Chapter 76: His Observation.

Chapter 76.

Xavier’s POV.

The moment my final lecture for the day ended, the absolute first thing that came to my mind was to go find Bunny, pick her up, and head straight back to the house.

That 5’5” petite woman was slowly starting to become my absolute safe space, and for the first time in my life, I was actually letting myself lean completely into it. As I walked down the crowded university hallways, her image played vividly in my head for the umpteenth time. I couldn’t stop myself from imagining exactly what her expression would look like the very moment she laid her eyes on the new house I had secured for us.

I was walking with a rare sense of anticipation in my heart, my pace steady as I neared the entrance door to her lecture hall. But the exact millisecond I got closer to the open courtyard, my eyes caught sight of her.

She was running. And then, she jumped directly onto someone.

Instantly, my legs halted, freezing flat against the pavement. The tiny, rare smile on my face dropped completely.

Not only did my expression turn ice-cold, but my fingers curled tightly into a hard fist at my side, a dark, suffocating anger bubbling violently within my chest.

So this was it? She was throwing her entire body into the arms of another man?

The excitement that had been building in my heart scattered into a million jagged pieces, my brows knitting together into a fierce, dangerous scowl. Why the hell was she feeling so damn comfortable with another man? Why was she hugging him like he was her entire world?

I knew exactly who the hell that man was. The guy was her old friend, Michele. But who the hell said I wanted her to have any other man as a friend aside from me? Who gave him permission to touch what belonged to me?

I took a few aggressive steps forward, completely ready to march over and confront them right then and there, but in that exact moment, Bunny and Michele pulled apart and began to walk away together.

Where the hell were they going? Why was she being all giddy and smiling so brightly at him?

The raging pride and anger in my chest told me to just turn around and leave her there, to let her see what happens when she disrespects my rules. But the moment I turned my back, I stopped. My feet refused to move. I snapped my head back in her direction, unable to let her out of my sight.

Controlling my breathing, I followed them from a distance, keeping my eyes locked on her small frame until they finally walked through the glass doors of the campus cafeteria.

I stood in the shadows of the building, watching them from afar, and as I stared, I began to notice a lot of things that made my blood boil.

With Michele, Bunny sounded and looked a lot happier than I had ever seen her be with me. That single realization made my heart tighten with a toxic, painful grip. With Michele, she was smiling freely, laughing out loud, and feeling really, completely comfortable.

She still looked small, innocent, and naive in her new clothes. But there was something about the smile on her face right now. It was loud. It was explosive. It looked like this was everything she had been wanting to do, a level of pure joy she never displayed when she was locked in my dark mansion.

With my heart tightening to the point of breaking, I couldn’t hold the boiling rage in any longer. I completely snapped.

Without thinking through the consequences, I marched straight through the cafeteria, my heavy boots thudding against the floor as I closed the distance between us. I walked right up to their table, and the absolute first thing I thought to do was reach down, grab her slender wrist in my iron grip, and yank her forcefully off the chair.

“Xavier! What are you doing?!” Bunny asked, her voice trembling with absolute shock and fear as she stumbled against my chest.

“Taking you home!” I snapped, my voice a dark, dangerous growl that cut through the noise of the cafeteria.

Michele stood up instantly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor as he bared his teeth at me. “And what the hell do you think you are doing? Let her go!”

I spared him a single, lethal glance, but I gave him no verbal reply. He wasn’t even worth my words. I simply tightened my grip on Bunny, holding her firmly against my side to show him exactly who she belonged to.

Michele’s face contorted with rage, and he tried to step forward to attack me, but before he could lay a hand on me, Bunny quickly stretched her free hand out toward him.

“Michele, stop! Don’t!” she pleaded loudly.

The moment her hand went up, Michele went completely still, his chest heaving as he stared at her. He and Bunny exchanged a few intense glances across the table, and whatever look Bunny was giving him was enough to completely pacify his anger. He slowly backed down, his eyes still burning with hatred as he looked at me.

“Let’s go,” I said coldly, not waiting another second.

Bunny didn’t say a single word to argue. She kept her mouth tightly shut, but she followed me regardless, her small hand trapped in mine as I led her out of the cafeteria under the stares of dozens of students.

We got to the car in total, suffocating silence. I marched over to the passenger side, yanked the door open for her, and waited. The moment she got inside the vehicle, I slammed the door shut with a loud, aggressive bang.

I walked around to the driver’s seat, turned the engine over, and immediately proceeded to drive away from the campus.

The ride from the college to the location of the new house lasted only twenty minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. Neither of us uttered a sound. The tension inside the car was thick enough to cut with a knife. My knuckles were completely white against the steering wheel, my jaw clenched so tightly it ached.

When we finally arrived at the private, highly secure estate, I pulled into the driveway of the beautiful new house. Fuck! The house is perfect! Exactly how I had pictured it. I turned off the engine, stepped out of the car, and walked over to her side, opening the car door for Bunny to get out.

But the exact moment she stepped out onto the pavement, before I could even say a word, Bunny’s hand flew wildly across my face.

SMACK!

A very hot, stinging slap landed squarely on my cheek, the sound echoing loudly in the quiet driveway.

My breath hitched sharply in my throat, my head snapping slightly to the side from the force of her hit. Every single muscle in my body twitched violently, the veins in my neck stretching to their absolute limits as a dark, dangerous heat rushed to my face. My fingers instantly curled into a lethal, trembling fist at my side as I slowly turned my head back around to look down at her.