MARKED FOR XAVIER

CHAPTER NINE:THE TRUTH HE WITHOLDS

The key turned.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

The sound echoed louder than it should have—sharp, final, impossible to ignore.

Ariana’s breath caught as the lock clicked open.

For a moment—

No one moved.

The air shifted.

Not physically.

But in a way she felt.

Deep.

Unsettling.

Xavier’s hand remained on the handle.

Still.

As though even he understood—

That once this door opened…

There would be no undoing it.

“Last chance,” he said quietly.

Her eyes lifted to his.

Steady.

Unwavering.

“I’m not walking away.”

A pause.

Then—

The door opened.

The room was not what she expected.

No darkness.

No chaos.

No immediate danger.

Instead—

It was… preserved.

Dimly lit, yes—but intentional.

Everything inside felt untouched by time.

A desk.

Shelves lined with files.

Old photographs.

Documents stacked with precision.

Ariana stepped in slowly, her movements cautious, her senses alert.

“This is what you were hiding?” she asked, her voice quieter now—not disappointed, but confused.

Xavier didn’t answer immediately.

He stepped in behind her.

Closed the door.

The soft click echoed again.

“This isn’t about what I was hiding,” he said.

His voice was closer now.

Lower.

“It’s about what was kept from you.”

Her brows pulled together slightly.

“What are you talking about?”

Instead of answering—

He moved past her.

Calm.

Unhurried.

He reached for something on the desk.

A file.

The same shade of brown.

Ariana’s chest tightened instantly.

Recognition.

“This looks familiar, doesn’t it?” he asked.

Her fingers curled slightly at her sides.

“…I found one like that,” she admitted.

A faint pause.

“I know.”

Her head snapped toward him.

“You—what?”

But he was already opening it.

Carefully.

Deliberately.

“Come here.”

Not a command this time.

Not fully.

But she moved anyway.

Drawn.

Pulled.

She stepped closer—close enough to see the contents clearly.

Her breath slowed.

Then stilled.

Her name.

Her full name.

Printed.

Stamped.

Signed.

Her father’s signature.

Her mother’s.

And—

The Ravencrest seal.

Her heart dropped.

“What is this…?” she whispered.

Xavier’s gaze didn’t leave the page.

“Your life,” he said quietly.

Ariana shook her head slightly.

“No… no, that doesn’t make sense.”

But it did.

Pieces began to shift.

To connect.

“This agreement,” he continued, his voice steady, “was signed years ago.”

Her pulse spiked.

“Before you had a say.”

Her breathing became uneven.

“…Before I even knew,” she finished faintly.

Silence followed.

Heavy.

Crushing.

“You weren’t supposed to find out like this.”

His voice was closer again.

Too close.

Ariana turned toward him slowly.

Their proximity shifted instantly.

“What do you mean ‘like this’?” she asked, her voice trembling now—not weak, but overwhelmed.

His gaze held hers.

“There was a plan.”

Her chest tightened.

“Of course there was,” she said bitterly. “There’s always a plan with you.”

A flicker of something passed through his eyes.

“Not everything was mine.”

That made her pause.

“…What?”

He stepped closer.

Again.

Closing the distance until the air between them felt thin.

“Some things,” he said quietly,

“were decided long before I got involved.”

Her breath caught.

“And you just followed along?” she challenged.

A pause.

Then—

“No.”

His voice dropped.

“I made sure it happened.”

That hit harder.

Her eyes widened slightly.

“You chose this?”

A beat passed.

“Yes.”

No hesitation.

No regret.

Something inside her shifted.

Not just fear.

Something deeper.

Something dangerously close to understanding—

And resisting it.

Her eyes dropped back to the document.

Scanning faster now.

Searching.

Then—

She saw it.

A date.

Not just any date.

Her birth date.

Followed by something else.

A clause.

Her breath stopped.

“…No,” she whispered.

Her hands trembled slightly as she flipped the page.

Reading.

Faster.

Desperately.

“This… this says—”

Her voice broke slightly.

“That I was promised… from birth?”

Silence.

Deafening.

Xavier didn’t correct her.

Didn’t deny it.

Which meant—

It was true.

A sharp knock suddenly cut through the tension.

Both of them stilled.

Xavier’s expression shifted—controlled again.

“Yes?” he said.

The door opened slightly.

And then—

“Sir ,please you have a visitor,she’s outside already”.

“Let her in.”

Ariana froze.

“…Brittany?”

Her voice came out almost breathless.

Standing at the doorway was someone she knew.

Not just knew—

Trusted.

Brittany stepped in slowly, her posture composed, her expression unreadable—but her eyes…

Her eyes lingered on Ariana for just a second too long.

And in that second—

Something felt off.

“Ari,” Brittany said softly.

No surprise.

No confusion.

Just calm acknowledgment.

Ariana’s grip tightened around the file in her hands.

Her pulse quickened—not from relief, but from something else.

Something she couldn’t quite name yet.

“You’re here?” Ariana asked, her voice uncertain now. “What are you doing here?”

She wasn’t expecting her.

At least,not now.

She had tried reaching out to her a couple of times but she didn’t respond to any.

So…..how was she here or how did she even find this estate?

A brief silence followed.

Brittany glanced at Xavier.

Just for a moment.

And that—

That was all Ariana needed to see.

Something inside her dropped.

“You knew,” she said quietly.

“But you acted like you didn’t.”

It wasn’t a question.

Brittany didn’t answer immediately.

Which was answer enough.

Ariana let out a soft, disbelieving laugh.

“No…” she shook her head slowly, stepping back. “No, that’s not possible.”

She couldn’t believe it.

She didn’t want to.

But it was.

Every look.

Every pause.

Every silence.

It all started making sense.

“How long?” Ariana asked, her voice sharper now. “How long have you known about this?”

Brittany exhaled slowly.

“…Long enough.”

That hurt more than anything else.

Ariana’s chest tightened.

“So while I was confused… while I was trying to figure out what was happening to me—”

Her voice wavered slightly.

“You already knew?”

Brittany stepped forward slightly.

“Ari—”

“Don’t,” Ariana cut in immediately.

Her voice dropped.

Colder now.

“Don’t say my name like nothing’s changed.”

Silence.

Heavy.

Uncomfortable.

And then—

Brittany’s expression shifted.

Not defensive.

Not apologetic.

Something else.

Something… resigned.

“There are things you don’t understand yet,” she said carefully.

Ariana’s grip tightened on the file.

“Then explain it,” she snapped. “Explain why my life was planned before I even had one—and you knew about it.”

A pause.

Then—

Brittany’s gaze flickered briefly to Xavier again.

And that—

That was when Ariana felt it.

That unsettling realization.

This wasn’t just about her anymore.

This was bigger.

Way bigger.

Brittany looked back at Ariana.

Her voice softer now.

But heavier.

“Ari…”

A pause.

Then—

“You weren’t just promised.”

Ariana’s breath stilled.

“What are you talking about?”

Silence stretched.

Then—

Brittany said it.

Slowly.

Carefully.

“You were prepared.”

The words didn’t land immediately.

But when they did—

They hit hard.

Ariana’s heart began to race.

“…Prepared for what?” she whispered.

“So you were the one sent…..to prepare me?”

Brittany didn’t answer.

Not directly.

Instead—

Her gaze shifted briefly to the open file in Ariana’s hands.

Then back to her.

And this time—

There was something different in her eyes.

Something almost like pity.

“That…”

A beat.

“…is what he hasn’t told you yet.”

Silence.

Thick.

Unmoving.

Ariana slowly turned her head—

Toward Xavier.

Her breath uneven.

Her thoughts racing.

And for the first time—

He didn’t look in control.

Not fully.

Just for a second.

A crack.

Small.

But there.

Ariana’s voice came out barely above a whisper.

“…What did you prepare me for?”

Xavier didn’t answer.

Didn’t move.

Didn’t look away.

And somehow—

That silence…

Said everything.