Chapter 29: Let's Break Up

Zarah and Xavier finally arrived in front of the complex. Zarah wanted to invite Chris in but she didn't see how Xavier glared at her poor assistant.

"No, Zarah. I'll be fine. Our apartment is nearby. I'll pick you both up tomorrow morning instead." Chris said while looking at his scary boss.

"Are you sure?" She asked and Chris nodded, "I'm sure. Master! I'll go now."

Xavier only hummed in response. Zarah and Xavier entered the building and boarded the elevator. It was a small apartment complex surrounded by a peaceful neighborhood.

The elevator stopped at the fourth floor where their apartment was.

Zarah then invited Xavier in. "Welcome to our home! I'm sorry if it's simpler than your taste."

"No, it's fine." He dismissed.

"Wait here." Zarah then ran to the cupboards and looked for a clean pair of indoor sleepers.

After finding an available pair, she ran back to the entrance and gave it to him.

"Wear them first."

After he was done, Zarah gave him a quick tour of their three-bedroom apartment where Xavier once stayed before for a short time.

There were no fancy-looking or luxurious items inside the house. The interior design was modest. Most of their furniture was made of wood.

Zarah said that Isaiah bought some of them from a thrift shop or bargain store. However, Xavier could tell that they were collectibles and were usually bought in auction houses.

The theme was more on brass or copper with the walls painted in white. It gave off a cozier vibe. There's a piano in the corner of the living room and Xavier remembered Zarah playing it once in the past.

"Let me show you the guest room," Zarah said and they walked with Xavier following behind her.

"There are toiletries in the bathroom. A clean towel is inside the cabinet." She then went to open the cabinet to grab a pair of clean pillowcases, pillows, fresh bedsheet covers, duvet, and duvet cover.

Zarah had mastered making the bed in less than five minutes.

Then she realized that Xavier had no change of clothes.

She went to Isaiah's room and checked on his cabinet. "This one."

After getting the clothes, she went back to Xavier and asked him to change his clothes with them.

"I have bought this sleepwear for Old Man. He didn't get the chance to wear them so they are brand-new." Zarah was worried that Xavier was a neat freak and might think that the clothes were used.

Xavier grabbed it from her hand and she left the room to give him privacy.

A lot had happened that night that she had forgotten to eat dinner. She wondered if Xavier had eaten dinner, too.

She decided to go to the kitchen to cook two bowls of hot ramen.

She grabbed her apron and got started.

Meanwhile, Trixie arrived at their house and she saw her brother sitting on the couch reading newspaper.

The scratch on his face was forming a scar and he had already booked an appointment for the scar treatment.

"Trixie?" He asked in surprise after seeing her standing by the door. He got up and continued, "Why did you not tell me that you're arriving tonight!"

Instead of responding with a happy face, Trixie looked disappointed in his brother.

"I'm so disappointed in you brother. Did you know that something happened to Chairman Stevens today? Yet, here you are. You don't even bother going to the hospital to comfort Arah!"

Olivia did tell her about what happened to Zarah and Josh and her sister reminded her to not interfere and let the two fix the issue.

"I have no idea that something happened!" Josh said in defense at the same time he was shocked.

"You don't?" That's when Trixie figured out that Zarah didn't message her brother. The news about the poisoning was being kept from the media to not cause panic among the investors.

"Is Zarah okay? She had been avoiding me these past few days and I was giving her the cool-off that she needed from me." He added.

"Well, she's not fine. She was not crying when I saw her but her eyes were red and puffy."

Josh did not continue listening to her as he ran to his room to grab his keys, wallet, and jacket.

He wanted to go to comfort his girlfriend.

"Where are you going, Josh?" Trixie asked as soon as she saw him hurriedly walking to the garage.

"I'll go to Zarah." He said. Trixie on the other hand wanted to stop him but she thought that Josh still had the right to comfort Zarah since they did not break the relationship officially.

Josh entered his car and sped off at the speed of light.

Meanwhile, Zarah was busy cooking in the kitchen when Xavier approached her.

His presence startled her and she cut her left finger with a knife. Xavier saw her finger bleeding heavily and he cried in alarm, "Zarah!" The next second, he rushed to Zarah's side and grabbed her injured hand, and put her finger inside his mouth.

Zarah gasped in shock and asked, "What are you doing?"

He was sucking her finger and Zarah's face turned crimson in embarrassment. This was unexpected as no one had done this for her before.

Josh would just tell her to wash the injured finger with soap and water and then apply first-aid.

Xavier tasted rust inside his mouth but he didn't care. He covered it with his saliva.

He went to the sink to spit out the blood he collected from her wound and frowned when the cut was still bleeding.

That's when he found out that it was pretty deep.

So, he walked her to the sink. He turned on the tap and let the running water clean the blood off her fingers. He then grabbed a clean paper towel and asked her to press on it while he started looking for their first-aid kit.

"It's in my bathroom cabinet. Behind the mirror." She shouted.

Xavier entered her room and went to her bathroom. He came back a few seconds after. He asked her to sit on the stool while he went to turn off the stove.

He then started treating her wound. He knew that Zarah had high pain tolerance and so he didn't expect her to flinch. Still, he blew air into the wound to make sure that she would not feel any pain.

He did the entire process so gently as if Zarah's fingers were so fragile. He was so serious that Zarah was drawn to his face. She didn't realize that she was blushing.

Xavier cleared his throat so Zarah won't feel awkward.

"Avoid getting it wet for three days so it would heal faster," he sternly reminded her.

"I know."

Xavier then kept the first-aid kit and returned it to the cabinet while Zarah went to check the pot.

She looked at the cooked meat that she was slicing on the chopping board and was about to resume cutting them when Xavier's voice stopped her.

"What are you doing?"

"Slicing this while cooking."

"No. Put that down."

"But--"

"No buts here lady. You have to listen to me." He said while taking over the knife.

"Now, go back to the stool, and let me finish this so we could eat."

"Do you even know how to cook Old Man's recipe?" She felt like she had to ask this.

"Well, if you teach me how he does it, then I can copy his recipe," he said.

"Okay."

Xavier grabbed the apron and wore it. Zarah didn't expect that the combination of the night sleepwear and the pink apron would look good on him.

His intimidating aura vanished and he looked like a leading man in a South Korean romantic comedy-drama.

Zarah thought that life was so unfair as there were people who were blessed with beauty that could fit into any genre.

After thirty minutes, Xavier served two bowls of fresh ramen on the table.

Xavier and Zarah sat around the table. Xavier waited for Zarah to taste it first before he had his first sip of the soup.

"Hmm. Not bad for a first-timer," she commented Xavier beamed with a smile and this caught her off-guard.

His smile was so beautiful that she wanted to cry.

She thought that the atmosphere turned lighter because of his smile.

"Thank you, Master. You taught me well," he said in his raspy voice which made Zarah choke on her saliva.

Why did he have to say it that way? Why did he have to change his voice tone?

Xavier quickly gave her a glass of water and she gulped them in one go.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a teasing tone.

"Yes. I'm fine." She said awkwardly.

They decided to enjoy the food and made no unnecessary noise. Overall, the late dinner turned out peaceful and harmonious.

Xavier volunteered to clean the dishes since she could not wash them herself.

"Do you even know how?" Zarah was skeptical as she didn't believe that he had washed a single plate in the past.

"I have lived alone in my apartment for two years now. I do all the chores and never asked someone to clean up after me." He bragged.

"Oh!"

Since he insisted, Zarah had no other choice but to believe him. No wonder he knew his way around the kitchen. She was going to ask how a Master like him knew how to cook. Well, he just answered her question.

While he was doing the dishes, Zarah decided to go to her room so she could change her clothes and prepare for the night. It was already eleven in the evening.

The hot bowl of ramen made her feel a little sleepy. Which was a good sign for her since her goal was to sleep.

However, before she could even enter her bathroom, she heard the telephone ringing.

She saw Xavier answering it for her.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"It's the receptionist downstairs. Mr. Irving is downstairs." Xavier informed her unhappily which Zarah wondered why.

Zarah grabbed the phone and talked to the receptionist.

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute." She said and put down the phone.

She went back inside her room and grabbed a jacket to cover her upper body.

"Do you want me to go down with you?" He offered.

"No. It's fine." She declined his offer.

Zarah went out of the room not realizing that Xavier's gaze turned cold while looking at the door where she exited.

Zarah on the other hand didn't want to face Josh yet. She's not ready to confront him yet.

However, she knew that she had to do this now as she was starting to make things unfair for Josh, too.

She was keeping him in the dark for days.

The elevator reached the ground floor and as soon as it opened, she heaved a huge sigh before walking out from it.

"Zarah! Why am I not allowed to directly go upstairs? What is going on?" He asked in frustration.

Josh went to the apartment they shared and found out that she was not there. So he decided to drive to their previous apartment.

"Josh, this is not my house. Not anyone could come inside as they pleased."

"Anyone? Am I anyone to you now?" He asked as he felt offended by her words.

Zarah heaved a sigh as she felt like they would end up in an argument should she not end the conversation quickly.

"Josh, let's break up."

"What?!"

***