Chapter 100: How convenient
As April stepped out onto the sunlit terrace, the sight that greeted her made her pause.
Xavier Reed was sitting at the marble patio table, casually reading through a global economic report on his tablet. He looked completely immaculate—not a single hair out of place, his crisp white shirt perfectly ironed, radiating the exact same cold authority as always.
But right across from him sat Nat Collins.
The Golden Dragon was currently dressed in a borrowed, slightly too-tight black tracksuit from Xavier’s personal wardrobe, his vibrant red hair damp and messy.
He was aggressively inhaling a plate of steak and eggs, his chaotic eyes bloodshot behind his dark shades as he nursed a giant mug of black coffee.
At the foot of the table, sitting with absolute, majestic stillness, was the midnight-black and silver canine. The moment April’s sneakers squeaked against the stone, the beast’s golden eyes instantly snapped to her face, its heavy tail giving two slow, incredibly loyal thumps against the floor.
"The master of disaster has arrived," Nat rumbled around a mouthful of steak, not even looking up as he gestured toward an empty chair with his fork. "Sit down, sweetheart. Eat some grease before your remaining brain cells permanently dissolve."
Xavier slowly lowered his tablet, his eyes locking onto April’s face with an intensity that made her throat dry up all over again.
The corners of his lips twitched with the ghost of a highly entertained smile but he managed to bury it.
"Good morning, Miss April," Xavier murmured, his deep voice smooth as velvet. "I trust you have successfully recovered from your... Tactical failure?"
April marched over, completely ignoring the blatant mockery as she slid into the empty chair. She reached down, her hand casually scratching the thick fur beneath the divine beast’s chin, prompting a low, content huff from the creature.
"I am perfectly fine, Mr. Reed," April stated, her voice steady as she pulled a plate of fruit toward herself. "I don’t recall what I did last night, but I hope we can bury it in the past."
Nat instantly let out a bark of a laugh.
"Sweetheart, the only way I’m burying the fact that you hauled over me, is if you sing me a siren song." He said, and she paused, her body went rigid.
"I... what?"
Nat looked at her, pulling down his shades and grinned. Xavier equally looked at her, surprised.
"What?" she asked, looking from one to another. "Why are you looking at me like that? What... What did I do?"
"How convenient it is that the offender had their memory wiped clean." Nat chuckled deeply, the sound vibrating over his chest. "But don’t worry sweetheart, I forgive you." He kept chuckling and though he said that, it only troubled her more.
April felt her throat dry up instantly. What the hell did she do?
"Did I... did I say anything weird?" She asked, just to be sure that those things she said had not just been in her head.
Nat leaned back, crossing his arms over his thick, tattooed chest, entirely enjoying the sheer panic flashing through her deadpan mask.
"Oh, you blurted out plenty. You got on the table, you told us about some unpleasant things, screams, end of the world, big explosions... you basically gave us a front-row seat to a horror movie."
April’s eyes darted to Xavier. The tycoon simply took a slow sip of his espresso, his expression perfectly calm but deeply amused.
"You also pointed at the four of us," Xavier added smoothly, "and declared that we would survive the coming doom simply because we are, I quote, ’disgustingly, filthily rich.’ It was quite the endorsement and left a very lasting impression."
April wanted to slide right out of her chair and disappear into the marble floor. She had definitely spilled the information about the coming apocalypse.
She quickly grabbed a piece of melon and shoved it into her mouth just to give her hands something to do.
"The alcohol," she mumbled around the fruit, her voice flat. "It creates extreme, fictional hyper-fixations. Standard chemical glitch. Forget everything I said."
"Forget it?" Nat snickered, leaning forward with a wicked glint behind his shades. "Sweetheart, I just dropped two billion dollars on a nuclear-proof mountain fortress just to please you and then I found out that there’s going to be a big bang. We’re not forgetting a single word."
"Miss April," Xavier Reed called. "Coming from anyone else, all those words would’ve been easily overlooked as mere delusions. But coming from you, someone who sees the future. We have no choice but to be a hundred percent serious about your words."
So, they’re taking it seriously. April thought. Figured. They’ve believed every word I said this far. Not believing something of this scale is unheard of.
In the end, she would have to come clean with them and tell them the future where there was no bright morning sun, and a happy tomorrow.
"Ah, but even though I forgive you," Nat got up and started walking towards her, her eyes trailing after him until he stood behind her where he dropped a hand on her shoulder. "It doesn’t mean you’re not going to make it up to me."
Still, he had yet to say what exactly she did. He said she hauled over him but it wasn’t clear what she did.
"You vomited on him." Xavier said and her eyes instantly widened.
"No," she said breathlessly, horror spreading over her face.
"Yes," Nat delightedly nodded.
April felt like her soul was actively trying to leave her body. The system didn’t have an option to delete memories, and right now, she really wished it did.
She had barfed on the city’s most volatile subterranean warlord? Had she been insane? Clearly, because she would’ve never done it with a sane mind.
"So, sweetheart," Nat rumbled. He spun her chair around and dropped his arms on the table, trapping her in place, his eyes locking onto hers from behind his dark shades. "How are you going to make it up to me?"
