Entrapped

Chapter 21.

Everything was dark as the entire hall was dimly lit, the slow romantic music was being played and couples were dancing around in a romantic environment that had been created but the spot light was focused on that certain couple in the middle with other couples surrounding them.

A perfect romantic song was playing on which couples were moving erotically. The couple in the center was Xavier and Tiara; the newlyweds. His arm was around her waist while her arm was around his neck as they moved with the rhythm. They were very close to the extent they could feel each other’s body. He was staring at her, it still felt like a dream to him; a beautiful dream. She could feel his gaze as her skin was getting heat up under his scrutinizing intent look.

“Thank you,” his voice was low and deep and as soft as velvet that compelled her to tear away her gaze from the floor and to look up.

Her green eyes slowly rose to meet his grey ones that were already gazing down at her intently and before she could comprehend what to say, her mouth seemed to work on its own, “what for?”

a wave of silence surrounded them as he did not answer and kept looking at her without blinking, she decided to look down, not being able to withstand the intensity his eyes held for her and she slowly looked down but her eyes fell on his lips which were stretched in a beautiful smile and she noticed his dimple.

“For responding to my kiss,” it was the complete opposite, it was her who had kissed him while he was the one who responded to it like she knew he would.

The redness adorned her cheeks instantly and she looked down while biting her cheek and Xavier chuckled at her flushed self, “thank you for accepting my love.” He whispered, his voice lingering with love and adoration for her.

Tiara felt her inside churning, a flicker of guilt erupted in her. She suddenly felt sick like she would throw up any minute but she shook away all these thoughts when she remembered what he had done to her and besides there was nothing to feel guilty about and with that thought she consoled herself. She was not lying to him; she had really accepted his love, in fact it was his love that made her believe that she could actually take her revenge from him and it gave her hope to cling onto life.

“Can we stop dancing?” she asked, feeling tired already as it had been very long for her and she was completely worn out now.

“what’s wrong?” he raised his concern, “are you alright?” he tucked her loose hair that was teasing her cheeks and grazed his knuckles against the soft skin of her face.

“I am tired actually.” He nodded at her and stepped away, creating a little distance between them, he guided her to a nearest stable and called a waiter who served her some orange juice while he grabbed a glass of wine for himself.

“You wait here, I will ask the driver to pull the car out.” He told her before walking away from her, she watched him, saw his retreating figure with broad shoulders and stopped at the table where his father was sitting along with her own.

“Dad, we are leaving.” He informed his father so that he could wrap everything up once he leaves, “what’s with the rush, my boy?” his father asked with a slyly playful tone as he eyed his son while giving him a teasing smile.

“It was a long day, I am tired, dad.” His father scoffed at the lame excuse of his son, “you did not even feel tired when I trained you eighteen hours a day.” His father reminded him; his tone was mocking letting his son know that he knew it was a lie.

“I guess it’s because I have not held the gun today.” Xavier smiled at Alejandro who patted his arms as his words erupted a feeling of pride inside the old mafia, “now that’s like my son.”

Meanwhile, the sound of the chair being pulled brought her out of her thoughts and she tore away her gaze that had been watching Xavier intently and looked across the table and saw Luca, sitting across her with his one leg above another.

“You made a good choice at the church,” his voice was oddly cold as he swirled the glass filled with wine in his hand, brought his drink up and slipped the red liquid into his mouth, savoring the divine bitterness of his drink and the satisfied expression on his face clearly displayed that he like it.

“You said you were not afraid of death then what changed your mind?” his voice became amused as he looked at her with curiosity gleaming on his face.

“I am not as bad as you think I am,” she replied not wanting to tell him too much because out of these three friends, Luca was quite infamous for his knack of having a way with words, he could make you spill out the beans if you talk to him and Tiara knew that was what he was trying to do with her.

“that’s the thing, Tiara. I do not think you are bad at all; I have known you for so many years and I know you.” He stared deep into her eyes trying to find the answer of the question his eyes held for her.

“I do not want to be known as someone who is a betrayer. I want to change it by keeping my promise this time.” She said to him in a firm tone to let him know that she was serious and meant every word she had said.

“Why did you mention about ruining Xavier’s reputation then? Were you really thinking about jeopardizing his life like that?” he questioned trying to get to her mind and to know what it was that she really wanted to do.

“I said it because I wanted to get back at you for what you have said to me earlier. I wanted to cause you pain and make you anxious because your words scratched my old wound.” She answered truthfully, looking straight into his eyes to show him the sincerity of her words because she knew he was looking for it.

Luca let out a deep sigh of amusement as she really got him with that, he was really scared and anxious about Xavier and he had not really expected something like this from Tiara. He shook his head as he was easily played by this naïve girl and slipped the remaining wine in his mouth in one go.

“You would not betray Xavier this time, right?” he leaned back on his chair and stretched his arms and tilted his head slightly at her, waiting for her answer.

“I have no such intention this time.” She confessed honestly, “I intend to be a good wife to him.” A wave of relief washed over Luca upon hearing her because he could sense the sincerity and the determination in her voice.

“What are you guys talking about?” Xavier’s sudden voice startled both of them because none of them wished to let Xavier know about it as it would be useless and was pointless to begin with.

“Nothing, I just came to accompany Tiara, she was getting bored alone.” Luca spoke nonchalantly and sipped the wine the waiter had served him again.

He nodded at Luca and then looked at Tiara with soft eyes, “Our car is ready, should we leave or would you like to stay here longer?”

“You are leaving already?” Luca furrowed his eyebrows together and looked at the couple with a little frown plastered on his face.

“Yes, we are.” Xavier nodded and helped Tiara to stand up, “my wife is feeling tired.” He chuckled and Luca cringed seeing Xavier so soft.

“Okay, I am gonna throw up.” He passed a sarcastic comment before walking away towards the bar to drink some more while his flirtatious eyes wandered across the giant hallway to find a beauty he could have some fun with.

Xavier led Tiara outside the hotel where his driver was waiting for them with a BMW X7. He felt a cold breeze passing through them that made Tiara shiver lightly as it was a quite chilly night. Xavier witnessed her shivering figure and quickly unbuttoned his suit jacket and pulled it off and placed it gently on her shoulder to protect her from the cold.

They settled inside the expensive SUV and the driver brought it to life by starting the engine and the couple enjoyed the comfortably silent drive. Her green eyes were fixed on the moon that seemed to grace the dark sky with its brightness.

Xavier's eyes lingered on her quiet figure who had been enjoying the serene calmness that the glory of the moon was providing her. He looked at her and thought that she had never looked this beautiful before. He resisted the temptation to tuck her loose hair behind her ear that were shamelessly caressing her rosy cheeks, dancing along with the breeze that was coming from the window. He did not want to disturb her, he had always liked observing her sitting quietly, calm and content; it was a beautiful sight to hold.

The huge mansion stood in its glory as they passed the huge garden filled with different kinds of flowers and fountains that surrounded the Black abode. The light of the twinkling stars fell on the beautiful couple as they got off the car and a light breeze filled with the pleasing scent of flowers welcomed them.

Xavier moved and stood beside his gorgeous wife and they sauntered inside, matching their step together as a man and woman of the humble abode where they would start the new chapter of their life.

The moment they stepped inside, an intense satisfaction overwhelmed him, he had loved for a decade and all of his efforts finally paid off and he couldn’t be more grateful.

For Tiara, the familiar place felt oddly unfamiliar. It felt like she had come here for the first time though the memories from her childhood where she was playing around in this place were still fresh as daisies out in his garden. She had been prepared for this day from her early teens but there was always a part that kept saying that she did not belong here. She realized that part of her was still there inside her.

The six maids were lined up near the giant staircase to welcome Xavier and his wife, dressed in their black and white servant attire with their head hung low as they all greeted the young couple in unison, “Congratulation on you wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Black”

Xavier nodded lightly at them while Tiara just stood behind him, watching all the courtesy with no interest,

“Do you need any refreshment?”

“No, I am fine, thank you.” She answered and her husband nodded at her before dismissing the maids and they climbed up the stairs towards his room as Xavier helped her with her dress.

Xavier’s room was massive and equally breathtaking with a king size bed in the middle with walls that were painted in the darkest shade of grey. A huge glass window on the left side of the bed opened to a beautiful balcony that provides a good view of the outside. On the right side of the bed there were two doors, first one for the bathroom while the other was for the walk-in closet which was connected to a bathroom by a door from inside.

“I going for a quick shower, you can remove your makeup in the meantime.” Xavier smiled, blinking his eyes twice at his wife he went inside the bathroom to give her some space of her own.

Tiara let out a heavy sigh of exhaustion and made her way inside his walk-in closet but gasped at how big it was, she had never been here before and the sight in front of her made her feel like she was inside the store of some luxury brand. She moved further in, looking around at amusement and found the female clothes on one side filled with every possible thing a girl would want, she knew he had prepared everything beforehand.

She stopped in front of the large mirror once she was done looking around and started to wipe off her make up slowly and the façade of being confident started to fade away and the real her, hidden under all those layers appeared. She no longer felt beautiful looking at her reflection as all she could see was a broken girl who had tried hard to fight fate but she guessed that the saying that you can’t escape your fate no matter what might actually be true.

She scoffed and shook her head, not letting the feeling of defeat get to her. She did not want to feel vulnerable, at least not at this point where she had won her first battle against him. Her gaze turned hard and she kept a straight face this time staring at her reflection and took off the tiara she was wearing along with the beautiful veil and released her hair free from the torturous grips of many pins used to set her hair in a beautiful bun.

She felt instant relief when her blonde hair fell loosely and swallowed her bare back. Her hands moved back, hoping to reach for the zipper of the dress to get out of it as its fitting was really making her feel caught up, she was not a fan of body squeezing dresses. She struggled but the dress was designed with such care that it was actually very hard to locate the zipper especially from behind, the designer had done commendable work making the zipper to look invisible.

The door that connected the bathroom to the closet opened revealing Xavier with a grey bathrobe, his toned chest was on display while his hair drenched seemingly from the shower he had taken.

His sudden appearance startled Tiara as her bare back was facing him as she looked at him through the mirror wall before her, she had not expected Xavier to come here, she was not aware that the door in the closet would open to the bathroom.

Xavier, on the other hand, was as surprised as her, he had not expected to walk into her while she was struggling to get out of her dress.

“I am sorry.” He apologized looking here and there in an attempt to avoid looking at her flawless back that was tempting him to touch the softness of her pale skin, “I, uh, should leave.” He turned on his heels and scratched the back of his neck. He mentally palmed his face as he concluded that she might have thought that he had purposely walked into her while changing, he must have appeared as a p*****t to her.

“Wait!” her voice stopped him on his track, “can you please help me with the zipper?”