Chapter Fifteen:AVi-Not Growing on Me
1275 Words
People always said people grew on you.
Give someone enough time.
Get to know them.
See their good sides.
Understand their flaws.
Eventually, the things that annoyed you would become endearing.
At least, that’s what people said.
Xavier Falcon was proving that theory completely wrong.
Because after one month of living with him, Xavier wasn’t growing on me.
Not even a little.
If anything, he was becoming more annoying.
More controlling.
More confusing.
And somehow, more exhausting.
I couldn’t decide what was worse—the questions, the possessiveness, or the fact that sometimes, underneath all of it, I could actually see that he cared.
That was the part that confused me.
Because caring was one thing.
Threatening a waiter because he smiled at me was something entirely different.
And forcing me onto a date because he wanted to spend time with me?
Completely ridiculous.
I still hadn’t forgotten that.
I had spent three years alone in this marriage.
Three years.
And Xavier had been gone the entire time.
Now he had returned and apparently decided he needed to know everything about me.
Where I was.
Who I was with.
What I was doing.
When I was coming home.
Who called me.
Who texted me.
Who looked at me.
Who breathed in my direction, apparently.
It was exhausting.
⸻
Saturday morning, I woke up with one goal.
Peace.
I wanted peace.
I showered, changed into comfortable clothes, and went downstairs.
It was the weekend.
I wasn’t going anywhere.
I wasn’t going to work.
I wasn’t going to court.
I wasn’t attending meetings.
I just wanted to stay home, work a little, eat, rest, and enjoy the rare opportunity of not having Xavier ask me where I was every five minutes.
When I entered the dining room, he was already there.
Of course.
Wearing a perfectly tailored suit.
At eight in the morning.
On a Saturday.
I looked at him.
Then at his suit.
Then back at him.
How much free time did this man have?
I sat down and started eating.
For a few minutes, there was silence.
Beautiful silence.
I enjoyed every second of it.
Then—
“Why aren’t you dressed?”
I slowly looked up.
“What?”
“You’re not dressed.”
“I am dressed.”
“You know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Are you going somewhere?”
“No.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I stared at him.
“Because I’m not going anywhere.”
He looked confused.
“I’m staying home.”
“You’re working?”
“Maybe.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“Because I didn’t know I needed to submit a schedule.”
He ignored my sarcasm.
“I have a business meeting today.”
“Okay.”
“If I’d known you were staying home, I would’ve postponed it.”
I paused.
“You don’t have to.”
“I wanted to spend the day with you.”
Of course he did.
I returned to my breakfast.
“I’m fine.”
He sighed.
Before leaving, he looked at me.
“Are you still angry about the waiter?”
I looked at him.
I couldn’t believe he was asking.
What did he expect?
Of course I was angry.
But I wasn’t going to give him another argument.
“I’m fine.”
He studied my face.
Then nodded.
“I’ll see you later.”
And he left.
I finally exhaled.
Peace.
At last.
⸻
I worked for most of the morning.
Around lunchtime, my phone rang.
Xavier.
I answered.
“Hello?”
“How’s your day?”
“Fine.”
“What are you doing?”
“Eating lunch.”
“Good.”
Then, unexpectedly, he started talking.
Not questioning me.
Talking.
He told me about his meeting.
A business deal he was working on.
Something happening with one of his companies.
He explained a problem they were trying to solve.
I listened.
Quietly.
It was strange.
Normally, Xavier wanted information from me.
This time, he was giving me information about himself.
And I found myself listening more carefully than I expected.
He wasn’t bragging.
He wasn’t trying to impress me.
He was just telling me about his day.
At one point, he laughed about something that happened during the meeting.
I smiled without realizing it.
He noticed.
“You laughed.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You did.”
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
“Goodbye, Xavier.”
He laughed.
“Talk to you later.”
The call ended.
I stared at my phone.
That had been…
Nice.
I didn’t want to admit that.
So I didn’t.
⸻
Xavier came home that evening.
Dinner was already prepared.
We sat across from each other.
For once, there was no argument.
Just silence.
Then Xavier spoke.
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
“I thought you might have plans.”
“No.”
He nodded.
“Good.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Why?”
“Because tomorrow I’m staying home.”
“I know. It’s Sunday.”
“We’ll do something.”
I sighed.
“Xavier.”
“Relax.”
“I’m already relaxed.”
“No, you’re not.”
I didn’t respond.
Because unfortunately, he was right.
⸻
Later that night, I was in bed scrolling through my phone.
I had my glasses on.
Xavier was on the other side of the room.
For once, everything was peaceful.
Until he walked over.
“What are you doing?”
I didn’t look up.
“Using my phone.”
“What are you doing on it?”
I slowly lowered the phone.
“Xavier.”
“What?”
“It’s my phone.”
“I know.”
“So why are you asking?”
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you on t****k?”
“No.”
“f*******:?”
“No.”
“i********:?”
“No.”
“Then what are you doing?”
I stared at him.
“I am doing absolutely nothing.”
He looked at my phone.
I locked the screen.
“Xavier, sometimes people need their own space.”
He frowned.
“But you’re my husband.”
I closed my eyes.
Here we go again.
“Does being your husband mean you get access to everything I do?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m still an individual person.”
“But we’re married.”
“Marriage doesn’t erase privacy.”
He stared at me.
I stared back.
Neither of us moved.
Finally, I took off my glasses.
I placed them on the bedside table.
Then I put my phone down.
“You know what?”
“What?”
“I’m going to bed.”
“But it’s early.”
“I’m tired.”
I pulled the blanket over myself.
He stood there for a moment.
Then he sighed.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
I turned away from him.
And as I lay there, one thought crossed my mind.
Xavier was a handful.
A very, very large handful.
Was he growing on me?
No.
Absolutely not.
I refused to admit that.
But…
Maybe the silence between us didn’t feel quite as uncomfortable anymore.
Maybe listening to him talk about his day hadn’t been terrible.
Maybe, just maybe, there were moments when I didn’t mind having him around.
But that didn’t mean he was growing on me.
Definitely not.
I closed my eyes.
And stubbornly decided that was the end of the discussion.
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