Xavier My Nemesis

CHAPTER 10 Date

I stared at my almost-empty cup. I have been sitting in the cafe for almost 45 minutes now and Xavier is still nowhere in sight. I wish I didn't have to do this with him.

I took out my phone and opened i********: to while away the time, since Xavier decided to keep me waiting. I was scrolling through several posts when I caught a glimpse of one that caught my attention. ‘Xavier… Marriage….’

I immediately scrolled back, clicked on the blog post then the news filled my screen.

“Xavier Crest's Marriage Plans to Someone Other than his long-time ex-girlfriend, Bianca Wilson.”

I read through the post in a state of frenzy. I was both anxious and curious at the same time.

I read through hurriedly until I got an answer to the question that had stuck in my mind since I started reading the blog post.

“The woman he was said to have jilted Bianca for, remains hidden and kept away from the media”

I let out a breath of relief, I didn't even realize I was holding my breath. I dropped my phone so I could calm my racing heart. I looked out the window and saw Xavier walking in.

He wore a pair of black sweatpants and a T-shirt. He looks causally handsome—like he didn't put any effort into looking this good. This is the first time I saw him in a casual outfit.

I was used to seeing him looking very serious in suits and jackets. It felt like I knew him on a deeper level, seeing him dressed so causally which is ironic, considering the fact that he is going to be my husband.

Our eyes met and my breath instantly seized. We held our gaze for a few seconds that felt like hours.

I saw something different in his eyes for the first time.

His eyes soften upon seeing me. It was like he had a very tender look reserved for someone very important to him. Or maybe I'm just imagining things.

“Heyyy….. I'm sorry I'm late, I had a few errands to run” He says briefly as he settles into the seat opposite me. It was a table of two, facing each other.

His expression changed and I instantly chided myself for thinking his earlier expression meant something more.

“It's okay” I said in a low voice, staring down at my fingers.

It isn't fine. I despise tardiness.

“So I asked to see you here because we are going to see my family next weekend. He paused then continued. “They do have to meet you even in the given circumstance” I nodded in understanding.

“Also…” he clears his throat. “I feel it's best we at least get to know each other a little better” When I didn't give any reaction. He said. “Well you're going to be my wife, I deserve to at least have general knowledge about you, right?”

“It's a bit weird talking to you outside work” I blurted, shocked by my bluntness.

“Well, we're going to basically live together after you see my parents. We’d surely talk outside work.” He says matter-of-factly.

“Wait… Am I moving in with you immediately after seeing them? I asked in bewilderment.

“Well yeah because we're discussing the wedding date in the meeting obviously” he states casually. “Except you don't want to move in until after the wedding.” He leans back in his seat and folds his hands.

““Oh,” I say, because that's the only response I can think of. “I would like to move in after the wedding… I have to…err…you know…prepare myself mentally,” I say, uncomfortably.

Moving in so soon is a big deal for me. I know I'd eventually move in with him but delaying until it becomes inevitable seems like a good idea to me right now.

“Okay, understandable,” he says coolly.

An awkward silence stretched. I was lost in thought and wondered why he was just telling me about the whole plan of seeing his parents.

I wonder how soon the wedding will be. I sat there battling with my fears and anxiety. Xavier cleared his throat and broke the silence.

“Sooooo” he dragged, leaning forward, hands resting on the table.

“Who is Sydney Poe as a person?”

I roll my eyes. “Well your PA….turning wife soon”

He smiles—the type that you do when trying to control a full-blown laughter.

“Aside from being my PA of course” He adds, trying to resist a chuckle.

“Well….” I shrug. “I’m an only child. I have only my mom. I have a best friend. There isn't much else to me”

“I doubt that,” he says.

I tilt my head. “Your turn”.

“I’m the first of three. I have a brother and a sister.”

He pauses, fingers tapping lightly against the table.

“What is it like?….. Being the first child?” I asked

“I grew up learning responsibility early,” he says. “Expectation came before freedom. Success was assumed and failure wasn’t an option.”

That sounds… heavy.

“My parents value structure,” he adds. “Reputation. Legacy. Emotions were… managed.”

I study his face. “You make it sound like a business.”

“In many ways, it was,” he says. I am the first child, therefore, I had to be the strong one—the tough one—the one to carry on the empire.

“And your siblings?” I ask.

He simply shrugged. “Well, they get to be themselves. Live their lives without expectations and choose their path.”

He shifts uncomfortably and I could sense that the conversation was getting more serious than he would like so I kept quiet.

“Sometimes it’s so hard to—” he began to say but was cut off by the beeping of his phone. He stopped talking and picked up his phone. I really wanted to hear what he had to say.

He glanced down at the screen, and for a fraction of a second, something in his expression tightened. Not panic—something more restrained than that. Like calculation.

“Sorry,” he said, already reaching for it. “I’ll be right back.” I nodded.

He didn’t move far. Just enough to turn his back to me, one hand pressed lightly to his ear.

“Now isn’t a good time,” he said quietly.

A pause.

“C’mon man not again. He sounded disappointed. He paused, “I’m not getting involved.”

Another pause, longer this time. His shoulders stiffened.

“Don’t. Do. It.” He stressed every word, clenching his left hand in frustration. “Let it go man, you can’t keep tormenting yourself this way.”

I pretended not to listen, toying with my phone but the words slipped through anyway.

“That’s between you and her,” Xavier continued. “Don’t cross that line.”

A pause

“So why then did you call me to ask for advice you won’t take?….. Look do whatever you want, okay”

He ended the call without another word and stood there for a moment longer than necessary, staring at nothing.

When he came back, the air felt different—like something fragile had been moved and neither of us wanted to acknowledge it.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. Just family stuff.” He says dismissively.

He took his seat, but the ease we’d shared earlier didn’t return. His answers grew shorter. His attention drifted.

We had small talks for a few minutes until we didn't have anything else to say. An awkward silence stretched, so he called the waiter for the bill, paid and we left.

He offered to drop me off but I declined. It was risky enough that we were seen in public together, anyone could see me entering his car and I could wake up tomorrow and find myself in the blogs.

I took a bus home.

I called Ava as soon as I got home to fill her in on how the meeting went. She kept calling it a date.

“For the hundredth time Ava, it isn't a date!” I scolded.

“But you guys drank, talked about yourselves and he even offered to drop you off. Just cos he didn't come with flowers doesn't rule it out as a date Syd” she says playfully.

I laughed. “We drank coffee!! Does that even….you know what, call it whatever you want” I sighed in resignation.

“Then a date is it” She says in finality. I laughed while thinking to myself. I didn’t tell her about how it ended because I was still trying to process it.

I wondered what the call was about. It sounded serious and he looked really frustrated.

The sound of his voice on the phone suddenly came to me ‘Don’t cross that line’ echoing in a way that made my chest tighten for reasons I couldn’t yet name.