Xia
Four Seasons New Orleans, 2 Canal St, 31st Floor Penthouse 3102...
The impressive apartment building loomed in the sky like a gilded cage—all sleek marble, boasting opulence that made Xia feel even smaller than she already did.This was supposed to be her sanctuary, a place where she could lick her wounds in private.But the walls felt too thin, the air too still, as if the space itself was holding its breath, waiting for the next blow.
Xia buzzed Cheri up with a wry look on her face.She knew what was coming.It had been a week since the last CDS flight...where she had been completely destroyed at the hands of Masters R and Coop.
She hadn’t bothered to dress.What was the point?The loose bun at the nape of her neck was a mess with strands escaping to cling to her damp neck.Her sweatpants were gray and stretched out, hanging low on her hips with the waistband rolled down twice.The oversized T-shirt she wore was the one she stole from Rex.The fabric was soft with wear, and the scent of him still clung to it like a ghost.She hadn’t washed it.She couldn’t bring herself to do so.
Rex hadn’t been in the room when she woke up a couple of hours after she had passed out from pure exertion that night.Well, who wouldn’t?Freaking panda bear balls, Rex had fucked her all the way to heaven, via hell and back.Her thighs trembled, and her pussy still clenched every time she thought about what they had done to her in that cage.
Making use of his absence, she had dressed in this oversized T-shirt and hid in an empty pantry in the kitchen area until they landed, then slipped off the plane hidden between the food trolleys being offloaded.There was no way she could look Rex in the eyes after that scene.
Not because she felt degraded or like the slut he had called her over and over...but because in that moment, finally embracing the woman she wanted to be withhim, came to light and offered a realization...
Realization, that what had started as a lighthearted goal to make him her husband and knowing she was falling in love with him had become certainty.She wasn’t falling in love with Rex Oliver.She loved him.There.She said it.She loved him...and her heart was broken.
Because he had made it clear while he thought she was passed out.The words he had murmured as he covered her with a blanket rang through her mind.
“Some things just aren’t meant to be.My life and yours are too far apart, and we can never be, Angel.”
It had cut deep.Knowing that he didn’t deem her good enough.That hurt...so fucking much.
The penthouse was a study in controlled chaos.Takeout containers littered the coffee table while half-empty wine glasses were left to collect dust.The sheets on the bed were tangled, and the pillows were still indented from where she’d curled into them, staring sightlessly out over the canal.The only thing she’d bothered to clean was the bathroom—scrubbed until her knuckles bled, as if she could wash away the memory of what had happened in that cage...and the heartache along with it.
A sharp knock rattled the door.Xia didn’t move at first.She dragged in a deep, calming breath.
Another knock, harder this time.“Open the damn door, Xia, or I swear to God I’ll break it down.”Cheri could be so dramatic at times.
Xia sighed, dragging herself off the couch.Her legs felt like lead and her body was still aching from the cage scene—fromhim.From the way he’d touched her, used her, and owned her in every way possible.From the way she had allowed him...and the way she craved it ever since.
She pulled the door open just enough to see Cheri’s scowl.Her dark eyes swept over Xia in concern, followed by a flash of exasperation.
“Well, about fucking time,” she snapped, shouldering past her before Xia could even react.The door slammed shut behind her.“Jesus Christ, you look like hell.Not that I blame you, especially after how that Demon Master slammed your clam the other night...good and proper, I might add.”
Xia didn’t answer.She just shuffled back to the couch, curling into the corner like a wounded animal.Cheri followed, her heels clicking against the hardwood before she kicked them off and plopped down beside her.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” Cheri said, kindly.“And don’t even try to deny it.I’ve been calling, texting, even sent you a fucking meme about bulls in sweaters, and you still didn’t reply.”
Xia picked at a loose thread on the cushion.“I didn’t know what to say.”
Cheri’s expression softened.“You don’t have to say anything.But you do have to tell me why you look like someone ran over your puppy before backing up to do it again.”
Xia let out a hollow laugh.“That’s...oddly specific.”
“Xia.Talk to me, darling.”
She swallowed hard.The words were there, burning in her throat, but she couldn’t force them out.
I love him.He doesn’t want me.I’m not good enough.
How did you say something like that without sounding pathetic?Without admitting that she’d been stupid enough to believe, even for a second, that she could be the woman Rex Oliver would choose?
Cheri’s gaze sharpened.“It’s about the cage, isn’t it?”
Xia flinched.
“Oh, honey.”Cheri’s voice dropped, softer now.“You think I don’t know what that was?What he did to you?”
