Chapter 19: XENDER ARMSTRONG 2

As I walked back into the hall, I saw a lady who was being helped by a waiter as he struggled to help her stand on her feet.

How can she get herself so wasted on a business gathering? But then, why does this scene look so familiar? Where have I seen this before?

Was it in a movie? No, I don't think so. I haven't been to the movie theatre in a while. I waved it off, thinking it was just my mind playing tricks with me, until a picture of myself appeared in my head.

A waiter was trying to help me, but I pushed him off. My eyes widened in shock. It wasn't a trick; that actually happened to me.

I felt the whole place spin in my eyes as I felt like I was moved back to my memories of last night.

I remembered seeing Xender standing just right in front of me, but then he walked away. After which, I saw three men enter the pub, each claiming to be close to me.

I also remembered leaving with them as they dragged me down to the station, where they left me on the waiting bench. It must have been then that they took my bag.

But I clearly saw Xender leaving the pub; does this mean he came back for me? My legs became suddenly weak. I walked over to the nearest empty table and sat down as more memories from last night kept coming to me.

“Miss Barnard, Miss Barnard, wake up.” I heard Xender’s voice in my head. He came back for me; that's how he saved me from getting robbed.

He carried me afterwards to his car as he tried to wake me up. Truth be told, I didn't pass out, but I was too weak to respond to his calls.

When he hit the road, I remember feeling confused, but unfortunately for me, all the while he was driving, I thought he was Albert.

“Albert, why are we spinning around? You need to stop; I feel so sick.” I remembered saying: The last picture that appeared in my head was of Xender opening the door as he tried to help me out of his car.

But then I purged on him. Oh my God, that was what he meant when he said I made his night a living hell. I felt so frustrated that I nearly let out a scream. That explains why he was so angry because I didn't just leave him a note; I ran away like he did something bad to me, whereas he saved me.

“Oh Alda, why are you so fucked up?” I muttered to myself as I buried my face in my palms and reflected on every conversation I had with him.

I wasn't very nice. Why did I have to drink so much that night? If I hadn't done that, I would have still retained my face in front of him.

Now I feel like a mess. I ran my hands through my hair as I tried not to mess it up. 

“There you are. I have been waiting all day just to have a chance to talk to you.” When I heard that voice, I knew who it belonged to. Seth, what is he doing here?

I looked up at him, only to find a smirk on his face as he stared down at me. I am not ready to face this ungrateful jerk at the moment.

“How long are you planning on pretending like I'm not standing in front of you?” He asked me when I completely ignored him.

“Go away, Seth; I'm not ready to talk to you, especially not at a business gathering.” 

“I am not leaving here without having this conversation with you. If you don't have anything to talk about, then I do, and I want you to listen.

First, I forgive you for running away for days without coming home or checking up on me,” he said, and that left me giggling for a second.

My giggling turned into a laugh. A laugh that didn't reach my eyes.

“You forgive me? Really, Seth, you fucking messed up; you should be the one apologising to me.” I was trying as much as possible to stop the anger boiling inside of me like a volcano.

“Are you raising your voice at me?” He asked, looking furious. I know I need to find my dad, or Seth won't leave me alone. The last thing I need is to discuss how my cheating ass husband wants me to apologise to him after I caught him making out with us secretary at his office.

I stood up and was about to leave when he grabbed my hand, forcefully drawing me to him. He reeked of alcohol; has he been drinking?

“Don't walk away from me because I'm talking to you." He said this as his grip around my hand tightened, which left me hissing in pain.

“Seth, let me go; you are hurting me,” I said to him, but he ignored me and twisted my wrist instead.

“You are hurting!” I let out a sigh of pain.

“She said you should let her go.” I was surprised to hear Xender’s voice behind me as he came up to Seth and grabbed onto his hands, twisting them as he applied a lot of pressure to them.

"Ah, ah, ah." Seth hissed out in pain, and his arms came free around my hand, which gave me enough space to free my wrist.

“Who the heck are you? Why can't I talk to my wife?”

“Do I need to help you recall who I am, Mr. Sebastian?” Xender asked as he even applied more pressure to his twisted hands.

“Aaaah, I remember you, you know; please just let me go.”

"Oh, really, you do? I am giving you until the end of this week to pay me back my money, and I'm also giving you ten seconds to get the hell out of here and stop bugging her, understand?” Xender said this and twisted Seth's hands behind him as he let out a scream in pain.

“Okay, I will do as you say; just let me go!” He said it halfway through his scream of pain. Xender pushed him off, realising his hands. He spoke towards me, staring at me with so much anger visible in his eyes.

“On the count of ten, you will be arrested for harassment and business fraud. one, two, three, four…” He started backing away as Xender continued to count down. Soon, he was out of sight.

I felt so ashamed that I couldn't look Xender straight in the eyes.

“Why did you let him talk to you in that way?” He asked and reached out his hands towards me. I immediately flinched away from him, unintentionally.

The fact was that I was just scared, so my blame just reacted on its own. I looked up, only to find him staring at me. I immediately looked away, avoiding his glance.

“Your arm looks like it has bruises on it. Come, let's go find some ice and place it on it. He took my hand and led me outside the hall. 

“Wait here; I will be right back,” he said, leaving me standing outside the parking lot. A few minutes later, he was back with an ice bag. I reached out my hand to take it from him, but he took my hand instead and placed the ice on it.

“Why are you not saying anything?” He asked, staring at me.

“Because I'm too ashamed to face you.” I replied in a small voice, still avoiding his glance.

“I know I'm not supposed to be butting my mouth into your problems, but I think you deserve better.” He said. I didn't know what to say or do, but I just decided to hide the pain I was going through at that moment.

“Thank you for what you did back there and for standing up for me. I really appreciate it. And I'm sorry for running away this morning; I was just confused, so I thought running away was the best option.”

“It's okay, but you need to start standing up for yourself, because one day you might find yourself in a situation where no one will be around to run to your aid.” I just nodded my head at him.

“Let's go in; I'm sure my dad will be looking for us by now.” He said he was letting me have the ice bag before we both walked inside.

Anna's POV

What did I just hear? If I'm correct, Xender Armstrong is the guy who took Alda home last night. And what was that tension between them as they talked?

No, I am supposed to have Xender to myself. Why is Alda trying to take him away from me? I was furious, so this is why she hasn't called me as planned?

She was busy having fun with him while I was outside of this hotel waiting for her call so I could go meet him.

Did she just play me for a fool? Did she find him interesting and decide to ditch me? I found him first; I deserve to be the one having that conversation and being so close to him and not her.

“It looks like someone wasn't invited to the party.” Someone said it behind me. Even with my eyes closed, I know who that voice belongs to.

“What do you want, Seth?” I asked, facing him with my anger visible on my face.

“I went to see Alda, and guess what? Her new boyfriend kicked me out. Do you know who the boyfriend is? It's Xender Armstrong; Alda has good eyes for men, don't you think?”

With his words and behaviour, I could tell he had been drinking. So I'm not the only one who isn't happy about those two together.

“You look worse than you were this morning. Want to go grab a drink with me? Let's just get away from the cloud and have a little discussion about your wife.” I said to him with a smirk on my face.

“I thought you were a royal friend who cares a lot. What happened all of a sudden?”

“Look here, Seth; I am not like you, who married a woman just because of her parents wealth. I can't let Alda take Xender away from me, so I want you to go back to being the loving husband you used to be.” 

He laughed slowly at first, but then he increased his voice as he laughed like a psycho. What is so funny about the situation?

“Do you actually think Alda can divorce me? No, she can't; she loves me too well to do that.” I couldn't help looking at him like he had gone insane.

“You actually think that Alda wouldn't divorce a jerk like you.”

“Watch what comes out of your mouth, or else I will...”

“Or else you will what? What can you possibly do?” I asked, cutting him off before he could finish his empty threats.

“If you want to talk, then give me your car keys. I can't have you driving since you are drunk. I really don't want to die young just because I let you drive.” I said to him as I waited for his response.

“Fine, let's go, but find a reasonable club since I need to have some fresh-looking ladies around me.”

“You are crazy; who discusses business in the club?” I took the key from him as I headed for his car while he followed.

I am not going to let you have him. He is mine, and I will do anything to have him to myself. I took my phone and dialled Alda’s number.

“Aren't you going to get in?” I asked Seth, who was resting his back on his car instead of getting inside the car.

“Who are you calling?” He asked as he took the seat besides me.

“Your wife, now shut up; I don't need her to know we are together.” The first call was not responded to, so I called again. This time around, she picked up, and a smile curled up on my face.

“Hello, Anna. I'm so sorry. I know you must have waited for me forever. I got busy meeting up with top businessmen and women introduced to me by my father, so I got carried away.”

“It's okay; I can't make it to the party anyway.”

“But why? I just collected a pass ticket for you.”

“Thank you, Alda, but something came up, so I can't make it for the night.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything is fine. I will talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay”

“And also, do you think you can still get the contract without the file you left with me?”

“Don't worry about that; I have it as a pdf on my phone and laptop.”

“Okay, have fun. Goodbye.”

"Bye.” I ended the call and let out a disgusting sound.

“You do know you are supposed to be an actress,” Seth said, and I glared at him. 

Have all the fun you will have with him this night, because tomorrow I am working on making him mine.