ChapterThree
1596 Words
One Night Away From The World
Natalia Blake
“Stay with me.”
The words left Xavier Sinclair’s mouth so quietly that for a second, Natalia wondered if she had heard him correctly.
She stared at him.
The most powerful man in the room was standing in front of her, asking her not to leave.It made no sense,a man like Xavier had everything, money and influence.
People who wanted to be close to him. He could call anyone, and that person would answer, so why was he looking at her like her presence mattered?
Natalia tightened her grip on her bag, she knew she should leave.This was not her world. Xavier Sinclair belonged to a life filled with private jets, expensive suits, and people whose names appeared in magazines.
She was the woman who counted her groceries before buying them, the woman who fixed problems because hiring someone else was not an option.Their worlds were too different.
“Why me?” she asked.
Xavier looked surprised by the question. “Because you’re the only person tonight who didn’t want anything from me.” The honesty in his voice caught her off guard.
Everyone wanted something from him.
A business deal.
A connection.
A chance to enter his world.
But Natalia had simply talked to him.She had looked at him and seen a person.
Not a fortune, not even a title or opportunity, all she saw a person.
And somehow, that seemed to matter to him more than anything.
After a long silence, Natalia nodded.
“Okay.”
Something changed in Xavier’s expression. Relief, like he had been holding his breath.Natalia expected him to take her somewhere that reminded her of the difference between them.
A luxury restaurant, or a private lounge.A place where everyone would know exactly who Xavier Sinclair was, but he surprised her. The car moved away from the busy streets and into a quieter part of the city.No cameras followed them.No strangers approached him,or someone trying get his attention.
For once, Xavier was not surrounded by people waiting for something, he was simply there.Natalia looked out the window.
“This isn’t what I expected.”Xavier glanced at her. “What did you expect?” She smiled slightly.“I don’t know. Something more… you.”A small smile appeared on his face.
“And what does that mean?”
“Expensive.”
A quiet laugh escaped him, a real one.Not the controlled expression she had seen earlier.Natalia noticed immediately,this was different.The man everyone feared was gone,in his place was someone calmer, someone who looked like he had finally stopped pretending.The place Xavier brought her to was quiet. It was not filled with luxury meant to impress people.It was private and peaceful.
A place where he could disappear for a while.Natalia looked at him.“You come here often?”
“Sometimes.”
“Why?”
Xavier looked ahead,because nobody knows who I am here.”The answer stayed with her.
She understood then.
He was not running away from people,he was running away from the version of himself everyone expected him to be.The businessman, the leader, the man who always had it figured out Here, he did not need any of that.His shoulders relaxed, his voice softened.The cold expression he wore in public disappeared.
Natalia watched him quietly.For the first time, she realized something. Xavier Sinclair was not searching for someone to admire him, he was searching for somewhere he could exist without pretending to beXavier Sinclair. He did not know why he was telling her these things.
He had spent years keeping people away, it was safer. People only saw what they wanted to see. Him being a successful billionaire and young CEO, never losing anything.
Nobody looked deeper.
And Xavier had stopped allowing them too . But Natalia was different.
She did not force her way into his life,she did not demand answers. She simply listened, and somehow that made him want to speak.
“You know what’s strange?” he said. Natalia looked at him.
“What?”
“People think having everything means you have no problems.”
She stayed quiet.
That was one thing he liked about her. She never rushed to fill silence,she always allowed him to think.
“They see the company, the money the name.” His expression changed slightly. “But they don’t see what it takes to carry all of it.” Natalia looked at him carefully.
“Was it always like that?”
Xavier knew what she meantHis family,his childhood, the Sinclair name.He looked down.
“Pretty much.”
The word was simple. But the pain behind it was not.
“My whole life was planned before I was old enough to understand what I wanted.”
He paused.
“I was taught that being successful was the same as being worthy.” Natalia’s expression softened, that sounds exhausting.
“It was.” For a moment, Xavier allowed himself to admit something he rarely said.
“I was always trying to become someone people would be proud of.” The room became quiet, Natalia understood the meaning behind his words.
He was not talking about money, he was talking about simply being accepted for who he was.
“I had people around me,” he continued.
“But I never knew if they were there because of me or because of what I had.” That was the part that hurt the most.
Having everything and still questioning whether anyone truly cared, or if you are ever enough.
Natalia Blake
The more Xavier spoke, the more she saw the truth behind him, the distance,sharp words and controlled personality. These were not signs of arrogance, they were armor, his charm.
A person did not build walls without a reason. “You protect yourself a lot,” Natalia said.
Xavier looked at her. “You think so?”
“Yes.”
A faint smile touched his lips. You barely know me.
“That’s true.” She looked at him, but sometimes people reveal more through what they do than what they say.
He watched her. “You think you know me?”
“No.”
She shook her head, I think i understand parts of you. That answer surprised him, because she was not pretending, or clap she had all the answers, she was simply seeing him and being truthful.
“You’re not as cold as people think,” she added. Xavier looked away, that’s what people say when they don’t know the truth.”
“Maybe.” Natalia smiled softly.
“Or maybe they only notice the parts you allow them to see.” For a moment, Xavier had no response, because she was right.
He had spent years showing people exactly what he wanted them to see.And hiding everything else, that night continued without either of them realizing how much time had passed.
They talked about things that did not matter.
And somehow, those were the things that mattered most. Natalia told him about small moments from her life, the little things that made her happy.
The memories she held onto and the dreams she was afraid to say out loud.
Xavier listened.
Really listened.
Something about that surprised her, she was used to being the person who cared and not the person someone cared about.
But with him, she felt noticed, not because she was useful or she could offer help to him. It was simply because she was herself.
For the first time, Xavier laughed without thinking about how he looked.Natalia saw the difference, the smile was not practiced. It was natural.
“You should do that more,” she said. He looked confused.
“Do what?”
“Smile like that.”
Xavier raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“Like you forgot you’re Xavier Sinclair.”
The words made him quiet. Because maybe that was exactly what happened.
For a few hours, he forgot the name and the responsibility and expectations that came with it.
He was just a man sitting across from a woman who made him feel comfortable. And that feeling scared him, because he wanted it to continue.Natalia felt the same fear.
She reminded herself this was temporary.People like Xavier did not stay, they passed through, changed your life and they left. But every time she looked at him, she found herself hoping she was wrong.
The night ended quietly, no grand declarations or promises.
Just a feeling neither of them wanted to admit.Natalia looked at Xavier and saw someone different from the man she met hours earlier.
She saw someone who was tired of being strong,who wanted to be understood. And somehow, he made her feel the same.
Chosen, she felt important and seen.That was dangerous, because hope was something Natalia had stopped allowing herself to have.
But with Xavier, it returned, maybe their differences did not matter and for someone like him could actually choose someone like her.
Maybe this was not just one beautiful night, but the beginning of something. Xavier did not say forever, he did not promise anything.
But the way he looked at her made Natalia believe there was something real between them, and she held onto that feeling.
She did not know that some moments were special because they were never meant to last.
For one night, Natalia Blake was not the woman struggling to survive.
For one night, Xavier Sinclair was not the billionaire everyone feared.
They were simply two people who found each other in a world that had made them both feel alone.
- Writer
