Chapter 40 WHAT DOES SHE HAVE ON ME?

Chapter 40 WHAT DOES SHE HAVE ON ME?
XAVIER POV

I stood frozen for a second, staring at Veronica with her back pressed against the wall. Her chest rose and fell like she had just run a marathon. 

Her eyes were glossy with unshed tears, but the fire in them burned hotter than anything I had ever seen.

I hated this. I hated that I had caused it. The fear of losing her right here, right now, clawed at my chest like nothing else ever had. If she walked out that door thinking I was just another man who used her, I wasn’t sure I could survive it.

I took a slow step forward, careful not to crowd her. “Kitten, please. Just listen to me for one minute.”

She shook her head sharply, her lips pressed into a thin line. “One minute? You’ve had weeks, Xavier. And you chose to say nothing.”

I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling heavily. My mind raced for the right words, but the truth was too tangled to spill all at once. I was terrified she would leave and never look back.

“Camila isn’t my wife. Not in the way you think.”

Veronica let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh. She pushed off the wall and took two angry steps toward me, her shoe soles clicking hard against the floor. “Not in the way I think? She stood right in front of me today, Xavier. She looked me dead in the eyes and threatened me. She called me delusional for even being near you. And you’re telling me she isn’t your wife?”

Her voice cracked on the last word. I could see her hands trembling at her sides. The hurt in her eyes made my stomach twist. I wanted to reach for her, but I knew if I touched her now she might explode even more.

“Listen to me,” I said, keeping my tone low and steady, trying to anchor her. “It’s complicated. The marriage… it was forced. Arranged by my father five years ago when I had no real say in it. I never wanted it. I’ve been fighting to get the divorce papers through, but these things take time. Lawyers, negotiations, assets. It’s a mess I’ve been trying to clean up.”

I watched her face closely, searching for any sign that she was softening. For a long moment she just stared at me, breathing fast. Then, slowly, her shoulders dropped a little. The rigid tension in her spine eased just enough for her to look less like she was ready to bolt. She let out a soft, uncertain sound. “Hmmmmm…”

The anger was still there, but it was mixing with something else now — doubt, maybe even a flicker of relief. I took another small step forward, my heart pounding with fear that this fragile moment could shatter any second.

“Are you jealous of her?” I asked quietly, my tone gentle but direct.

Her eyes widened instantly. “Jealous? Of course not,” she protested, shaking her head a little too quickly. “Why would I be jealous of someone who just insulted me and tried to scare me off? I don’t even care about that. I just… I hate being lied to.”

But her eyes didn’t lie. They flickered with something vulnerable and raw, a spark of possessiveness she couldn’t quite hide. Her cheeks flushed faintly, and she looked away for a second, biting the inside of her lip.

That small tell was all I needed, but I still moved carefully. I closed the remaining distance between us slowly, giving her every chance to push me away. She didn’t.

I lifted my hand and cupped her face with both palms, my thumbs gently brushing away the lingering tears on her cheeks. Her skin felt warm and soft under my touch. “Mi amor…” I whispered her name like a promise.

I leaned in and kissed her.

At first, she went completely still, shock freezing her body against mine. Then her lips softened just a fraction, hesitant and uncertain. I kept the kiss gentle at the start, letting her feel that I wasn’t rushing her, that I wasn’t trying to distract her from the pain. Slowly, her hands came up to clutch the front of my shirt. A tiny, broken sound escaped her, and that was when the dam broke.

She kissed me back. The hesitation melted into something deeper, more desperate. I felt her emotional walls crack as she poured everything she was feeling into the kiss — the hurt, the confusion, the relief, the want. I tilted her head back slightly and deepened it, my tongue sliding against hers with growing hunger. 

She tasted like coffee and the faint trace of her strawberry lip balm, warm and addictive. A low, needy sound vibrated from her chest into mine as our tongues tangled—slow at first, then urgent, slick and heated.

Her body melted against me, her soft curves pressing into my harder frame. I could feel the rapid flutter of her heartbeat against my chest, the way her breath hitched every time I nipped gently at her lower lip. My hands slid down from her face to her waist, fingers digging into the dip of her hips, pulling her flush against me .

Then she whispered against my mouth, a breathy, broken moan that sent fire straight through my veins.

“Xavier…”

Fuck. I got extremely hard in an instant, my cock straining painfully against my trousers. The sound of my name on her lips like that, needy and sweet, drove me insane. My hands slid down from her face to her waist, gripping her firmly. I pulled her body flush against mine, letting her feel exactly what she was doing to me. My fingers worked at the waistband of her trousers, tugging impatiently.

But then reality slammed into me hard.

No. I shouldn’t be doing this. Not right now. Not when she was still hurting, still doubting me. If I let this go further, she might think I was only trying to use sex to fix everything, to distract her from the lies. I couldn’t risk her walking away thinking that was all I wanted.

With every ounce of self-control I had left, I pulled back from the kiss, breathing heavily. My forehead rested against hers for a second as I fought to steady myself.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, voice rough. “I want you so badly, but not like this. Not when you’re still angry and confused.”

I stepped away reluctantly, my body protesting every inch. I walked over to my desk, picked up the second file, and held it out to her with a steady hand.

“Here. Take it.”

Veronica stood there awkwardly, her lips slightly swollen from the kiss, cheeks flushed, eyes wide with a mix of emotions she clearly didn’t know how to process. She took the file from me without a word, clutching it against her chest.

“I… I’m leaving now,” 

She turned and walked out of the office, closing the door softly behind her. The moment she was gone, the room felt too empty, too quiet.

I stood there for a long moment, heart still racing, then grabbed my keys. 

I drove straight to the Velmora estate with anger simmering under my skin the entire way. The city lights blurred past my window, but all I could see was Veronica’s hurt face and the way she had walked out of my office. I needed to put an end to this nonsense tonight.

Camila was already there, dressed in a silky, revealing robe that barely covered her thighs. She looked like she had been waiting for me, as if she had planned every second of this. The moment she saw me, she smiled brightly and moved toward me with that practiced sway in her hips.

“Xavier, baby, you finally came to visit me,” she purred, reaching out to pull me into a hug, her body pressing suggestively against mine, her breasts brushing my chest. “I knew you’d miss me.”

I pushed her away firmly, stepping back with my jaw clenched. “Don’t.”

Her smile faltered for a second, but she recovered quickly, tilting her head with that fake innocence she always used. “What’s wrong, darling?”

My voice rose, sharp and controlled. “I know what you did today, Camila. Stay the hell away from her. This marriage was forced on both of us. You know as well as I do that I’m getting the divorce papers through. Stop pretending this shit is real.”

Camila’s eyes flashed with anger for a split second. Then she turned her head slightly and called out in a sweet, commanding voice toward the kitchen area. “Lynn! My husband is here. Prepare something special for him. Look online and find out what he likes—I have no idea.”

She turned back to me, folding her arms across her chest and rolling her eyes dramatically like a spoiled child who wasn’t getting her way. The silky robe slipped slightly off one shoulder, but she made no move to fix it.

“Well… I don’t think my daddy would want me to get divorced,” she said, her tone dripping with entitlement. She stepped closer again, ignoring the way I had pushed her away earlier. “Anyway, babe…”

I cut her off before she could continue her act. “How did you know it was Veronica in that photograph?”

Camila let out a short, bitter laugh and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Oh, if it isn’t because of that pathetic girl, you wouldn’t even come to visit your own wife.” She placed a hand on her hip, her eyes narrowing with jealousy. “What does she have on me, huh? She ain’t even half of me. Look at me.”

She gave a slow 360-degree turn, twisting her body deliberately so the silky robe shifted and clung to her curves, showing off every inch of her figure. “What does she have that I don’t? What do you see in her that you don’t see in me? I’m the one who’s made for you. Not some plain, struggling bakery girl with baggage.”

Her voice grew sharper, laced with real venom now. She stepped even closer, her perfume heavy in the air between us. “I’m richer, I’m hotter, and I know exactly how to please a man like you. So tell me, Xavier — why her? Why waste your time on someone so beneath you when you have me right here?”

I stared at her, my patience wearing thin. “Don’t ever talk about Veronica like that again.”

She smiled slowly. “Oh, really?”

A slow smirk spread across her lips as she looked up at me. She placed her hands on my chest, rubbing them slowly against my shirt, her fingers tracing the lines of the fabric with deliberate seduction.

Her voice dropped into a soft, suggestive whisper.

“But baby… I’m pregnant.” She paused, letting the words sink in. “With our child.”