"Nicole? Do you have plans tonight?" He asked with a careful watch on her face.
"We do", she quickly responded, at the same time regaining composure.
"We..... do?" His brows furrowed in confusion as he racked his brain for when they had made any plans.
"Yes. There's a new restaurant I thought we'd go. You were so down last night I thought it would cheer you up", she smiled as she walked towards him. She pecked his lips when she reached him.
He slowly nodded away. Maybe he might use the distraction,and it was quite thoughtful of her. His lips lifted into a small smile. "Thank you."
"So, what happened last night?" She looked at him curiously.
He let out a huge sigh, "Mom has started seeing someone."
She fell quiet and stared at him in disbelief. An amused laugh erupted from her lips only to cup her mouth to stop herself when he showed no sign of amusement.
"Oh! My God! You're serious?" She asked to which he nodded. "Come on. Victoria is a not a child. I'm sure she knows what she's doing. It's nothing for you to sulk about."
Xavier bit his lower lip with his brows furrowed as though he had fallen in thought. She carefully watched his face waiting for a response. She could not sympathize. Well, not everyone could understand, he presumed.
"Where are we going and what time tonight?" He changed the subject.
"Ah! It's at Renée's and I booked us for seven", she said in clear excitement.
He nodded in response before he resumed making his coffee. After breakfast, they went their different ways with each taking their cars. Xavier changed into his spare suit when he got to his office. He slumped in his seat, still disturbed by Victoria's decision.
He looked at the pile of work waiting for him. He could not focus. There was a sense of betrayal he felt because of his mother. Maybe if he looked for someone who sympathized with how he felt, he could get the load off his chest and get to work. Without a second thought, he made way to his brother's office.
"Yes, I just got here", Zach said into his phone as George held the door for him for his office. "Yes..... Make sure you take care of yourself... Mm. I'll see you at lunch.... I love you too. Bye."
"You guys are practically married", Xavier said with a shake of his head as he walked towards the liquor cabinet.
"Nope", he popped the P and poured himself a drink before walking towards the floor to ceiling window.
George sighed, knowing the full scope of the situation. He dropped some files on Zach's desk and left the room. Xavier sighed turning it into a groan after taking his first sip.
"Aren't you bothered?" He started.
"By what?" Zach asked while reading through a file.
"You know." He fell quiet and took another sip before looking down at the busy roads. "I just can't seem to understand or accept this."
"Siding with Dad, that's new", he said in amusement.
"I'm not siding with him, it's just wrong!" He said a little louder as he looked at his brother.
"Then who would it feel right with? Because last time I checked, you didn't want her to be with Henry."
"This is not about him", he huffed. How was he not getting the point? And why did he seem unbothered when he clearly was last night? "I'm just bothered about who this new person is. And she's still legally married which makes it more wrong."
A knock was heard and Zach permitted the person to come in. George walked into the office with a tablet in his hand. He carried himself with uncertainty as he looked between Xavier and Zach. Xavier found that to be odd. He watched on with furrowed brows as he sipped on his drink. George soon reached Zach's desk and extended the tablet in his direction.
"This is the info you asked-"
The tablet was snatched out of his hand before he could finish speaking. Xavier moved back, creating distance between them as he quickly read through the file. He scoffed in disbelief and raised the tablet at Zach.
"What is the meaning of this?" His displeasure was evident.
George looked at Zach who dismissed him with a wave of a hand. He nodded and left. Xavier looked at his brother with an expression showing betrayal yet at the same time confusion.
Staring back at Zach in Xavier's hand, was a picture of a certain young man with Victoria their mother looking cosy as they chatted over coffee at a café. Zach leaned back in his seat with brows furrowed and impatiently rapped his fingers against the desk.
"Well?" Xavier demanded.
Zach opened up his palms, in a gesture silently saying: it's just as you see it. Xavier scoffed in disbelief and let our a humorless chuckle.
"You had George look into it", he stated.
Zach relaxed back into his seat and resumed working. Xavier felt a little elated at this discovery, at least, he was not the only one bothered. He didn't know why Zach was acting unbothered earlier, maybe it's his ego. He looked back at the tablet and read through the man's biography.
"Noah Meanwell, doctor at....", He started to read the rest under his breath but his eyes could not help but fall on the pictures especially the one of Noah and Victoria. His face contorted in annoyance. "Unbelievable! This is the guy mom's seeing?"
He moved and settled on a seat in front of Zach's desk and clasped his hands after putting down the tablet. "So, what's the plan?"
"What plan?" Zach's brows went up without looking at him.
"Come on! You must have something! I want in!"
Zach paused then looked up to find Xavier looking at him in anticipation. He really wanted to ruin his mom's new love affair. Too bad, he was about to burst his bubble.
"I was simply curious to know who the guy is and if he's good enough-"
"Of course he's not good enough! Look at him! All he has to his name is his career and- hang on!" His brows furrowed as he picked up the tablet and stared hard at Noah's picture. "I know this guy."
"Acquaintance?"
"No. I've seen him some- No way!" He dropped the tablet on the table and quickly fished out his phone. Zach watched him scroll through it in urgency. He gasped and quickly stuffed a picture of a half naked man in his face.
"Xavier!" Zach growled in annoyance as he covered his face with his forearm at the same time pushed away Xavier's hand.
"The face and not the body", he clarified. "Look again."
"No need. Why do you have that?"
"He was one of the candidates mom sent as my potentials when she asked me to- anyway, it's him. Unbelievable. But seriously, what do we do about this?"
"Nothing, it's her decision. If it's a mistake, she'll soon realize it", he said as he got back to work.
Xavier sighed and soon left after finishing his drink. He knew what Zach said was true but the matter gnawed at his insides. He could not get his mind to focus on work because of a certain thing. In the file, there wasn't just Dr. Noah Meanwell's biography, there was also a detail about a certain place he would be taking Victoria out tonight including the time.
Zach said she would soon realize the mistake she's making. What if he made her realize it sooner than sooner? Without a second thought, he picked up his phone and dialed for Nicole.
"Hey... I'm sorry but let's take a raincheck", he scratched the back of his head feeling uneasy. He hoped she would not make a big deal out of it.
"Why? I already booked us a place", she whined.
"I know, and I'm sorry but something important came up. I promise I'll make it up to you."
"What could be more important than having a date with your girlfriend?"
He fell quiet. Remembering how she didn't take him seriously early on, he was sure he would sound ten times more ridiculous if he told her his true intentions for tonight. And he couldn't lie to her either, he didn't see the point to do so.
"I.... can't really explain it but I promise it's important. Please, Nicole. I'll make it up to you, whatever you want. I promise."
She briefly fell quiet, deliberating the request then sighed. "Fine."
"Thank you. I'll talk to you later! Bye!" He didn't wait for another word from her and quickly hang up.
That Noah guy will go as quickly as he came.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺