Xavier~
"Dad, where is Mama going? Please ask her to stop." Alan shed tears upon witnessing Bella's car leave the house.
"Alan, don't cry; she will return home." I kneeled to match his height and wiped off his tears. I don't know how this happens suddenly. I never intend to raise my hand against her. I brought him back inside the house and asked Victor to take care of him.
I closed the door behind me, collapsing onto the bed. The image of her tear-filled eyes haunted me. What had I become? The very hands meant to protect her had caused her pain. My chest tightened with the weight of my failure.
If she left me now, I wouldn't blame her. How could I ask for forgiveness when I wasn't sure I deserved it? My mind kept replaying the moment when I furiously slapped her.
I was so overwhelmed by the pressure from everyone that I lost my temper and smacked the woman I had never wanted to hurt in my life.
"Open the door, Xavier." Dad knocked on my room's door.
"Dad, I deeply regret my actions. What I did with her was completely wrong." I opened my room door and looked at Dad with tear-filled eyes.
"Xavier, you don't need to feel bad about what you did; Bella needs to learn her lesson, given her recent rebellious behavior. How could she accuse Lincon of being a characterless man?" Dad entered the room, his voice showing no sign of remorse.
"However, Dad, she may misunderstand Lincon." I still have difficulty believing that Bella can accuse someone without any proof. Could she have been misled, or is there a deeper truth?
"Do you honestly believe your brother can ask Dixie to have sex with another man, Xavier? Do you not know him?" As he repeated Bella's comments, Dad closed his eyes.
"I am sure this all happened because of Jorawar and Lily. They poisoned Bella's mind in an attempt to turn her against us and exact revenge." Dad's voice was firm, but it only added to my confusion. He has a point. Maybe she wants me to defend Laila's case, which is why she is talking gibberish.
Bella's use of Lincon's name as a cheap ploy to get me to agree with her disgusts me.
"Can I go to sleep now, Dad?" I asked my father to leave me alone for a while, torn between my obligations to my family and my affection for Bella.
I am worried about her whereabouts since it's already 11 p.m., and she still has not returned home. Jordan Lucas's threats were consuming my thoughts. He threatened to put Lincon in jail if I didn't support Jonathan in Laila's case. Since Bella declined to defend Lincon in court, I must locate a qualified attorney to do so.
I never imagined that she would turn on me like this. If she has any issue with Lincon, then she can talk to me in private about why she makes a fuss in front of Dad. I stood on my room's balcony and took a sip of whisky. I wait for Bella's return, my gaze fixed on the main door.
Her words pierced my chest like a sword, and even though I wanted to apologize, I couldn't. I felt bad about what I had done the moment I slapped her. Since I knew that my actions had caused her immense pain and that she needed some alone time to collect herself, I let her go outdoors.
As she got out of James's car in front of the main gate, I strengthened my grip on the whiskey glass. It broke into my hand, and its pieces pierced my palm. Jealousy burned in my chest as I saw her leaning on James. I knew it was irrational—James was loyal, a brother in all but blood. But seeing Bella turn to him, seeing her cry in his arms instead of mine, felt like a betrayal.
Was this how I lost her? To my failures and my closest friend?
I thought she would come to my room to apologize for her actions that day, but she didn't come to talk to me or even to try to work out our differences. Furious, I opened my room and went to her to find out why she was with James at that hour of the night. However, she had already opened her room door with her bag before I could knock and unlock it.
"Where are you heading?" Seeing her suitcase in her hand made me even more enraged.
She left her room without responding to me. I could tell by the redness and puffiness of her eyes that my actions had seriously wounded her.
"Tell me where you're going, Bella." I halted her movement by grasping the handle of her bag.
"I can't live in this house, Xavier. You always said you loved me," she whispered, her voice trembling but firm.
"But love isn't just words, Xavier. It's action. And your actions have shown me exactly where I stand—with your family far ahead of me." Her words cut deeper than any slap, leaving me rooted in place as she walked out the door. She glanced at the handle of the bag before meeting my eyes.
"Sorry, Bella, I didn't mean to raise my hand on you." I expressed my regret to her.
"It's too late now; if I don't do this now, you'll make the same error again." Her voice became painful.
"No, I swear that I won't do this ever again," I begged her to stop because, no matter what, I couldn't live without her. She is my only source of strength and survival. By now, my emotions had completely consumed me.
"No, Xavier, I've already made up my mind. Give me a break. Earn me if you want me." After I removed my hand from her suitcase, she walked towards the main gate.
"What's happening?" When Dad heard us talking, he came out of his room.
"Dad, please stop Bella from leaving the house," I begged him.
"Xavier, go back to your room. She is not a kid; if she decides something, then let her do what she wants."
Why Dad has suddenly become so resentful of Bella is beyond me.
"Don't go, Bella, please." To prevent her from leaving the house, I stood in front of her.
"No, Xavier, you went too far this time." After shaking her head, she shoved me aside to make room for her.
"Bella, if you don't stop today, then I will never allow you to come back into my life." When I realized she was not listening to any of my requests, I threatened to make her stop.
Despite my warning, she sat in James' car without even looking my way, which severely damaged my ego.
I decided to win her back by expressing my apologies for my actions, and I'm committed to resolving our miscommunication to prevent our relationship from collapsing because of our egos. However, after watching the most recent breaking news on TV, I reconsidered my decision to settle any disagreement with her.
I never expected her to be a prosecutor in Lincon's case.
"Xavier, find the best lawyer to defend Lincoln in court; I want to see her lose this case at any cost." Dad's anger-filled voice left no space for me to think again about apologizing to Bella.