Chapter 202 The big screen

Chapter 202 The big screen
Chapter 202: The big screen 

Golden had barely settled into her chair when the door to her office pushed open hard enough to hit the stopper behind it. She looked up instantly, slowly removed her glasses.

“Good morning to you too,” she said carefully.

Xander shut the door behind him. "Why were you promoted?"

The question came so fast it almost overlapped with the sound of the door closing.

Golden blinked once.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

His eyes swept around the office again, jaw tightening harder. The flowers, the expensive decor. The private office. The glass wall directly opposite Allan’s office.

Everything about the room irritated him.

Golden stared at him for a few seconds before leaning back slowly in her chair.

“You came here to ask me that?”

“Yes.”

She let out a quiet breath, disbelief creeping into her face.

“I don’t know why I was promoted, Xander.”

“Bullshit.”

Golden’s brows furrowed immediately.

“Excuse me?”

“You expect me to believe this just happened naturally overnight?” he asked. “You expect me to believe Allan suddenly made you second in command because of merit alone?”

Golden stood slowly from her chair.

“Watch your tone.”

Xander laughed dryly.

“My tone?” he repeated. “You’re sitting in a luxury office directly opposite your ex boyfriend's office and you’re worried about my tone?”

Golden folded her arms tightly across her chest.

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“No,” Xander snapped. “What’s ridiculous is the fact that people in this building don't even know you're married.”

Golden frowned slightly.

“What are you talking about?”

“I'm talking about your name,” he shot back immediately. “Why is everyone calling you Dr. Golden Nixon? Why isn’t anyone addressing you with my surname?”

Golden stared at him in confusion.

“Because Nixon is my professional name,” she said slowly. “The same way it has always been.”

“But you’re married.”

“And?”

Xander looked genuinely irritated by her response.

“And people should know that,” he said. “You’re my wife.”

Golden blinked slowly at him. The way he said it sounded less like love and more like ownership. A strange silence settled between them.

Then Golden spoke quietly.

“You slapped me last night.”

The anger on Xander’s face flickered briefly.

Golden swallowed once.

“I thought maybe,” she continued carefully, “you came here because you wanted to apologize.”

Xander looked away for a second before dragging a hand through his hair. Instead of guilt, frustration returned to his face again.

“You didn’t sleep at home,” he said.

Golden’s expression hardened instantly.

“That’s what you care about right now?”

“You left.”

“You hit me.”

“You walked out.”

Golden stared at him in disbelief.

“You really don’t hear yourself, do you?”

Xander exhaled sharply, pacing once across the office.

“I’m trying to understand what’s happening to us.”

“No,” Golden corrected quietly. “You’re trying to control what’s happening.”

That landed harder than she expected. Xander stopped moving. His jaw flexed slightly.

Before either of them could speak again, there was a soft knock at the door.

Neither answered. A second later, the door opened anyway.

Allan walked in.

Immediately, the atmosphere changed. He looked between them once.

Golden straightened unconsciously. Xander's expression darkened instantly.

Allan carried a black gift box in one hand.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” he said smoothly.

“You are,” Xander replied coldly.

Allan ignored him completely. His attention shifted to Golden instead.

“I passed a store this morning,” he said casually. “Saw these and remembered they used to be your favorite.”

He placed the box gently on her desk.

Golden looked down at it automatically.

Belgian chocolates. The exact brand she used to obsess over in university.

Her chest tightened slightly before she masked it quickly.

Allan noticed.

Xander noticed too.

The silence in the room suddenly felt unbearable.

Allan finally looked toward Xander.

“There’s a general meeting in thirty minutes,” he said calmly. “Attendance is mandatory.”

Then his gaze returned briefly to Golden.

“Don’t be late.”

And just like that, he walked out. The moment the door closed, the office became suffocatingly quiet.

Golden stared at the chocolates.

Xander stared at her.

Golden looked up sharply. “What?”

“Wow.”

Her stomach tightened.

Xander let out a bitter laugh.

“You think I don’t notice things?”

Golden rubbed her forehead slowly.

“I’m tired,” she murmured.

“Golden—”

“No,” she cut in quietly. “I’m exhausted, Xander.”

He looked at her for a moment, but the anger in him still outweighed everything else. Finally, he turned and walked out without another word.

Golden stood there motionless long after he left. Then slowly, she sat back down.

Her eyes drifted toward Allan's office through the glass.

He was already working. Like none of this affected him at all.



Thirty minutes later, the office hall buzzed with quiet conversations and movement.

Rows of executives, doctors, board members, and department leads filled the seats gradually.

Golden sat near the front beside Alex and Linda.

Fabulous sat two rows behind them scrolling through his phone absentmindedly.

Across the hall, Allan entered with Aj beside him.
 People straightened unconsciously. Conversations softened.

Allan walked toward the front calmly, greeting a few executives along the way.

His eyes landed briefly on Golden. Only briefly. But it still made her pulse react annoyingly.

Xander entered moments later carrying a tablet and presentation files. His expression remained unreadable.mGolden avoided looking directly at him.

The meeting officially began shortly after.

One of the board members welcomed everyone before handing over to Xander for the presentation regarding pediatric expansion projects.

Xander stood smoothly, adjusting his cuff once before moving toward the screen.

Golden watched quietly.

“So,” Xander began calmly, “as we proceed into the next quarter—”

The screen behind him suddenly flickered.

Xander stopped. The lights shifted strangely, then a video appeared.

The room frowned collectively.

A younger version of Hannah appeared on screen. Then Xander.

The footage looked old. College-aged. Shaky camera quality. It was a footage of Xander hitting Hannah.

Gasps filled the hall instantly. Golden froze.

On screen, Hannah stumbled backward crying while a younger Xander shouted aggressively.

“No,” Xander muttered sharply.

His face drained. “What the hell—”

More clips played instantly. Different moments, different arguments, different videos of Xander yelling, throwing things. Shoving Hannah roughly against a wall. Beating her up. 

The room erupted into horrified murmurs.

“Oh my God.”

“Is that him?”

“Turn it off.”

Xander rushed toward the system controls.

“It's not loading manually,” one technician stammered nervously.

Golden sat frozen in her chair. Her breathing slowly changed. Cold realization crawled painfully through her chest.

Then the final video appeared, a recent video of Hannah sat facing the camera calmly. Perfectly composed.

“I know nobody will believe me,” she said softly on screen. “But I just want to look out for Golden.”

Golden’s stomach dropped instantly.

“She deserves better,” Hannah continued sadly. “And if he could do those things to me… maybe she's experiencing the same thing too.”

The room fell completely silent.

Golden lowered her face slowly. Shame burned through her body.

Allan stood near the front silently watching everything unfold. Even he looked genuinely shocked now.

Golden stood abruptly. Her chair scraped harshly against the floor. Every eye followed her.

Without saying a single word, Golden turned and ran out of the hall.