Xavier was quick on his feet as he went to his room to pack his clothes. Ding! His phone chimed from his pocket. He ignored the notifications until it started ringing. When he saw the caller ID, he let out a chuckle and shook his head in disbelief.
'She dares to call me? After what she's done? She's really calling me', he mused with a humorless chuckle.
The phone was taken away from his hand. Xavier watched George shut it down before stuffing it into his pocket. Xavier exhaled sharply.
"Thanks man." That call was taunting him to answer and chaos would have easily been unleashed.
George patted his shoulder in response. "Ready?"
"Mm-hm."
The two men left the house with their bodyguards protecting them. Reporters had already crowded outside his gate premises shouting and clicking their cameras to get an interview from Xavier. All they got were three black SUVs driving out of the mansion.
At Zach's house
Amy and Stella were in the kitchen making breakfast. Although Stella had not gotten the news, she had sensed that something was wrong and curiosity was gnawing at her. Amy let out a soft chuckle when she sensed this.
"What?" Stella asked from where she was seated.
"Ask away", Amy said from where she stood.
The two were preparing an English breakfast though most of the work was done by Amy. Unlike Stella, she could move around while Stella opted to prep the ingredients and plating each time Amy was done preparing something.
"Is it alright if I know?" Stella asked.
Amy nodded. The whole world knew about it so it was pointless to keep Stella in the dark as she would eventually find out anyway.
"Zachery's brother has been pulled into a scandal", Amy said.
"Is it this one?" Stella held up her phone and showed Amy the picture who nodded. "Wow!"
"I know. He's quite upset", Amy said with a sigh. She turned from the stove and stretched out her hand towards Stella. "Can you pass...."
Amy saw Stella moving her fingers on the screen in a zoom in and out motion. "Stella!"
"I just want to see the tattoo on his chest", Stella said in defense as she reluctantly put down her phone.
"Sure. Sure."
"No, seriously. I was really looking at the tattoo", Stella said. "Come and have a look."
Amy huffed out a breath before walking over to stand next to Stella. She stood with her hand on her waist as she looked at Xavier's tattoo.
"It's interesting, isn't it?" Stella zoomed in admiring the black ink that had spread from his shoulder to his left breast.
Someone cleared their throat making the two women almost jump out of their shoes. Amy spun around and saw Zach standing at the door with his arms crossed against his chest and his brows furrowed in displeasure.
"Babe..... I swear I-I was only looking at his tattoo", Amy stuttered. Zach only exhaled softly, there was no change in his demeanor. Amy panicked as she continued to explain herself. "I really was just looking at his chest tattoo... I didn't see anything else."
"Just stop talking dear. Even I don't believe you", Stella quietly said as she put away the phone. Amy's jaw dropped as she looked at the woman in evident betrayal.
"His chest tattoo?" Zach asked with an evident frown and Amy nodded vigorously.
"That's all I saw, I promise."
Zach fell quiet and Amy carefully watched his contemplative gaze. Stella felt bad for Amy, she had gotten her in trouble. Amy, not wanting to be the focus anymore, decided to change the subject. "How's the analysis going?"
"Slow but we should get something", he said as he walked over to her side.
"I could-"
"No." He would not give her the chance. Not in this life. Amy nodded, not wanting to push his buttons. "You should come and sit down, let the kitchen finish up."
"We're almost done here. Don't worry", Amy said.
Edmund appeared at the kitchen door. "Sir, Masters Xavier and George are here."
Zach nodded and Amy went on to speak. "Edmund, get the girls to set the table."
"Yes, ma'am", he said politely before leaving.
Zach waited for Amy and Stella to finish up before he left for the dining with them. Zach gave his brother a side hug and a strong pat on his shoulder. He exchanged a strong hand shake with George before they all sat down. Amy and Stella had prepared a lot of food.
"You must be Stella and Richard. I'm sorry we had to meet like this", Xavier apologized.
"Don't worry, dear. Just eat your food, gain enough strength to get through this", Stella said gently and Richard nodded in agreement.
"Thank you", Xavier relaxed.
He was relieved that they were not judging him. And Stella's maternal instincts had kicked in when she saw how disturbed he was. She served more food on his plate and gave him a warm smile in response to Xavier's grateful one. She did the same to everyone as Henry and Victoria walked in. The latter went to Xavier's side and hugged him.
"Are you alright?" She asked worriedly.
"I will be", he answered.
Henry went to give him a strong pat on his shoulder while Victoria went to sit next to Stella and he sat next to his wife. The couple exchanged greetings with everyone while the maids served them their breakfast. While they silently ate, Victoria felt a hand caress her thigh.
"Stop it", she hissed in a whisper.
"I'm not doing anything", Henry denied though he continued to do so.
"Do you want us to get caught?" She snapped as she peeled his hand away.
"Is everything okay?" Xavier asked looking at them along with everyone.
Zach felt a headache coming on but he simply decided to focus on his meal. Xavier saw how weirdly his parents were behaving and Victoria was not wearing her usual frown whenever Henry was around. He thought it was because of Richard and Stella but seeing them like this told him a different story.
"Yeah, everything is fine. It's no-"
"We had sex!" Henry blurted out making Stella and Amy choke on their food. Victoria gasped from her husband's bluntness and he was not done. "Three times this morning."
"Aish!" Victoria burried her heated face in her hands before looking at Henry with a glare.
"I'll never hide things from my family again. I decided to live an honest life so there you have it", Henry said proudly.
"Don't you think.... you're being too honest?" Victoria said through gritted teeth and he simply shrugged before sipping on his coffee.
"Xavier...Zach..." Victoria started with a worries look. Their response was a raise of their hands showing they didn't want to have anything to do with their drama.
Zach passed a glass of water to his wife to help her calm down and she gratefully took it. Amy could never get used to these adult's bluntness while Zach's expression was impassive as though he had not witnessed this shocking moment.
The rest of the breakfast went silently and the family decided to rest in the living room. George received a message and after reading it, he turned on the TV. Everyone watched as Nicole's crying face appeared on the screen.
"Isn't that your place?" Victoria asked, finding the background familiar.
"It is", Xavier responded in annoyance. If not for Zach, he would have been pulled into that scene.
Nicole: "All I did was love him, that's the only crime I committed. And all relationships have their ups and downs. Some fight through them while others end. And ours was no exception. When things ended, I thought we still had a chance but I didn't know he would do this? Why did you chase after me if it was supposed to be a one night affair? Why make me fall for you if this is all I meant to you? Why would you do this to me? Why-"
Zach took the remote and turned off the news. Everyone in the Frost family was angry. Victoria scoffed when she saw this.
"Is this who she really is? All my son did was be good to her! Why is she turning things around when she was the one that exposed that picture of them", Victoria huffed out a breath in annoyance as she crossed her arms against her chest.
"We need to fix this before it impacts our stock prices", George said as he looked between Xavier and Zach.
"Where does your shoulder tattoo end?" Zach suddenly asked Xavier. Amy looked at her man and now understood the gaze he gave her earlier in the kitchen.
Everyone: "..."
"My tattoo?" Xavier's brows rose in confusion.
"Some people may have noticed something", he gave Xavier meaningful gaze at the same not exposing his wife and mother in-law.
"Uh... Right here", he pointed at his area close to his collar bone.
"Huh? Not till here?" Stella exposed herself by pointing at her left breast but quickly realized her mistake. She wished she could swallow her words as Richard threw her glare. "I was only looking out for him."
"Uh-huh."
Amy and Zach looked at each other before looking at Xavier. Everyone slowly started to catch onto Zach's words. Could it really be...? Is it possible that Zach was saying the man in the picture was actually not Xavier....? But the picture.... What is the truth behind this scandal?
Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at (f)re𝒆we(b)novel.com Only