Page 72 of Burning Your Lies

Savannah

The house is silentas we resign in our separate bedrooms. The argument from earlier still has silent tears running down my face. I scold myself for missing dinner again, but it was a mistake.Is it still a mistake if you repeat it three times?

But no matter how much I justify my actions, my heart still aches when I recall the look of heartbreak on Huxley’s face. He had that look when I first ended things with him. Even then, I ruined us, hoping to take Xavier down. Huxley found it in him to forgive me once. Does he possess enough strength to do it again?

The bed feels empty without him next to me. I hug his pillow, inhaling his faint lingering scent. I stare at the door, wishing for him to walk through and tell me he was just angry and upset I missed dinner. I close my eyes and dream that he kisses me and tells me we can get through this.

But that doesn’t come.

My broken slumber vanishes when my phone buzzes with the fourth call in less than ten minutes. I’m in no mood to entertain him right now, but worry that something has happened to Elise forces me to bring the phone to my ear.

“I’m outside.” He hangs up.

I check the time and sigh. It’s three in the morning. What could Xavier possibly want? My instinct warns against attending, as no good will come of it.Especially with Huxley.

However, I have sacrificed too much to reach this point. I can’t give up now because I’m heartbroken. With that reasoning in mind, I climb out of bed and quickly get dressed. I stare at Huxley’s closed door and wonder whether to tell him I’m going. Deciding against it, I climb down the stairs and leave the house.

Xavier’s car is too warm. “Good to see you, Miss Hayes.” He’s chipper for someone who has lost every single round.

“Where are we going?”

“I want to show you something.” He taps his fingers against the steering wheel. “I was thinking about that hypothetical question you asked me. And I have one of my own.”

I roll my eyes. “What’s that?”

“Hypothetically, if you had to choose between Ray and Elise, who would you choose?”

“Elise,” I instantly answer. A shiver runs down me. “Why?”

“I was just wondering. What about Ray or Mia? I mean, you’ve known her for longer, but he’s your husband.”

“What have you done?”

He looks at me like I’m an idiot. “What could I possibly have done? Is your husband not at home sleeping?”

I take a calming breath because he’s right. I witnessed Huxley close the bedroom door, leaving Xavier no chance to extract him quietly from the house. “Why are you asking me such stupid questions? I wouldn’t ever have to choose.”

“Hypothetically,” he over enunciates. “If you really had to choose.”

I shrug. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he mutters. “I trust you’ve been looking after my diamond.”

My eyes drag over him. There’s an amusement in him I can’t explain. “It’s in a safe place.”

“And where is that?”

I chuckle at him. “Nice try.”

“You can’t blame a man for trying. I will need that back now. I’ve lent it to you long enough.”

At that, I burst into genuine laughter. “Lent? You mean I outsmarted you? I stole it from right under your nose.”

“That you did.” He parks the car. “And I’m about to steal something from you.” He exits the car and walks around to open my door. He walks slightly ahead of me. “I’ve been thinking a lot about this game of yours. And I kept wondering how you did all of this on your own. I thought Ray must be helping you in some way, but that wasn’t enough. I mean, you both spend so much time at XR Securities, it would be impossible to make moves in places I’m not looking.”

When he holds the door open to the abandoned building, my feet don’t move. There’s a sinking feeling in my chest and adrenaline is telling me to run as fast as I can. “What do you want?”

“My diamond.”

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