Chapter 33 33
Maisie's pov
I was going to embarrass myself.
That was the only thought running through my head as I walked out of the Garden beside Roman, my lips pressed so tightly together they were starting to hurt.
Don't laugh. Maisie, don't you dare laugh.
Roman cleared his throat beside me, and I knew he was struggling just as badly as I was. One look was all it took.
I glanced at him which was a big mistake if I might add. His jaw tightened like he was struggling to fight the itch to laugh. I looked away immediately, biting the inside of my cheek so hard I almost tasted blood.
We walked past the glass doors, valets and people who had absolutely no idea that two grown adults were fighting for their lives not to burst into laughter over someone else's misery.
The moment the car doors shut, laughter exploded out of me.
“Roman, did you see him?” I snorted, trying so hard to restrain my laughter and failing terribly.
Roman didn't even try to hold back. He dropped his head against the steering wheel, laughing so hard the car shook slightly.
“I'm sorry,” he said between breaths, though he clearly wasn't sorry at all. “I really tried to hold it in. Xavier still hasn't changed, has he?”
“When our eyes locked, it looked like he would leave his body.” I clutched my stomach as another wave of laughter escaped me.
Roman hit the steering wheel lightly. “The way his eyes widened? I swear they were trying to apply for independence. One more second and they would've packed their bags and left his face.”
I wiped my eyes, already tearing up between laughs. “No, because why did he just sit there like that? Just —” I froze dramatically, widening my eyes and parting my lips slightly. “Man froze mid-blink, mouth open, like his soul had left the group chat without warning.”
Roman turned to look at me and immediately burst out laughing again.
“That's exactly what he did!” He said, pointing at me like I had just performed a perfect impression. “That exact face!”
“And Kylie!” I added, completely losing whatever dignity I had left. “She looked like she'd accidentally walked into the wrong movie.”
“At least she reacted,” Roman said. “Xavier was… I'm still not convinced he's back to his senses. And when he said that nonsense about you calling in love with him, I thought he was having a stroke. The man had lost a few hundred pounds and looked like a pencil in a suit. Who was he trying to impress? The elderly?”
That sent me spiraling again.
I leaned back into my seat, laughing so hard my ribs actually hurt. I missed laughing like this — freely, without overthinking and without holding back. Only Roman could make me feel like this.
The truth is : our current situation wasn't supposed to be funny. It was our plan to debut my return to the pack and my relationship with Roman. Going to the BlackRock Garden was a deliberate plan to make it clear that Xavier lost at abandoning me. I expected the shock but not this much where he'd lose his mind? Witnessing the Almighty Xavier speak in drawls was the funniest thing in the world.
“I didn't expect that,” I admitted after a while, my laughter slowly fading into soft chuckles. “I thought he'd get angry or defensive or at least say something reasonable.”
Roman started the car, a smile still lingering on his lips. “You expected too much.”
“I really did.” I snickered quietly. “When things don't go his way, Xavier behaves like an idiot.”
Roman grimaced as though recalling a past memory. “Tell me about it. Three years ago, while you were still in my pack, I was playing the role of Xavier's faithful steed. Every word that came out of that man's mouth nearly annoyed me to the point where I even considered murder.”
I covered my hand with my mouth and suddenly remembered that Roman didn't like me hiding my smile. When I was with Xavier, I didn't realize how cold he was towards me. When I smiled, he'd tell me it was ugly. When I held his hand to take a picture, he'd push me out of the way. All of this started after he met Kylie, his childhood sweetheart. Back then, I always wanted to please him whether he was right or wrong. I now realize I'd been so stupid for doing that. With Roman, I can be myself without restraints or terms and conditions. He calls me his queen and so do his people. I made the right choice this time.
“Xavier is who he is… A moron.” I added with sweet relief. It felt good saying that.
From embezzlement to tax increment to tax evasion to money laundering to fraud, Xavier dipped his hand in every filth any moron without future plans would and now, it was coming back to bite him in the worst way possible.
Roman smirked. “I didn't say that.”
“You didn't deny it either.”
He smiled and focused on the drive while I looked away, resting my head against the window as the city lights blurred past us.
“At least our plan to show my return worked.” I said quietly, more to myself than to him.
The laughter faded completely now, replaced by something steadier. Colder.
I could still see it in my mind. Xavier's face, the shock, the disbelief, the way Kylie stiffened and the way everything shifted the moment they realized I was still alive.
They were surprised to see me on the winning end.
Little do they know the game has just begun.