Xavier let out a low chuckle, tilting his head slightly as if recalling something amusing. "Well, not exactly. The original words were much harsher than that!"
"She... didn't she always refuse to divorce before?!" Clint slumped onto the sofa, muttering to himself, "Wasn't she always unwilling to divorce before?!"
"Mr. Beckett!" Xavier's patience seemed to have reached its limit. He abruptly stood up from the sofa, putting away his usual nonchalant expression and speaking seriously. "There's a limit to how much you can bully someone! Serena is such a good woman, and you don't cherish her, so just let her go. Don't waste someone else's chance to treat her well!"
With that, he turned to leave, but then stopped after a couple of steps and turned back. "By the way, that first part of the sentence, it's Serena's exact words."
"And just so you know, I didn't come here to talk to you. Everything I said was just a one-way notification. If you still refuse to let Serena go willingly, then don't blame me for taking action against your company! I'm sure you wouldn't want your hard-earned legacy to be destroyed overnight, right?!"
"Are you threatening me, Mr. Blaze?!" Clint asked coldly.
"Yes, you can consider it a threat!" Xavier answered bluntly, "After all, I only want Serena to be happy! And it's clear that she's not happy with you. If you're still a man, let her go! I've said everything I needed to. Whether you listen is up to you."
With that, he turned and left.
Clint, with his elbows on his knees, slowly buried his face in his hands.
...
When Xavier got home, the banquet had already ended. Bram had left, the servants had cleaned up and gone back to their rooms.
Xavier quietly made his way upstairs and opened the door. His gaze froze.
The bed was empty, and Serena's figure was nowhere to be seen, only a pillow that had been rolled and scattered across the bed.
"Serena?!" He quickly walked toward the bed.
Halfway there, he tripped on something soft, and without thinking, he fell forward, landing on top of it.
"Uh-hmm..." A soft, pained sound came from beneath him.
A soft mouth brushed against Xavier's cheek.
He quickly supported himself with his hands, trying to lift his upper body. The cold shower he had just taken seemed pointless now!
"Mm-hmm..." Serena continued to hum unconsciously, each sound like a soft scratch on Xavier's heart.
Quickly getting up, he took a moment to look at her by the moonlight coming through the window.
Serena had rolled off the bed and was lying on the floor, holding tightly onto the pillow she had fallen with, still half asleep.
Hands on his hips, Xavier shook his head helplessly. "Gosh, this is a 2.4-meter-wide king-size bed. How did you fall off?!"
The person on the floor didn't move and clearly hadn't heard him.
Sighing in resignation, Xavier bent down again, one hand slipping under Serena's neck while the other slid under her knees.
The sudden weightlessness made Serena hum again.
Apparently uncomfortable, her cheek rubbed against Xavier's chest.
It felt like being struck by lightning, and Xavier's body instantly heated up. His patience was being tested like never before.
Carrying Serena, step by step, back to the bed, every step felt incredibly heavy, and every touch was a form of torment for him.
Suddenly, Poppy's words at the Ever Hill Villa exploded in his mind like a rapid-fire cannon.
A little devil surfaced in Xavier's mind, continuously whispering, "Don't suppress your desire; why not make a mistake and do as Poppy said? Maybe after this, Serena will really follow you wholeheartedly!"
Already feeling an instinctive urge toward Serena, now further influenced by Poppy's brainwashing, Xavier was caught in a moral dilemma.
Laying Serena back on the bed, he instinctively leaned down to her.
"Bastard! Everyone's a jerk! Always bullying me!" Serena murmured in her sleep, as if dreaming.
Her voice wasn't loud, but it hit Xavier like a heavy blow, waking him up.
Clinging to his last shred of rationality, he quickly got up, stumbling into the bathroom.
Fearing a moment of impulse might hurt Serena, he locked the door behind him before turning on the cold water, splashing it on his face again and again...
Serena woke up due to thirst, the sky already lightening.
Opening her eyes and looking around, she momentarily couldn't figure out where she was.
Turning her head, she saw a photo on the bedside table, a picture of her wearing her high school uniform.
Propping herself up on the bed, she slapped her head lightly, recalling, "Oh, right. Last night, I think I had a drink with Xavier. This... is his room!"
Realizing that, Serena quickly pulled off the blanket and checked her clothes. Seeing they were still intact, she felt a little relieved.
The room was empty, and Xavier was nowhere to be seen.
Thinking he might have gone to another room, Serena didn't think much about it.
Getting out of bed without wearing her high heels, she walked barefoot toward the bathroom.
She twisted the doorknob but couldn't open it. She tried again, but it still wouldn't budge.
"Strange, is the lock broken? The Blazes is so rich, and they let a broken door stay like this?"
Turning to leave, the door behind her suddenly made a soft 'click,' and Serena looked back in confusion. Xavier, drenched, stepped out from behind the door.
"You... what are you doing here?!" Serena looked down at his clothes, still dripping wet. "You didn't sleep in the toilet last night, did you?!"
Xavier rubbed his eyes, recalling last night's events. He gave a bitter smile, "Last night... I was taking a cold bath in the bathtub and accidentally fell asleep."
"Taking a cold bath?!" Serena was half skeptical. "You didn't even take your clothes off?"
"No time."
"??? Taking a bath isn't like a bathroom emergency. What do you mean no time?!" Serena was even more confused.
***