Chapter 35: Confused

"Let me go!"

Mrs. Irving did not recognize who Xavier was and thought he was Zarah's bodyguard.

"Only if you promise to not hurt her, Mrs. Irving," Xavier told her.

"Ha! This vile woman doesn't even deserve to receive a slap from me. How could she hurt my son!?"

"My poor son. Now! If you won't let go! I'll sue you for harassment!" Mrs. Irving clearly lost it.

She was crying and Zarah felt sorry for her. Though she never treated Zarah well, she respected her as the mother of her boyfriend (now ex-boyfriend) and her two best friends. Therefore, she would swallow any vile comments this woman would throw at her.

She understood that she was hurt. And so, she decided to be lenient with her for the last time.

She looked at Xavier and upon meeting her gaze, he completely understood what she wanted him to do and so he released Mrs. Irving's wrist reluctantly.

However, he shoved her behind him as his overprotective nature kicked in. However, Zarah stepped out behind him and went to comfort Mrs. Irving. "Auntie, please calm down."

However, she didn't expect that Mrs. Irving would push her harshly and that she would almost fall if not for Xavier who grabbed her by her side and hugged her protectively.

"Careful!" He cried and even wanted to kick Mrs. Irving for pushing Zarah but he thought that she would not like it and so he stopped.

Her nose hit Xavier's broad chest and she almost felt like crying because it hurt her. From her neck to her head, she could feel pain like regular people would but from her shoulder down to her toes, she had high pain tolerance. Did she explain it before?

"Calm down? Do you know he almost lost his life because he dr*g ov*rd*sed? And now, he's still unconscious!"

"Excuse me, Mrs. Irving but I don't think that's Zarah's fault."

"What did you just say?" Mrs. Irving asked in surprise.

"Did she ask your son to take any prohibited substance?"

No. She did not. Zarah never knew about it. It's his fault for using it in the first place.

"Your son became irresponsible and could not even take care of his own life and you wanted to blame that on her? You're unbelievable, Mrs. Irving." Xavier sneered and looked at the woman in disgust.

"I'm glad that she broke up with your son. Because I would never want her to be in an abusive relationship."

'He was still not over with his ex, yet. If Zarah decided to become a martyr and still decided to forgive him despite what he did, then, he would doubt if she was still the same Zarah that he used to know.

"Abusive? Ha! Who are you to interfere with our conversation when you're only a mere bodyguard!"

Just then, Trixie who went out to get a hot cup of coffee for herself was stunned to see her mother having a dispute in the hallway.

"Excuse me! This is the hospital. Do that outside. You're disturbing the others." One nurse told them.

Trixie rushed to her mother's side and she immediately stopped her from embarrassing herself and the family.

"Mom! Stop it!" Trixie said while looking at Zarah with an apologetic gaze.

"Oh! Right! You'll always side with this woman even if she hurt your brother!" Mrs. Irving cried as she felt wronged.

Trixie then went to approach Zarah. "Arah, I'm so sorry. Did mom hurt you?" And she grabbed her hand and tried to check her for any scratch of handprints on the face.

She heaved a sigh when there was none.

"The police are still investigating the case. And mom is looking for someone to blame."

"Good! Even my daughter is neglecting her mother. Can't you see that they bullied me?" Mrs. Irving tried to appeal to her but she failed.

Trixie then looked at her mother and approached her. She then leaned on and whispered, "I'll give you face since we're in public. But the moment I see proof that you've hurt Arah, Mom, I'll forget that I have a mother in this world."

Trixie's expression became cold when she said that and this sent a shiver down her mother's spine.

She was surprised to see this side of her daughter. She wanted to scold her but she was so afraid that her tongue got stuck in her mouth.

Zarah and Xavier could hear what she said to her mother and they had different reactions.

Zarah heaved a sigh while Xavier thought that the Irving family dynamics were interesting.

The twins hated their parents. Especially their mother for the things she had done to them in the past. However, they showed no signs of resentment and became model daughters of rich families. However, it was their story to tell, not hers.

"Right Mom?" Trixie retracted and her expression changed. She also smiled at her mother like she was encouraging her to do the same thing, too.

"Trix. I think Auntie is tired." Zarah said and Trixie wrapped her arm around her mother's back and said, "You're right. Well, we have to go now. I'll visit you when everything's okay on our side. I hope you're okay on your side, too."

"Don't worry about Zarah. I can take good care of her." Xavier said but she completely ignored him and only focused her attention on Zarah.

Zarah looked up to check on Xavier's reaction to it and his face seemed to be unbothered.

"Take care, Arah. I'm sorry that this happened. Don't worry. We're sure that brother has already learned his lesson." Then she went her attention to her mother who was still shaken because of what she did. "Let's go, Mom. Brother might be waking up any time by now."

Trixie and Zarah waved their hands goodbye and they went on their separate ways.

Zarah and Xavier went to the car and they were driven back to the mansion.

Zarah was exhausted and slept while she was sitting in the car.

Fatigue and exhaustion had taken a toll on her body.

Xavier pulled her to him and let her lay on his lap.

As she looked at his sleeping face, he also felt drowsy and closed his eyes.

The trip back to the villa with no traffic jams on the road would usually take twenty to thirty-five minutes but after Rupert realized that his master was also taking a nap, he decided to drive painfully slow as he didn't want to disturb Xavier's precious sleep.

Unlike these two, he at least got the chance to take a nap while waiting inside the car.

Also, Xavier needed this rest as he had hurt himself in the car accident. He should be wearing a neck brace yet he was about not wearing one.

He thought that his master didn't want Zarah to worry.

He even fought with the medical team who responded to the accident as they wanted to bring him to the hospital. He punched them in the face when they tries to stop him as he wanted to go to Zarah immediately.

If not for the fact that his clothes were stained with blood and he had to change them before seeing her again, he would not go to the hospital and received treatment.

Xavier's injury was not only his fractured arm though. His back ached, too. There were also bruises on his other arm as he made sure to cover his face when the collision happened.

It's not also true that Xavier bumped into an innocent post. A self-driving car suddenly showed up from the intersection and bumped into Xavier's car causing the latter to fly in the air because of the impact.

If not for the fact that the car was remodeled to withstand such impact, Xavier was surely dead by now.

Rupert thought that Xavier should be careful and mindful of his health should he really want to be with Zarah.

He might look invincible but he had a few weaknesses (other than Zarah), too. He was lucky that his enemies had not yet discovered it.

He was actually against the idea of his Master pursuing Zarah as the enemies might use her to threaten him.

After learning about her existence, he went on to investigate her even before Xavier asked him to. Even before they arrived at Oakridge City.

He observed her for a week and thought of looking for an opportunity to attack. He knew her routine and was following her wherever she went. Yet he could not bring himself to kill her in the end.

He was not only secretly smitten by her charm but also he had a suspicion that Zarah was not a simple woman. His stoic friend and boss would not fall for a weak woman, right? And seeing that she was bringing a positive impact on Xavier, he vowed to protect her and support them.

After four hours of slow driving on the road, they finally entered the subdivision. However, he took a few turns around the neighborhood before he decided to enter the Villa's compound.

As soon as the car pulled over, he looked behind him to check if Xavier had woken up.

Miraculously, he and Zarah were sound asleep.

The scene behind him was so picture-worthy that he grabbed his phone and took a secret snap of the two.

Rupert decided to get out of the car but did not turn off the engine so the AC would still be on.

After another two hours, Xavier felt that something was moving on his lap and so he was slowly awakened by it.

Zarah on the other hand woke up from sleep as soon as her body realized that the car was no longer moving.

She opened her eyes and saw Xavier's handsome face looking so serene in his sleep.

She also realized that she was using his lap as her pillow and she remembered that this man rarely slept just like her and so she hesitated on waking up.

She didn't want to disturb him. However, it was already too late as she saw his eyelids move and it opened.

Xavier was surprised to see Zarah looking up at him.

"I'm sorry. Did I disturb your sleep?" She said in a hoarse voice.

"No. You didn't." He answered back while helping Zarah back to a sitting position.

"Thanks," Zarah muttered and her gaze shifted to his cast.

"Does it hurt?"

"No, it doesn't. It's just a sprain and not a broken bone." He said.

Zarah closely looked at Xavier and thought that he was very handsome. Xavier suddenly felt conscious after being stared at by her for so long.

Instead of making teasing remarks, he decided to look at her face and extended his hand to touch her face.

As his fingers touched her face, Zarah could feel the same sensation every time Xavier hugged her. It was his warmth that she thought was very addicting.

Zarah did not realize that she leaned on his hand as she wanted to feel more of it.

Warmth. Just a little more.

But then her heart started skipping a few beats and she could hear her heartbeat so loud in her ears.

She immediately stopped what she was doing and apologized immediately before she opened the car and left in a hurry.

Xavier was not eager to follow her. A huge smile showed on his handsome face as he followed her with his gaze.

He could feel it. His efforts had finally paid off.

He could tell what was exactly happening.

With Josh out of the picture, both her heart and mind were no longer confused about who she honestly loved.

Zarah on the other hand dashed to her room ignoring Julie who was calling behind her.

As she entered the room, she immediately locked the door which caused Julie to be worried.

*Knock! Knock!*

"Miss, are you alright?" Julie's worried voice calmed her down.

"Yeah? I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I saw you running when you entered. Is everything alright?"

"I said, Yes I am alright! Now if you could leave me for a moment, please! I want to rest!"

As soon as she realized that she had shouted at Julie, she immediately opened the door and said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. I was just tired."

Julie who was first hurt for being yelled at didn't hate Zarah for it. She had been out the whole night and had just gotten back. Therefore, she understood that she was tired.

"It's fine, Miss. I just wanted to ask if you've eaten anything outside."

"I did."

"Okay. Well, lunch is about to be ready. Do you want to eat it in the dining room or would you like me to bring it here?"

Zarah suddenly felt like she had no appetite to eat anything at the moment. Moreover, she didn't want to see anyone and so she said, "If you may, please bring it here."

"Okay."

As soon as Julie left, Zarah went back to her bed and threw herself there.

She was honestly confused about why her body would react like that earlier.

This feeling was so new to her as she had never felt this with Josh.

"What exactly is going on?"

Just then, her head started aching as she deeply thought about it.

The pain started to become unbearable and she started looking for her bag. She found her bag on top of the coffee table and she walked to it and started looking for her pain medicine.

She would always bring a bottle in her bag. However, she realized that the bottle was empty.

Just then, the door opened and she thought it was Julie who entered and so she said, "Julie, do we have any pain medicine in the Villa?"

However, instead of hearing Julie's voice, she heard Xavier's voice instead.

"Pain medicine? Why? Does your head hurt?" He asked in worry.

***