“Fine, we can discuss this further once you’ve apologized and made things right. Now let go; I’m going to shower,” Yvette said.
Xavier released her. His hand still bore faint bite marks from Yvette’s teeth. After she left, he called Mark. “Have someone look into Claude. Find out where he is now.”
Mark was puzzled. Did his boss want someone dead tonight when it was such a happy festival?
“We checked a few days ago, Mr. Lane. Claude still hasn’t recovered yet. Should we go easy on him?”
Xavier’s next words shocked Mark even more. “Send men to protect him. Don’t let him die.”
“What?” Mark thought he’d misheard.
“Yvette found out about Claude. She wants me to apologize and compensate him. Arrange to return some of the previous projects to him as compensation.” Xavier spoke with reluctance. This was the first time he’d ever done such a thing.
Mark realized Xavier wasn’t acting out of kindness; it was all for Yvette. “Yes, I’ll handle it right away.”
“Make sure to leave evidence for Yvvy to see,” Xavier said, emphasizing the key point. He wasn’t sincere about his apology at all.
“Understood.”
In past years, on the eve of the festival, Yvette would stay up late with Viola. But this year, she was pregnant, and Viola had passed away.
So, after her bath, Yvette went to lie down in the bedroom.
She had barely drifted off to sleep when a tall shadow slipped into the room and gently pulled her into his arms.
Startled, Yvette jolted awake. Through the dim light of the bedside lamp, she recognized Xavier’s face. “How did you get in here?” She was certain she had closed the door.
Xavier held her close and didn’t answer her question. Instead, he said, “I’ve already had Mark take care of it. Don’t be angry.”
Yvette didn’t understand why he would be so ruthless toward Claude. Wasn’t he supposed to have lost his memories?
“Xavier, have you regained your memories recently?” Yvette suddenly asked.
Xavier’s heart skipped a beat. “No, I had fleeting dreams about some things from the past.”
Yvette didn’t doubt him. After all, if Xavier had regained his memory, he wouldn’t be so accommodating to her now.
“Go to sleep,” Xavier urged, not wanting her to ask more questions.
“Okay,” Yvette murmured. She was also getting sleepy and quickly fell asleep after closing her eyes.
As Xavier listened to her steady breathing, he still couldn’t sleep.
Before the accident, he had tried everything-pleading, apologizing and even using Noah as leverage. Despite all of that, Yvette had still wanted to leave.
He wasn’t sure if she was truly
committed to staying. She might et
just be going through the motions while secretly planning to escape.
Xavier was blind now. If she ran away, it would take considerable effort to catch her.
“What am I going to do with you?” he mused silently.
…
The next day was the day of the festival.
Xavier hadn’t returned to Lane Mansion the night before. Hence, Luke had sent someone early in the morning to invite them over. Luke rarely went home. But unlike the rest of the Lanes, he had always treated Yvette well. She felt it would be hard to refuse the invitation.
After all, Xavier was a Lane, and she couldn’t stop him from spending the holiday with his family.
“You should go. Noah and I will stay home and wait for you,” Yvette said. She didn’t want to be in Lane Mansion’s toxic environment. “You’re coming with me.” Xavier insisted; he was afraid that she might try to escape again.
“I need to take care of Noah,” Yvette explained.
“Then bring the boy with you,” Xavier countered.
Yvette was taken aback. After all, in Xavier’s eyes, Noah was Claude’s son.
Noah, who was quietly eating his oatmeal, looked at Xavier with wide eyes. Was he going to the bastard father’s home?
With what right? Who was he to Xavier? Was he going there as his bastard father’s adopted son?
Xavier seemed to sense their thoughts. “Since we’re starting over, we can’t keep hiding about Noah and Zac.”