Although Jace has been nothing but a prick, his claims did alarm me. I have been through many struggles in my life which made me not believe anyone entirely.Even now, I badly wanted to believe I am not Felicity, nor Olivia to Xavier but somewhere inside my heart, the trust issues because of my experiences were itching me."You are saying this now because?" It was stupid of me to expect a straight answer from Jace. He was raging, and his motive was to convince me somehow."Talk to Felicity. Ask her what she went through; ask her how long Xavier and she had dated and how easy it was for him to toss her out of his life." The mention of them dating shocked me. That thought has never crossed my mind before. I remembered clearly the day Felicity was punished, and all I could hear was her wanting to marry some other guy. So, was that the reason for Xavier’s anger?She made it clear that day that she didn’t want to be with Xavier, so did she cheat on him, or did he throw her away?"Why now?
My chest tightened, and my breaths became increasingly louder. I couldn’t seem to shake that incident from my mind. I was watching the sight of the house get clear as I kept walking in its direction."Hey, Phoenix!" I was startled by the cheery greeting from one of the neighbors. They used to complain about me all the time, and now they are talking to me. However, they were not a part of that incident, and I know they have never liked me."Aww, you look so beautiful," the wife faked a sweet tone when watching me. She was obviously faking it now for some reason."How are you feeling now?" the lady continued to ask me, making me wonder what she was up to now."I am good," I mumbled, trying to avoid having eye contact with them. I wasn’t ashamed or guilty of anything, but just looking at them was a reminder of everything that happened the other night."I’m so glad you decided to come back." Her husband followed in her footsteps, acting all phony. I frowned, looking at their fake sweetnes
The arrival of Mr. Xavier was met with shock from everyone. Even I never thought he would come here to defend me."Mr. Mayor?" Derrell took a step back and quickly tied his hands behind his back, standing like an obedient student. I felt a tingling sensation just looking at him. I don’t know what to call those feelings because every time I see him, my heart jumps up and down in my chest. I would feel butterflies fly around and give me tingles."Oh! So you still remember you are not supposed to be rude to her?" Xavier shoved his hands in his coat and raised a brow. The clenching of his jaw when staring at Derrell should have been a hint for him not to call me again."Sir, she wanted to see my daughter and I don’t want her, aro---" I don’t know if Xavier noticed my frown or what, but he pointed out the exact thing that bugged me."I believe Phoenix is your daughter, too. Why are you such a bastard?" I noticed how calmly Xavier abused Derrell, and Derrell didn’t really dare utter a word
"You’ll join us at the dinner table tonight," he still didn’t answer me. In fact, he invited me for a dinner with everyone and walked away. I had no idea why he was dodging the question, but then again, sitting around a table with Miranda and Jace wasn’t a good idea at all. Xavier has to be planning something.Caring less about the people I was going to tolerate at the dinner table and more about my presence, I picked up a dress from the three dresses Xavier has sent me for the dinner.I walked down the staircase, looking at them as they stared back at me while already being seated.I could see the glow on Xavier’s face and the affection in Jaces’s smile. They both kept looking at me, making me trip one too many times."Here," Xavier cut off Jace’s words in the mid-way as Jace was about to offer me a seat with him. I was not going to sit with Jace, no matter what. He had been inappropriate with me, and I have not forgiven him for that. Xavier was sitting on the head chair while Jace w
"You were awake until now, and suddenly you are sleepy?" Xavier seemed to have noticed how upset I sounded now.. "Well, I’m sleepy now. What can we do about it?" I replied in a dejected tone, trying to walk away, but a hold against my arm halted my steps. "You really want to know why?" he asked in a whisper, making me gulp but keep my head lowered."Ignorance is not always bliss," I commented. "It’s because I---" he halted. He hadn’t even finished yet when my heart started pounding in my chest. "I don’t wanna lose you, Phoenix," and by the time he said that, my whole body felt goosebumps. He was standing behind me, holding me by my arm. I was facing away from him, but I felt the intensity in his words. I was too shocked to move a muscle. "Because I don’t know what you have done to me," his whisper in my ear gave me chills. He had come closer to my body; I could feel his warm body behind me. So close that I knew if I moved a muscle, our bodies would connect. "Why?" I asked again.
I closed my eyes when a tingling sensation warmed my body as his soft lips pressed against mine. It took us a minute to respond again. Slowly feeling each other’s touch, we deepened our kiss. Parting his lips from mine for a moment before he sucked my lower lip as I sucked his upper lip passionately. It was a matter of time before I grabbed his coat and pulled him even close than before. He swiftly clasped his hands around my butt, fondling my ass in his hands. I moaned, feeling his touch. His one hand caressed my cheek as his tongue demanded an entry. I gave him pleasure back by sucking his tongue. Our bodies had started to heat up, and that’s when I realized that if I didn’t stop right now, we would break all the limits between us. I broke the kiss while not pulling entirely away from him. "What happened?" he asked me, breathing profusely. We were just staring at each other’s lips."I think we should slow down," I replied, my eyes traveling down to see the rise and fall of his che
The next few days were really painful. I was ignored by him, and that started to hurt me like a bitch. I did make an attempt to talk to him, but my every attempt was a complete failure. I was beginning to think I should have been honest with him instead of hurting his feelings like that. I took a deep breath and promised to meet him again and speak honestly with him this time. Or at least ask him what his plan is regarding me. "Xavier?" I saw him come along with Jace from the office. They were discussing something serious, and the sad part was that he walked past me, not paying me any attention. Jace, on the other hand, wanted to stop by, but Xavier’s proceeding steps dragged him along. I knew Jace would pass a taunt or two about how Xavier is better than me, so I was glad he didn’t stop. "Are you not going to talk to me anymore?" I muttered, tired of this hide-and-seek game."Fine, I’m leaving then," I said in a loud voice, making Xavier stop in his tracks. Their backs were vis
I didn’t know if Xavier and Zoe had crossed limits; to my knowledge, the only person Zoe has been caught with is Xavier. I couldn’t hold back the anger boiling in my veins, but I acted calmly in front of Derrell."She is not a teenager you can control," I scoffed at him for lying about her age and running her life for years. She didn’t get to enjoy her teen life because she never grew past 15 years of age."It doesn’t matter. I don’t want a pregnant, unmarried daughter," Derrell grunted at me."Then don’t; I will take her with me," I loudly stated, but Derrell shook his head even more vigorously this time."No! I will not let my daughter walk away with you." He stubbornly placed his hands on his waist and kept glaring into my face.I realized I needed to first confront Xavier. I wouldn’t want my sister to have the same fate as Olivia."It’s okay. I will take care of her," Mia promised me, as she, too, wanted me to let Zoe stay here."I’ll fix everything and till then you, you keep you