“I love you too, Xavion.”
Chapter Fourteen
John threw the chair against the wall and screamed. He had never been so humiliated in his life. How dare Emma let her boyfriend and his friends hit him? He was the father of her brats for goodness sake! He glared at his reflection in the window. A black eye was developing and he groaned. The memory of all that had happened a few hours ago was still fresh in his mind.
He had gone over to the bitch's ranch to search for her. It had not been difficult to find her once he was on the property. He had found her seated in a park with the arm of some Asian guy around her shoulder, the brats playing near them. He had observed for a while, waiting for the perfect moment to approach. He had found it when the guy had left. And then, he had approached her. She had been shocked to see him quite alright but the bitch had been defiant.
She had not let him get close to the brats and even when he said he would fight for custody, she had not been fazed! What gave her such confidence? Why had she not been scared? He had expected her to beg and promise him so much as long as he did not take the kids but he had been wrong! The bitch had dared him to file a suit!
And then, he had done what he knew how to do best. He had grabbed the bitch's arm and threatened her. He would kill her and take the kids away!
He had not realized what happened until he found himself face-down in dirt. He had turned around to see the guy from earlier crouching over him but he was not alone. He had been with other Asians like him and he remembered hearing the guy tell Emma to take the twins away. Who the heck did that guy think he was? How dare he threaten him with imprisonment if he ever got close to Emma and the twins, if he ever tried to hurt them! Of course he was not going to take that lying down. He had stood up and swung at the guy. He had missed and one of his friends had landed the blow that was now causing him a black eye. As if that was not enough, they had had security bundle him out.
John’s hands gripped the sink of the motel bathroom. He was pissed off. Emma was only strengthened because she had those Asian buffoons behind her. If they were gone, she would change to the weeping bitch she had been before that day she kicked him out.
He groaned and screamed. This was not the plan. He had not expected this when he came down to Texas to find her. He expected her to beg and pay him off. Then, he would have been able to pay off all the bookies that were chasing him. Damn her for fooling him all those years ago! He had lost out on having the good life all these years.
For the past three years, he had been in a slump and his debts had only accumulated. That had not stopped his gambling as he has been sure he would hit it big but all his efforts were fruitless. And then, a month ago, while he had been walking past a newsstand, he had seen something shocking. It was Emma on the front ofWeddings Bestmagazine. She had been interviewed and her ranch had been featured because it was to be the venue for socialite Brianna Castillo's wedding. Then and there he knewhe had found his biggest score. Emma was the answer to his problems, his debts. It had taken him a while but he had found her number.
And now, here he was with nothing. He was not going to let it go. No way. But how could he get to her when her Asian crew kept shielding her? And why had they looked so familiar? He groaned and laid back on the bed. Did they really look familiar or they just seemed that way because they were Asian? It didn’t matter. He had to think of a way out of this. He had to get his money, even if it meant court.
His eyes drifted close.
John’s eyes flew open an hour later. He had remembered. He had seen those buffoons on the cover of a magazine next to theWedding Beston the newsstand. He had not seen much but he did remember the words YNO. Were they criminals? Would that not be great?
He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed the name into the search engine. What he saw tingled his senses
YNO, five-member K-pop group vacationing in USA after a world tour. Made up of hallyu stars Xavion, Zane...
He did not need to read more after the first name. He remembered Emma calling the one she had been pretty close with, the one who had thrown him to the ground, Xavion. It had to be them. His eyes scanned the article and his lips turned up in a smirk. No one knew where the guys were vacationing. He was more than sure that news outlets would pay top dollar to find out that bit of information.
He would be killing two birds with one stone – getting some dough and getting rid of them. He was so sure that once their location was exposed, they would have no choice but to cut their vacation short and he would have free access to Emma. It was brilliant.
Still smirking, he started dialing.
*
“The press is in a frenzy, boss. They are completely desperate to see this Korean music group they are convinced are vacationing here. What do we do?” Pete asked Emma who was standing next to him close to the gates.
“Let’s ensure to keep the gates locked and guard every other form of entrance into the ranch. Not just for the ranch life, our guests also come here to find solace and get away from the chaos of the city. The paparazzi are an embodiment of chaos and we have to keep them off the property. Are we clear on that, Pete?”
“Yes, boss. But how about those that are outside? How about the twins?”
“We’ll use the back gate. It’s smaller and easier to handle the traffic once guarded. We will let in guests and staff only, and Maria and the twins.”
Emma turned around and made a beeline for the stables. That was where to find Xavion at that time of the day. As she got closer, her steps slowed and she looked at the phone in her hands. One of the hundreds of news articles she had perused that morning was still open on the screen and the headline was glaring-K-pop group YNO vacationing at Price EmeraldRanch!Underneath the headline was a picture of Xavion and the others performing on stage. The story went on after that.
She sighed and looked up as she got to the paddocks near the stables. Despite the situation, she let a smile play on her lips as she watched him handle the horse he was riding fluidly. He was a fast learner and he genuinely cared about the animal. He respected the horse and he did not want to dominate it.
He looked in her direction just then and waved and she felt her hand wave too. She did not need to wait long because after one last lap around the paddock, he walked the horse toward her and got down. Xavion approached her and wrapped his hand that was not holding the horse’s reins around her waist and pulled her close,
“Hi babe.”
Before he could kiss her, she pulled away and looked around. Xavion quirked a brow and said, “Did I do something wrong?”
“Well, except understate how big of a musician you are. We are keeping the press at bay right now but I have no idea if any have succeeded in getting onto the property. I don’t want you to have to deal with a scandal. You don’t want the headline of, K-pop star seen kissing country gal, do you?”
Xavion sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “How did you find out?”
