an impish grin, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “Silver fox, you know,” she wiggled her brow.

I growled and crushed my lips over hers, and I heard her breath catch at the moment before my lips met hers with a deep and pure kiss that fed my hunger for her.

I palmed both her cheeks, holding her against me, against my mouth. As our kiss deepened, she moaned gently, clutching my shirt in her fist. “I love you,” I whispered between kisses.

“I love you too,” she whispered. I jerked my head back and stared at her. “Say it again,” I whispered hoarsely.

She smiled and bit her bottom lip. “I love you.”

“Fuck!” I kissed her again, pulling her into my lap. I didn’t stop with her mouth. I trailed my kisses, hot and light, down her jaw and over her neck, making her shiver.

“We should stop now,” she whispered breathlessly, but her body was saying otherwise.

“Yeah?” I asked, tasting her skin with my tongue. She nodded without a word.

“Okay,” I sighed and looked up at her face. Her eyes were dilated and her cheeks were flushed.

“I want to tell you something else,” she whispered. “I resigned from Scarlett Publishing last month because I wanted to move to L.A.”

“I know.” I caressed her face, internally sighing in relief.

“But I don’t want to move to L.A.” I frowned.

“I want to stay close, so I was looking for a job in New York before you came in.”

“Really? You’ll do that for me?”

“For us.” She smiled and glanced up at me with mesmerizing brown eyes. They were swimming with an ocean of emotion, but there was still uncertainty in her eyes.

“But this will be the last time I’ll trust you.”

“You won’t regret it; I promise.” I pulled her to my chest and vowed that I’d spend my days making her happy. The end—a happy ending.

“There’s more,” she whispered in my chest. She told me about the books she’d published and how her friend Jenny had convinced her to publish ~The Stranger~.

“You wrote about us?” I asked with a smirk. She blushed and hit my chest playfully.

“You know I like to write and also know I have a separate folder on my laptop about our experience in New York.”

My muscles tightened. My cock rose in my pants. Every word in that novel played in the back of my mind along with the images.

“Will I get to read it?” I asked, sliding my hands down and cupping her ass. Her eyes widened when she felt the tightening in my pants.

“No,” she breathed.

I placed a kiss on the crook of her neck. “What if I said I’ve already read it more times than all the law books I’ve ever read?” I whispered, inhaling her addictive cologne.

She grabbed my hair in a fist and jerked my head back so I could look in her eye. I groaned as I felt her fingers on my scalp.

I remembered her grip from last night, how she’d threaded her fingers in my hair when I was feasting on her pussy.

She narrowed her eyes and was waiting for me to explain. So I told her.

“I’m going to kill Carter,” she muttered.

“No need to kill that poor guy. He didn’t tell me anything. I saw the book, and I knew it was you,” I said.

I pressed my forehead to hers and closed my eyes, telling her everything as she’d told me everything, because I didn’t want any secrets between us.

After everything was discussed about her moving to New York and renting a place to live, I even asked her to move in with me, but she argued against it.

She didn’t want to move in with me, at least not now. Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “Marry me?” Her eyes were wide and startled. “I know I’m not doing it in a big romantic way—”

“Xavier,” she cut me off. My heart clenched as I heard fear in her voice.

“We have a long road ahead, and we haven’t walked a mile. I know we’re afraid of losing each other again, but marriage doesn’t make relationships permanent. It’s only a piece of paper.

“What I want in our relationship is honesty, respect, and faithfulness.” She took my hand in hers and squeezed.

“I do want to marry you. Someday.” She smiled sadly. “And that someday is not today or tomorrow or in the next few months.”

I nodded in understanding, and she was right. I still feared losing her. I used my free hand and pulled out the pendant that was still in my pocket.

“Will you accept this as a token of my love and our future?” I whispered. I was scared. What if she didn’t want it anymore?

Melody swallowed hard, the sound audible and the sentiment heavy.

She bit her lips, and her eyes filled with tears. I hoped they were happy tears. She looked up at me and then at my palm. She nodded and moved her hair aside.

I took it as my cue and clasped it around her neck. “I love you, and I promise I won’t fuck up this time.” Tears leaked from my eyes, one after another. I took her face in my hands and kissed her.

My tongue swept into her mouth, and I tasted her. I worshipped her. Devoured her. She was like a soothing balm on my ravaged soul.

She was the best thing to ever happen to me, and I’d spend my days making her happy. The end—a happy ending.