Chapter 3

I saw Xavier.

His left hand hung at his side, twisted at a wrong angle, and there were cuts and bruises all over his face and body.

The moment Leslie spotted me, it was like he'd found his salvation. He pulled me aside and lowered his voice. "Xavier got into a fight with some guys at the club. He still wanted to swing at them even after they got him to the police station."

I thought of what the driver had said, and pressed my lips together, saying nothing.

Leslie watched my face carefully. "It really isn't Xavier's fault. Those bastards were disgusting. A few drinks in and they stopped acting like human beings. They almost got Cicely—"

I looked toward the corner.

Cicely stood there in a long white dress, her soft hair falling loose over her shoulders, her almond eyes brimming with tears. She looked so innocent, so wronged, the kind of picture that made anyone want to protect her.

Feeling my gaze, she bit her lower lip and came over to me, calling out timidly, "Quinn."

I ignored her and turned back to Leslie. "What did the police say?"

Leslie sighed. "It's tricky. Xavier might actually end up locked up."

Cicely spoke through a sob. "Quinn, it's all my fault."

I frowned, and before I could say anything, a figure stepped between me and Cicely.

It was Xavier.

His expression was cold. "Quinn, you scared Cicely."

I stated it plainly. "Xavier, I didn't say anything. I didn't do anything."

He didn't accept that. "Quinn, the way you were looking at Cicely was vicious, like you wanted to tear her to pieces. She's never wronged you. Tonight she's the victim."

How laughable.

I hadn't known that on top of being CEO of Delgado Group, Xavier was also an expert in micro-expressions, able to convict me just by reading my eyes.

A few of the thugs crouched on the floor had heard our exchange. The one in the middle, hair dyed blond, a blue dragon inked on his arm, gave me a grin full of malice.

"So you're this guy's girlfriend? I'll do you a favor and tell you something. Him and that woman in the white dress aren't clean. For all you know, they've already been rolling around in the same bed."

Hearing that, Xavier lost control again, his fists clenching, ready to swing.

Leslie's face went pale with panic. "Quinn, stop him, quick. If he hits anyone else he'll really be locked up for ten days, half a month."

An officer barked, "You want to throw another punch? Get back to your spot, now!"

Xavier didn't hear a word of it. His eyes were bloodshot, the pressure rolling off him so strong it made me think of a wild animal in the jungle guarding its mate.

Just as his fist was about to land on that thug, I said, low and hoarse, "Xavier."

He lowered his fist.

Leslie patted his own chest, still shaken. "Quinn, thank God you came."

A while later, Louisa arrived with a lawyer.

I don't know how the lawyer negotiated with the thugs, but half an hour later they all swore up and down that their injuries weren't from Xavier, that they'd simply fallen by accident.

A few minutes later, the whole group came out of the police station.

The thugs scanned some rental bikes and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Louisa's gaze passed over me and landed on Cicely, who had kept her head down and trembled the entire time.

"Cicely, the Delgado family funded your education so you could finish it, not so you could go to places like that club. And you're a doctorate holder. Instead of focusing on your research, you're losing yourself in nightlife. Do you think that's acceptable?"

Cicely's tears fell to the floor in fat drops, as if she'd suffered some enormous injustice.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Delgado. It won't happen again."

Seeing Cicely cry, something flickered in Xavier's eyes, panic and pity, and he pulled her behind him.

"Mom, don't say these things to Cicely."

"Going to the club tonight was my idea. She's spent these years abroad doing nothing but experiments and papers, never one easy day. I wanted her to feel less worn down."

Louisa's face darkened. "She's worn down? The moment she came back you overrode everyone's objections and handed her the vice president's position. That isn't enough?"