Chapter 4 If Only I Had Said No
To me…
He was my jailer.
My phone was replaced again.
The guards followed me everywhere.
Even the driver reported my movements to Xavier.
If I spent five extra minutes outside, Xavier knew.
If I called anyone, Xavier knew.
If I skipped breakfast, Xavier knew.
I wasn’t living anymore.
I was being watched.
One afternoon, I decided I had had enough.While Xavier was at work, I borrowed one of the maids’ phones.My fingers shook as I dialed my father’s number.It barely rang once.A hand reached from behind and took the phone from me.
Xavier.
I turned around, my heart pounding.
“Were you planning to tell him?” he asked calmly.
I stared at him.
“You had someone following me?”
“I always do.”
He handed the phone back to the maid.
“You may leave.”
The maid hurried away without saying a word.
I looked at him with disbelief.
“You don’t trust me?”
“I don’t trust anyone.”
“I only wanted to speak to my father.”
“You’ll speak to him when I say you can.”
Anger burned inside me.
“You can’t control my life forever.”
He stepped closer until there was barely any space between us.
“I already do.”
His voice was calm.
That frightened me more than if he had shouted.
“You don’t love me.”
“I never said I did.”
The words hit me like a slap.
“So everything was a lie?”
“It was necessary.”
I laughed bitterly.
“For what?”
Xavier looked at me for a long moment.
Then he walked to the study.
“Come.”
I followed him reluctantly.
He opened a drawer and placed a thick brown file on the desk.
“Read it.”
I frowned.
“What is it?”
“Read.”
I slowly opened the file.
The first page carried my father’s name.
Victor Carter.
My chest tightened.
The next page contained records of illegal payments.
Then contracts.
Bank transfers.
Witness statements.
Everything pointed to one conclusion.
Corruption.
“No…” I whispered.
“This is not true.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
I looked at him.
“My father would never do any of this.”
“I know.”
“Then why…”
Xavier closed the file himself.
“Because people believe in documents.”
My hands became cold.
“You forged everything.”
He didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t need to,because I already knew the answers.
My eyes were filled with tears.
“You’ll send an innocent man to prison.”
“I’ll send whatever version of your father I need the world to believe.”
My breathing became uneven.
“My father spent thirty years building his name.”
“And one file can destroy it.”
I looked at him with fear.
“Why are you doing this?”
Xavier adjusted his cufflinks calmly.
“Your father is the only lawyer I need.”
“He’ll never help you.”
“He already is.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“He will take every case I send him.”
“Never.”
Xavier looked straight into my eyes.
“He will… because you are my wife.”
The room fell silent.
Everything finally made sense.
He never married me because he loved me.
He married me because of my father.
If my father refused the Blackthorne family…
I would suffer.
If my father fought back…
He would go to prison.
I wasn’t his wife.
I was the rope around my father’s neck that could hang him if I refuse to cooperate with Xavier.
A tear rolled down my cheek.
Xavier reached out to wipe it away.
I stepped back immediately.
“Don’t touch me.”
He lowered his hand.
“As long as you obey me, your father remains respected.”
“And if I don’t?”
His eyes became colder.
“I’ll make sure the entire country watches Victor Carter walk into court as a criminal.”
I closed my eyes.
I hated him.
I hated myself even more.
Because my father warned me.
He saw through Xavier from the beginning.
He begged me not to marry him.
But I thought he was judging Xavier because he was powerful.
I chose love.
Now I understand.
There had never been love.
Only a plan.
That night, my phone vibrated again.
Unknown Number.
Another picture.
Alexander was sitting by the beach with the same woman.
She rested her head on his shoulder.
The message underneath read:
He brought me here before he brought you.
I deleted it immediately.
Another message came.
He still misses me.
Then another.
You’re only warming my seat until I return.
I threw the phone onto the bed.
Whoever this woman was…
She wanted me to suffer.
And she was succeeding.
The bedroom door opened.
Xavier walked in.
He saw the phone on the bed.
“You received another message.”
It wasn’t a question.
I didn’t answer.
He picked up the phone and read every message.
His jaw tightened.
For the first time…
He looked furious.
Not at me.
At whoever was behind the messages.
He immediately called his head of security.
“I don’t care how many people you have to hire.”
His voice was ice-cold.
“I want the person sending these messages found.”
He ended the call and looked at me.
“They won’t contact you again.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You sound scared.”
His eyes narrowed.
“I’m protecting what’s mine.”
I looked at him with disgust.
“I’ll never be yours.”
He walked closer.
Then, in a voice so calm it sent chills through my body, he said,
“You already are.”
The next morning, every television station carried the same breaking news.
“Renowned Senior Advocate Victor Carter has officially accepted the Sterling Group as its legal representative.”
The remote slipped from my hand.
“No…”
My father kept his word.
He refused to bend for anyone.
So…
Why had he accepted Xavier’s offer?
