14. Tomorrow

"I knew it was you."

The relief and happiness in her tone were undeniable as she let out a small laugh, like she had figured out the answer to the creation of the universe. "You were Adam Taurus."

He was speechless. His arms still around her waist, he leaned his cheek on the top of her head. He didn't know what to say. He was in too much of a shock to even realise the corners of his mouth curling up in a relieved grin. Fuck getting the whole world in the palm of his hands, having her here in his arms, happy that he was her Adam Taurus was enough for him.

The sunlight through thr window basked them in gold, binding the sparks turned fires in their hearts as one, the absolute beauty of it reflecting in their crinkled eyes of brown and blue.

"I..." Xander began, the euphoria of the fact that she didn't hate him or get scared of him flooding his heart with happiness. "I'm sorry I hid it from you. It's...a really long story."

"I can tell." she murmured against his chest, too overwhelmed from the storm of emotions ranging in her heart. Topping them all was the pure ecstasy she felt on finding out that he was her Adam Taurus.

Her Adam Taurus?

He sighed softly, one of his hands rising to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I want to tell you...everything. If you're willing to listen." If you're willing to give me a chance.

She held his hand that was on her cheek and looked up at him. "Tell me."

"My actual name is Xander Knight." he said as he leaned back on the bookshelf, pulling one of his feet up. They were sitting down on the Persian rug below covering the whole floor, their backs against one of the shelf by the window.

Knight? She remembered reading about them when she was searching about the Villin. They were the strongest Mafia Empire in the whole US and one of the most dangerous in the whole world.

She raised her eyes to him in surprise. "And I'm the heir of the Knight Crime Empire." he said, flickering his eyes down at her, afraid of what her reaction would be.

"I..." she frowned, her eyes narrowing in thought. "I think I'm disappointed you're name isn't Black."

He blinked at her. Say what now?

At his clueless expression, something she found adorable, she smiled, her cheeks flushing a pale pink colour. "I just really like it that yours was Black and mine was White. Now it's Knight and White." she raised an eyebrow, nodding to herself. Then she turned to him. "Actually, Knight and White doesn't sound that bad either."

He gaped at her before an amused laughter burst from his mouth. "You're worried about that? You're not scared of me?"

She raked her eyes over his form, from the top of his head to his feet and then back up. Her lips curved in a half smirk, she said. "Nope. You look the exact opposite of scary to me."

His cheeks actually had a hint of red in them as she just casually checked him out. "And what's the opposite of scary?" he asked, leaning towards her, one of his hands on the shelf behind them.

"In your case," her eyes gleamed with honesty so pure, he felt his heart melting into a puddle. "Beautiful."

They were close. So close that their breaths mingled with each other's, their eyes two black holes drinking in each other, pulling in the sparkling feelings and emotions.

She couldn't keep her eyes from flickering down to his lips. Neither could he focus on the words he had prepared to say to her. All he could think of was how those pretty lips would feel like.

"You're beautiful." he said instead, trying to calm his thoughts. Moving his head closer, he placed it on her shoulder, feeling her go still for a brief moment before she relaxed.

She raised her hand, running her fingers through his hair gently. "As long as you think so."

He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of her hand in his hair. Raising his head up, he placed his lips gently on her cheek, near the corner of her mouth. Like he expected, colour flowed in her cheeks as she cast her eyes away from his, her mouth curving up in a shy smile . He snapped a picture of her in his phone, the sound of the camera surprising her.

"Delete it." she demanded, reaching for his phone. He pulled his hand back, raising it in the air out of her reach. "No."

She shot him a glare that just made her look incredibly cute to him. Having gained some confidence from the kiss earlier, he landed a soft peck on her other cheek after flashing her a smirk. "Please let me keep it?"

Her cheeks burning, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Please?" he asked in a pleading voice, mirth shining in his eyes.

When he attempted to pout, cracking her up, she gave in. "Fine."

A brilliant grin on his face, he pecked her cheek again. "Thank you."

She elbowed his ribs gently, trying to fight off the smile from her face. He slung his arm across her shoulder, pulling her close.

"So, the heir of the strongest mafia empire, what's next?" she asked.

Xander sighed. "A lot. Half of which I think you should ask your dad. It's his story to tell. But I'm ready to tell you if you want to know." Xander decided, "No more secrets."

Many would call him crazy and even stupid for trusting a person he met just a week ago. It is stupid and incredibly naive. But to Xander, it wasn't. It was hard to describe in words how he's beginning to feel about her. How much he's started caring. There was only one person who occupied such a position in Xander's heart, only one person who meant everything to him.

But her, she was slowly making a place in his heart, breaking down his wall effortlessly and engraving herself in it, filling his every single thought with her.

And the thing that drew him in the most, she fucking knew how he felt, she understood the pain he went through...because she experienced it herself.

The way she spoke, the way she acted around people and the way she acted around her brother reminded him of himself.

So there was no way she would break his trust...because she knew exactly how it felt.

"Is it related to my uncle?" she asked, her face void of emotions yet he could feel the hatred and hurt in her heart, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

"He's...involved in my world. Deeply."

"So is my dad?" she guessed.

"Was." Xander amended, "Well, he says he is."

"How?" she asked in complete bewilderment. "Why? This is just-"

"Confusing?"

She nodded. "But it also kind of makes sense. Dad used to get really tense whenever he saw the news about things like these or uncle would not so discreetly hint at him to go back to..." her eyes suddenly widened, her face dawning in realisation. "The Villins. He's related to the Villins isn't he?"

Xander stared at her. "How did you know?"

"I found a diary." She explained everything to him, from how she stole it to the research she'd done on it. "And the front page had a list of names, including my dad's and uncles. What's even weird was my name was also there at the bottom but the White was cut off, replaced by Villin."

"Because you are." Xander said in a heavy voice, his heart refusing to admit it. "You're a Villin...and the possible heir since you're the oldest legitimate grandchild of that family."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The reddish pink light creeping from between the dark clouds resembled the light hue of pink in her cheeks as he pulled her close to him and whispered in her ear.

"Tomorrow..." he gave her hand a light squeeze. "Everything's going to change."

She raised her eyes to his sapphire ones, determination glazing her own. "I'm not going to regret it."

His lips twisting up in a half smile, he shook his head. "You won't."

"Neither will you."

A full smile this time. "I won't."

It was her turn to smile. Releasing a breath as if she'd been running a marathon, she leaned forward and kisses his cheek. "See you tomorrow."

He watched her with a grin on his face as she walked away from him, adoration being the shimmer of his sapphire blue eyes.

Before she opened the front door, she turned her head to peek a glance at him. He flashed her a wink that made a small chuckle to bubble up from her throat.

The moment she stepped in the door, the smile slipped from her face. Olivia was sitting on the stairs by the living room, removing her shoes. She cast Alexandra bemused look. "Why are you still alive?"

Alexandra stormed inside the living room, banging the door loudly on the wall. Her mom and dad looked at her, startled. "What is she doing here?!" Alexandra demanded.

George Rose from the couch. "She was missing us-"

"Her dad tried to kill your son!" Alexandra yelled, unable to keep control of her temper. "I know you don't care about me but at least have some thought for Cole! Did you even ask him how he was feeling?! Did you?! Do you know how traumatised he must've been?! Did you-"

"Lexi listen to me-"

"Don't call me that."

"But Alexa-"

"Either she leaves or I do."

"Alexandra that's enough." Sophia's cold voice cut through the tension between George and Alexandra like a knife. She put down the papers she'd been holding and stood up. She cast George a heavy glare. "I told you this was a bad idea."

Then she looked back at Alexandra. "And you should learn to control your anger. He's your father, you can't disrespect him like tha-"

"Is that the only thing that matters to you?" Alexandra asked in disbelief. "How come you don't say the same thing to your precious niece when she blatantly tells me to go die? Or when she shamelessly admitted she hurt herself on purpose to get dad's attention away from me?!"

Her mom closed her eyes in irritation. "That's differ-"

"Even you don't believe me, do you?" the hurt that flashed in her eyes was nothing compared to the one in her heart. It shattered the broken pieces again, smashed them to dust. Maybe her mom never even believed a single thing she'd said about that night. Like the principal said, she didn't have proof.

At Sophia's hesitation to answer her question, Alexander's vision blurred from the unshed tears. Tears that she'd been holding back since that day, tears that she refused to ever shed again.

"Your niece was right about one thing." Alexandra said as a tear slipped from the corner of her eye. "Why am I still alive?"

"Alexandra." George's voice was sharp, his eyes blazing with anger. "That is enough." Sophia had her hand on her mouth, her face aghast at Alexander's words.

Alexandra didn't bother wiping the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Don't worry. You won't have to listen to my voice or see my face ever again after I turn 18."

She turned away and ran up the stairs to her bedroom, ignoring her parents calling for her. Wiping her cheeks roughly, she leaned back on the door, unable to control the sob escaping from her lips.

It was a good question indeed.

Why was she still alive when no one bothered to even care? Why was she getting so upset about it now when all her life she's been facing the same thing again and again? No one ducking cares about how she felt. Not her dad. Not her mom either. Yes, she had been there for her when she needed her but she was always on her dad's side, always defending him and Olivia.

She didn't even believe what Alexandra said about Olivia. She never did. And that hurt worse than her dad yelling at her to stop being a brat that night. It hurt so much worse.

She was tired. So tired of hiding away her pain, so tired of pretending to be okay in front of her brother. She couldn't live like this. She didn't want to.

Just when she thought her life was filling itself back with colours, someone just had to come drain them. After all, she wouldn't be Alexandra White if pain and misery weren't the two best companions she had.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Liam had never seen his brother acting so cheerful in his life. Ever.

Through out the whole dinner, which was Xander's least favourite part of the day, he kept smiling to himself randomly. He laughed at every single joke their uncle made without rolling his eyes even once. Even their uncle was baffled.

The two of the most shocked people, however, were Ethan and Amelia. It was as if Christmas had come early for them. Too early.

Even though they didn't know why their cold and expressionless son was smiling from ear to ear, they were really happy. It was as if the lost light in his eyes was back again after such a long time.

"Okay what is up with you?" Jeremy couldn't hold it back anymore. He leaned closer to Xander with a knowing look in his eyes. "Did you get laid or something?" he whispered shamelessly, making Xander choke on his food.

"Jesus. Seriously?!" Xander coughed, reaching for a glass of water. Amelia pushed it to him. He gulped it down without a second thought, making everyone at the table freeze.

After he put the glass down, he moved his eyes over his family. "What?"

"N-nothing." Ethan said quickly, hoping not to make Xander realise what he just did. After that fateful night, ever since he woke up from the brink of death, Xander refused to cast even a single glance to Amelia, much less eat something made by her or even drink the water she poured for him.

"Ignore them." Jeremy waved his hand at Ethan dismissively. "Now you tell me what happened. Did she accept it? Did you finally tell her?"

Noticing everyone's curious gazes on him, Xander held in a groan. They were going to find out sooner or later anyways. "Yes."

Silence. When Xander continued his meal like he just didn't drop a bomb over them, Liam banged his hand on the table. "That's it?" he demanded, "Where's the rest of it?! Is she your girlfriend now? Did you ask her out?"

Ethan and Amelia shared a look of confusion, the answer to their question in their minds already but uncertainty stopping them from saying it out loud . "Who are you talking about?" Amelia asked.

Jeremy gave her an unimpressed look, unable to hide his disdain. "No wonder he doesn't like you both. You don't even know what's going on in his life."

Liam cleared his throat loudly, pointedly glancing at Xander who, completely unbothered, was looking at his phone. "So what happened?" Liam asked again.

"Tomorrow." was all Xander said before he stood up, pushing his chair back and left for his room.

He tried to wait. He really did but he was nearing the end of his patience. She didn't call him, didn't even text this whole time. Even if its just been a few hours, he was missing her.

Jesus fucking Christ. What the hell was happening to him?

He gave in and dialled her number.

He waited for maybe 10 seconds before her voice answered. "Hey."

He immediately stiffened up, worry erupting in his chest like a hot spring. She had been fucking crying before.