Her stomach flipped, and for a brief second, butterflies erupted in her chest, a reaction she hated herself for.
Sevyn’s thoughts flashed back to her conversation with Harper earlier—how Hassan had pulled up on her in the middle of the night, demanding answers, convinced they had set him up. Was he here for her? Was he about to kill her?
The sound of Micah’s nervous voice broke through her haze. "I'm sorry, Ms. Love. I tried to stop him, but—"
Sevyn barely heard her. She was too busy watching the way Hassan’s gaze locked onto Xavier like he was a problem that needed to be handled. Xavier wasn’t the type to back down either, and when he mugged Hassan back, the tension in the room tripled.
She swallowed, her heartbeat hammering in her ears, but she forced herself to stay grounded.
"It’s fine, Micah. Thank you, I got this." Her voice was sharp, professional, her glare cutting as she stared at Hassan.
Micah hesitated before nodding, quickly leaving and shutting the door behind her.
Sevyn’s focus returned to Hassan, but his never left Xavier. His posture was relaxed, but his entire presence screamed dominance, like he had already made it clear that he was in control of the room.
Xavier, never one to back down, sat back in his chair, but his muscles were tense, his jaw tight, his own energy daring Hassan to say something out of line.
Sevyn’s stomach twisted in real fear now. Xavier had no idea who he was dealing with.
Before things could escalate, she chose to be the first to break the tension.
"Umm... I am in the middle of a session, and you can’t just barge in here," Sevyn said, her tone sharp. "If you want to make an—"
She didn’t even get to finish. "Your session is over."
Hassan’s voice was calm, controlled, but cold.
He didn’t acknowledge Sevyn once. Didn’t look at her. His entire focus remained on Xavier, his body language making one thing clear— he wanted him gone.
Sevyn mugged him hard, looking at him like he had lost his damn mind.
Xavier stood, his jaw clenching as he stepped closer, challenging Hassan, both men standing face to face, the energy in the room shifting into something dangerous.
Sevyn’s sharpness quickly turned into fear—not for herself, but for Xavier. She saw the anger rising in him, the way his muscles tensed like he was ready to swing. But what terrified her more was the way Hassan’s eyes darkened, how his entire presence seemed to still, as if he was already calculating how this would end.
"Nigga, I don’t know if you blind or slow, but clearly we was in the middle of something," Xavier spat, standing eye to eye with Hassan.
Sevyn’s stomach dropped. She saw it.
That slight smirk tugging at the corner of Hassan’s lips. That cold, detached amusement—the look of a man who had already decided this wasn’t going to end well. Either Xavier wasn’t from the city, or he was just dumb as hell to step to Hassan Gaines like this.
Sevyn reacted fast, her hand instinctively pressing against Hassan’s chest, the warmth of his skin searing through his shirt. And the second she touched him, she felt it. His entire body relaxed. Like the contact alone calmed something inside him. Her breath hitched, and her eyes shot up to his, searching for any sign that she was imagining things.
But she wasn’t. Because his jaw tightened, frustration flashing across his features as if he hated that her touch had any effect on him at all.
But he didn’t move her hand. He felt it too.
She had cracked something—just for a second—but it was there. "Woah,chill,"Sevynsaidquickly,hervoicelowernow,smooth, soothing as she kept her hand firmly against Hassan’s chest, desperate to keep this from escalating. "Xavier, I apologize, but we’re going to have to reschedule your session. I’m sorry for the unprofessionalism and the inconvenience, I—"
"What, this your nigga or something?" Xavier snapped, his tone laced with jealousy, his eyes still burning into Hassan’s like he wanted a fight.
Sevyn mugged him, her patience running thin, but the way Hassan’s body tensed under her palm made her pulse spike.
She had to get Xavier the fuck out of here. Now. Because Hassan still hadn’t said a single word. And that scared her even more.
"No, he's not. Look, Xavier, just leave. Please." Sevyn's voice cracked slightly, her tone dipping into something close to desperation. She wasn’t trying to beg, but fuck, she needed Xavier to walk away right now.
Xavier heard it—the crack in her voice, the urgency—and he saw the fear in her eyes. He looked back at Hassan, mistaking that fear for him, thinking Sevyn was scared for herself, oblivious to the fact that she wasn’t afraid of Hassan at all.