Chapter 7 The Past He Demanded
I knew what was coming.
He turned toward me, his expression cold.
“Explain.”
I looked away.
“Explain what?”
“Don’t play with me, Laurel.”
His voice was low, but there was anger underneath it.
“How do you know Magnus?”
I remained silent.
“Where did you meet him?”
I swallowed.
Xavier stepped closer.
“How long have you known my brother?”
I didn’t answer.
His jaw tightened.
“You were trembling the moment you saw him. You dropped your glass. You couldn’t even look at him.”
I looked at him.
“What do you want me to say?”
“The truth.”
I almost laughed.
“The truth?”
“Yes.”
“You want the truth from me?”
His eyes narrowed.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve been hiding things from me since the day we got married.”
His expression hardened.
“I asked you a question.”
“And I’ve asked you questions too.”
“About what?”
“The woman.”
Silence.
The same silence I had gotten every time I asked about the woman who kept sending me pictures and videos of him.
Xavier’s face remained emotionless.
“That is not what I want to hear right now.Answer my question”
“No. I’m reminding you that you don’t tell me everything either.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to hide things from me.”
“And being my husband gives you the right to know everything about my past?”
“Yes.”
The answer came without hesitation.
I stared at him.
He walked closer.
“You are my wife, Laurel.”
There it was again.
The reminder.
The power he always used whenever I tried to stand up to him.
“I know,” I whispered.
“Then answer me.”
I took a shaky breath.
“I knew Magnus before I knew you.”
Xavier’s eyes darkened.
“How?”
“We met in college.”
“And?”
“And we were close.”
“How close?”
I looked down.
“We were together.”
The room went silent.
Xavier stared at me.
“You dated my brother.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“years.”
His expression changed, but his voice remained frighteningly calm.
“And you loved him?”
I hesitated.
That was enough.
Xavier looked away for a moment.
“How convenient.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You married me after loving my brother.”
“And you married me even when you love someone else. I said with a cracked voice.
“Right! You married me for a reason”.
“I didn’t know he was your brother.”
“But you loved him.”
“I did.”
The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
Xavier’s eyes returned to mine.
“And now?”
I couldn’t answer.
He waited.
I looked away.
“I don’t know.”
His face became unreadable.
“You don’t know?”
“Seeing him again brought back things I thought I’d forgotten.”
Xavier laughed bitterly.
“So my brother still has an effect on you.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You didn’t have to.”
He turned away.
I watched him as he paced up and down the room
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then he asked quietly, “Why did you break up?”
My fingers tightened around the fabric of my dress.
“He disappeared.”
“No explanation?”
“Nothing.”
Xavier turned and laughed.
I looked at him in disbelief, “what’s so funny”?
“You”
“And I guess you waited for him”.he smiled again.
“For a while.” I said
“How long?”
“Long enough.”
Then he stared at me as he wiped off the smile if his face, though I knew it was fake.
His expression hardened again.
“And you don’t think you should have mentioned it to me”?
“And you should have told me about your woman.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Wow…… I see, seeing your shining amour has given you an effrontery to speak to me anyhow”
“And that has nothing to do with this.”
“It has everything to do with this.”
He stepped toward me.
“You’re not in a position to make demands.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“Of course I’m not.”
“You’re my wife.”
“And you’re my husband. Yet I’m still the last person to know anything.”
His face went cold.
“Be careful, Laurel.”
I immediately regretted pushing him. he gazed at me like I’m supposed to drop dead
“I’ve told you everything I can.”My voice trembled
“No.”
He came closer.
“You’ve told me what you wanted me to know.”
I said nothing.
His eyes searched my face.
“There is more.”
I couldn’t deny it.
There was.
There was the necklace.
The memories.
The things Magnus had said with just one look.
But I couldn’t tell Xavier everything.
Not yet.
Xavier finally stepped back.
“Fine.”
I looked at him.
“Fine?”
“You don’t want to tell me?”
He picked up his phone.
“I’ll find out for myself.”
A chill ran through me.
“Xavier—”
“Get some sleep.”
He walked toward the door.
I watched him reach for the handle.
Then he stopped.
Without turning around, he said, “And stay away from Magnus.”
My heart sank.
“Why?”
His hand tightened around the door handle.
“Because you are my wife and don’t you dare ask me WHY ever again, because you won’t like the outcome.
He looked over his shoulder.
“Stay away from my brother,And if he came back after all these years, it wasn’t to say hello.”
“You don’t want to get caught up in this”.
Then he walked out.
I stood alone in the room.
My heart was pounding.
I didn’t know what frightened me more.
Xavier’s warning…
or the feeling that Magnus had returned for something I know nothing about but more dangerous.
And somewhere downstairs, Magnus was still in the same house.
The house where both brothers now knew they had one thing in common.
Me.
