Chapter 9
Winona, fresh out of the shower and lying in bed, noticed those missed calls. Remembering what had happened earlier that evening, she felt a wave of gloom and blocked him without a second thought.
Just as she switched off the light and was about to sleep, she heard someone knocking on the door. She thought with a frown, ‘It’s late. Who is it?‘
Curious, she put on a jacket and went out of her bedroom. Instead of opening the door at once, she asked, “Who’s it?”
“It’s me. Open the door.” As she heard Xavier’s voice, Winona’s face darkened. “What do you want?”
“Open the door, Winona.” Xavier sounded more serious.
The stern tone made Winona purse her lips. She said indifferently, “If it’s not a big deal, leave. I’m going to bed.”
Turning to head back to bed, she nearly jumped out of her skin as the door shook with another pounding. It was like she could see his fuming face through the wood. “Are you crazy?” she shouted.
Xavier didn’t answer this time. Instead, he banged the door harder as if to say he wouldn’t stop until she opened it for him.
The racket echoed through the usually quiet building. Soon enough, the neighbor from across the hall showed up, looking angry. “What’s wrong with you? You’re waking the whole place up! Nobody’s been in that place for ages.”
Xavier ignored his words and kept knocking, confident that she would open it.
Winona did worry that he would disturb others. She had always been someone who didn’t want to cause anyone any trouble.
The neighbor kept complaining, so she had to open the door and glared at Xavier. “What exactly do you want?” After saying that, she looked at her neighbor with guilt and said, “Sorry to have bothered you.” Then she pulled Xavier inside and closed the door.
Xavier lowered his head to look at his arm grabbed by her. Just as he was about to smile, she shoved him back, her face twisted with disgust. That threw him a bit. “What are you doing here?” Winona asked, her voice icy cold.
Xavier stared at her, looking very pissed. He thought, ‘Why am I even here? Just to get the cold shoulder?‘
Uncomfortable with his gaze, Winona gritted her teeth and said, “If you’ve got nothing to remember? We only need to see each other in the courthouse.”
Having; haisted her words, she tumed around to come back to her bedroom.
However, he
scream. “Let go, you’re hurting me!” she yelled.
leave. We agreed to act like strangers,
arm so
that it hurt her and made her
ght hand pinching her wrist and his
Xavier was fuming. He came to check on her, and now he was mad as heck. He yanked her into his arms, his righ left circling her waist, pulling her close despite the distaste written all over her face.
“Are women all as capricious as you? Wandering in and out of people’s lives?” he snapped.
He was blaming her, but Winona found it very sarcastic, so she sneered and said, “Who are you talking about?”
Xavier didn’t get it. He said with gritted teeth, “Who else? Who takes our marriage as a game, Winona? What am to you?”
Winona felt a little disappointed when she saw his angry face. She thought, ‘And what about you? What am I to you?‘ But she had her pride, so she kept silent.
Then, out of nowhere, she cracked a smile and stood on her toes to get face–to–face with the angry Xavier.
Surprised, Xavier looked at her beautiful face in a daze and swallowed. He’d been away on a business trip for a week and had hoped to see her when he returned. But instead, he got served divorce papers. Now so close to her, he struggled with mixed feelings. He recalled how much he loved being close to her.
To his surprise, she sneered and said, “You told me that you would never love me. Now what? You got second thoughts about the divorce, or are you here to beg me to come back, Mr. Patterson?”
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