Chapter Seventeen:AVI-The First Apology
1604 Words
Monday.
Finally.
There was something comforting about Monday.
Work.
Court.
Clients.
Paperwork.
Things that made sense.
Things that followed rules.
Things I understood.
People were complicated.
Law wasn’t.
Well… most of the time.
I sat behind my desk, going through a case file, trying very hard not to think about Xavier.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t working.
I kept remembering yesterday.
The ice cream.
His ridiculous questions.
The way he’d watched me eat it like I’d committed some kind of crime.
Why are you licking it like that?
Who even asked someone that?
I shook my head.
Xavier was strange.
Very strange.
And somehow, I had gotten used to his strangeness.
That thought alone irritated me.
My phone rang.
Dad.
I stared at the screen.
I didn’t want to answer.
But I knew if I didn’t, he’d call again.
So I picked up.
“Hello, Dad.”
“How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“How is your husband?”
I leaned back.
“He’s fine.”
“Are you treating him well?”
I frowned.
“What kind of question is that?”
“You should be a good husband.”
There it was again.
That familiar tone.
The one that always made me feel like there was something happening behind the scenes that I wasn’t being told.
“Dad, I’m fine.”
“I hope you two are getting along.”
“We’re trying.”
“Good. He’s very important.”
I closed my eyes.
Why did everyone keep telling me that?
My father.
His family.
Xavier himself.
Everyone seemed to know something I didn’t.
Before I could ask, the call dropped.
I stared at the phone.
Then I remembered Xavier’s words from the previous night.
I make enough money for both of us.
What exactly was he trying to say?
I didn’t know.
And frankly, I didn’t want to know.
There was already too much happening in my life.
I returned to my work.
⸻
Around noon, my phone rang again.
Xavier.
“Hello?”
“How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Where are you?”
“At work.”
“What are you doing?”
“Working.”
“Have you eaten?”
I looked at the clock.
“No.”
“Why?”
“I’m busy.”
“You need to eat.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“Soon.”
“Promise?”
I sighed.
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
That was it.
No argument.
No interrogation.
No threat.
Just…
Have you eaten?
It was strange.
I didn’t understand Xavier.
Sometimes he was completely overwhelming.
Other times, he was almost gentle.
And those moments were somehow more confusing than the possessiveness.
⸻
My next client arrived shortly after.
He was a man who wanted to file for divorce.
He was emotional.
He had been married for several years, and from what he was telling me, the marriage had become unbearable.
I listened.
That was my job.
I didn’t judge.
I took notes.
I asked questions.
I explained the legal process.
My secretary was outside my office.
“Mr. Falcon is in a meeting,” she told someone.
I barely noticed.
Then my office door opened.
I looked up.
Xavier.
Standing there.
Holding a bag.
Lunch, apparently.
I stared at him.
Is this man serious?
My secretary had already told him I was with a client.
Yet he had walked straight into my office.
Then he looked at me.
“Baby.”
I froze.
My client froze.
My brain froze.
Baby?
That was the first time he’d ever called me that.
I didn’t even know how to react.
Xavier looked at my client.
My client looked at Xavier.
Then Xavier extended his hand.
“Hi. I’m Xavier Falcon.”
He paused.
“I’m his husband.”
I nearly closed my eyes.
Of course he did.
Of course.
My client awkwardly shook his hand.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
Xavier looked at me again.
“I brought you lunch.”
“I’m in a meeting.”
“I know.”
That answer somehow made it worse.
He placed the bag on my desk.
“I’ll see you later.”
Then he left.
Just like that.
I turned to my client.
“I’m sorry about that.”
He smiled awkwardly.
“It’s okay.”
“It isn’t.”
He laughed.
“I understand.”
I didn’t.
But apparently he did.
We continued the meeting.
⸻
By the time I got home, I was exhausted.
Dinner was already on the table.
Xavier was there.
Of course.
I sat down.
We ate quietly.
For once, I didn’t want to argue.
I was too tired.
Then Xavier spoke.
“Why was that client with you?”
I slowly put down my fork.
Here we go.
“He was a client.”
“Why were you sitting so close?”
I stared at him.
“Xavier.”
“I don’t like you being with male clients.”
I felt my patience disappearing.
“That’s my work.”
“I know.”
“Then you cannot dictate who I represent.”
“I can.”
I looked at him.
“What gives you that right?”
He stood.
“I’m your husband.”
There it was.
Again.
“I’m your husband. Why don’t you want to spend time with me?”
I took a breath.
“Because I love my job.”
He stared at me.
“I love what I do, Xavier. I became a lawyer because this is what I wanted. I have clients. I have cases. I have responsibilities.”
“I just want you to spend time with me.”
“And I do.”
“No, you don’t.”
I shook my head.
“This isn’t healthy.”
His expression changed.
“This isn’t a healthy way for a married couple to live.”
He went silent.
I continued.
“You walked into my office without telling me.”
“I brought you lunch.”
“My secretary told you I was with a client.”
“I know.”
“You should have waited.”
His jaw tightened.
“You don’t understand how this works, Xavier.”
His expression shifted.
“I have a life. I have a career. I have routines. I have responsibilities. You can’t just walk into my life and expect me to fit you into every empty space immediately.”
He said nothing.
“You’ve been gone for three years.”
That one hurt him.
I saw it.
His face changed.
“But I didn’t choose to have you come back.”
Silence.
“You need to understand that there are boundaries.”
His eyes dropped.
“And you’re going to have to give me time.”
For once, Xavier didn’t argue.
He simply sat down.
I picked up my fork.
But I’d lost my appetite.
I ate a little more before standing.
“I’m going upstairs.”
He didn’t stop me.
⸻
I changed into comfortable clothes and collapsed onto the bed.
I was exhausted.
Not physically.
Mentally.
Living with Xavier was like having a second full-time job.
I closed my eyes.
A few minutes later, the bedroom door opened.
I didn’t bother looking.
The mattress dipped.
Xavier sat at the edge of the bed.
Very close.
I opened my eyes.
“Can we please not do this tonight? I’m tired.”
“I’m sorry.”
I froze.
I actually sat up.
“What?”
“I’m sorry.”
I stared at him.
Xavier Falcon.
The man who had never apologized for anything.
The man who had threatened a waiter.
The man who locked the house.
The man who questioned my every movement.
Had just apologized.
“I should have called before coming to your office.”
I said nothing.
“I know it’s your work.”
He looked at me.
“I just want us to spend time together.”
His voice was quieter now.
“I want you to answer me. I want us to get to know each other.”
I swallowed.
“I do answer you.”
“Not the way I want.”
I almost smiled.
“That’s the problem.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
Then he looked away.
“My approach today wasn’t good.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Not good?”
He looked at me.
“Don’t push it.”
Despite myself, I almost laughed.
“Okay.”
He sighed.
“I’m really sorry, Avi.”
I didn’t know what to say.
So I simply nodded.
“Okay.”
He stood.
Then, surprisingly, he didn’t ask another question.
Didn’t demand anything.
Didn’t tell me where I should be.
He simply walked to his side of the bed and lay down.
Within minutes, the room was quiet.
I stared at the ceiling.
I couldn’t understand what had just happened.
Xavier had apologized.
Actually apologized.
And somehow, that single word had changed something.
Not everything.
Definitely not.
I was still angry.
Still confused.
Still overwhelmed by him.
But for the first time, I wondered if maybe there was more beneath Xavier’s controlling behavior than I had wanted to acknowledge.
Maybe he wasn’t simply trying to control me.
Maybe he was trying—very badly—to learn how to be my husband.
I turned toward him.
He was already asleep.
I watched him for a moment.
Then I whispered,
“You’re still a handful.”
He didn’t hear me.
And for the first time, I smiled.
Just a little.
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