Entrapped

Chapter 31.

The days were passing quickly for Xavier, it had already been months to his marriage with Tiara and ever since he had gotten quite busy with his work that he hardly got to spend time with his wife. His schedule had become very exhausting that he hardly get sleep, handling his legal business that had spread worldwide needed his attention every minute and the things in underworld had started to shaken up a little as the other mafia families were not pleased by Xavier’s wedding with Tiara, traitors were never to forgive and now that one had become their leader’s wife and had naturally attained the status of the first lady, it did not settle well with them.

All of the allies saw Tiara as a threat and believed that she could be a reason behind Xavier’s downfall and none of them wanted that because if Xavier failed anyhow then the whole Black clan would perish away and all the families that had supported Blacks till now would eventually lose everything.

Xavier was aware of everything that his people were thinking, his father had warned him the day he resumed his work and he was in a conflict because he wanted everyone to respect Tiara but he could not just blame them for suspecting Tiara because even Xavier knew that if was not for his heart, he would have killed the woman who had dared to betray him. He understood his people completely but he obviously could not expect them to understand him, to understand his love for her.

He could not really assure them by informing that Tiara had promised to never deceive him again because every traitor had said that after getting caught to save their life but had Xavier ever believed them? He knew that everybody knew the answer to that question, that betraying Blacks meant death but he had made an exception for Tiara and it was obvious that everyone was going to show that they were displeased.

Xavier’s routine had been tied up, he got home late around midnight as he had to get the underworld work stuff done by getting free from his legal business around six in the evening. He would head straight to his main base where he would decide on dealings, would solve any other problem that needed his attention and finally the thing he liked to do the most was torturing some bastards who had either wronged him or tried to stand up against him.

Xavier was not a sadist but he enjoyed punishing those who dared to defy him, it was a much needed trait for any underworld king and he had that. His ways of punishing his prey was quite horrendous and he had not even a bit of remorse for that because those bastards deserved that.

Xavier would come back after finishing his work and would always find his wife waiting for him in the living room. She would open the door for him and would give him a glass of water which he would drink despite not being thirsty. He would go upstairs in his bedroom and get fresh as she set the dinner for him in the meantime.

Xavier would come down after twenty minutes, freshly showered with his wet hair and would sit on the dining table. She would serve him and then herself and it would always make him regret that she was waiting for him to have her dinner.

Tiara had started making his food, his breakfast and his dinner as that was the only meal he had in his house. She would make him dinner and wait for him to return in the living room and would have her dinner with him.

It concerned Xavier that she was waiting for him to return home and it hurt him even more that despite knowing that she would not eat her dinner without him, he still could not go home early as he could not just abandon his responsibilities like that.

Xavier had asked Tiara to not to wait for him and to go to sleep almost everyday in the beginning but she had refused every single time and presented her wish that she liked waiting for him and Xavier would zip his mouth after that as he knew that arguing with her was not going to take him anywhere as he was already guilty enough for making her wait for him till late at night and to have her upset over an argument would be too much to bare.

The mornings were the same, Xavier would wake up to an empty bed as she would leave him alone and get ready in the bathroom, the only thing he liked about their morning was the time when she would wake him up by calling his name with her sweet and melodic voice.

Tiara had never questioned Xavier about anything, she did not complain or whine like any other wife, she did not care where he was and what he had been doing. She just minded her business and looked after his every need, making sure to be a good wife to him.

There was no point that Xavier could actually see past her façade because he had always seen Tiara like this, she never used to complain or talk much since her early teen years and Xavier had assumed that it was her personality but only she knew how she really was, how she really was when she was with Mason.

She used to call him after every hour, used to be so clingy to him as she liked being around him. She liked it when he used to hear all her rantings about the dumbest thing possible and she liked how he always used to join her by making comments that were absolutely unrelated to the topic but in the funniest way possible. She missed Mason a lot, she missed that version of her even more where she was genuinely happy and was doing everything for her husband out of love and not due to the vows she had given to him.

It was around lunch time when Xavier came home early one day, he had no meetings to attend to and there was nothing that needed his presence in his warehouse as well where he dealt with his illegal business and thus was free, he rushed back home as soon as he could. Xavier was excited because it had already been eight months to their marriage and he never got any time to take her out on a dinner date after coming back from the island that she had named, Cascara.

Xavier’s car pulled up in his huge driveway and he hopped out of the car, rushing inside as his eyes looked for her in the living room like she usually waits when he arrives in the night. He shook his head as he did not inform Tiara but was still hoping to have her wait for him, he had really become habitual of her presence upon coming home.

The living room was empty and he concluded that she must be in their bedroom and he went up, hoping to surprise his wife with his sudden presence but was met with silence when he stepped inside. His eyes wandered around the enormous room to find her but met with nothing as she was not in the room.

An expression of excitement fell from his face and was now replaced with confusion that soon turned into a frown. He felt a sudden feeling in his chest that made him uneasy, he did not know what it was but he just felt like something was not right and her absence in his room made him feel undeniably cold and lonely.

Xavier tried to shrug off this creepy feeling that was just making him insecure for no reason, his mansion was enormous and she could perhaps be in a garden, library, kitchen or maybe even around a swimming pool. He shook his head not letting his insecurity get the best of him and headed downstairs to look for her. He went to the kitchen but only saw the cook and the maid that were talking about some random things and he left them alone, not wanting to disturb the couple and resumed his hunt for his wife.

He looked everywhere, every part of the mansion where he thought she could be but could not find her and it just intensified the fire of insecurities he was burning with, he did not know why he was feeling like this out of nowhere. He trusted her, he knew she would not leave him and yet he could not help but feel that fear gripping his soul.

Tiara’s plan had started working that even she was unaware of but he had become insecure and paranoid whenever it came to her, he always contemplate before doing something that concerns her as he did not want her to feel that he was trying to control her or anything, he did not want her to feel suffocated. Her first betrayal had turned Xavier like that towards her, he was trying hard not to make any mistake in order to win her heart, to please her and to make her happy.

All the happiness and excitement he felt minutes ago while coming back home to his wife faded away from his face when he failed to find her and an expression of scowl made its way on his handsome face.

Xavier's eyes then fell on a maid that was coming from the servant quarters and he noticed that even all the servants were missing, he had not seen any maid while looking for Tiara except for that one in her early forties in the kitchen with that cook. He frowned at the sudden realization and tilted his head a little and decided to ask that maid who had not noticed Xavier’s presence.

“stop!” Xavier’s cold voice bombarded through the entire living room making that poor maid jump on her heels as she got startled by his sudden order and turned to corresponding direction to look at him and bowed her head in submissiveness, “Mr. Black”

“where is my wife? And where the f**k are all the maids?” Xavier was cold as he questioned her, looking at that girl who seemed young, around Tiara’s age or maybe younger standing under his hard gaze.

She shivered as his cold voice made her scared, she was hired recently and did not know much about anything but the fact that the man who was questioning her was the ruthless man, “I-I, umm, y-your wife, umm she-,” Xavier had no patience to bear with her pathetic shuttering, he was already paranoid and the way this girl was talking made him lose his calm completely.

“shutter again and I will put a bullet between your eyes,” he interrupted her to warn her to get her words together and to answer the question he had asked.

“she is in the laundry room.” The young maid blurted as soon as she registered Xavier’s warning and looked at him with wide eyes and gasped at her stupidity and looked down in horror. She had heard other maids talking that if Xavier ever found out that Tiara does all the housework, he would kill all of them.

“she is where?” Xavier’s eyes were wide open as he heard her, the shock was clearly visible in his tone. That was the last place he could expect her to be and the last place where she should be.

Xavier gritted his teeth in anger and clenched his fist tightly as he looked at the trembling girl in front of him, “and where are all the maids?”