Chapter 21 Chapter 21: A Big Misunderstanding
Catherine’s P.O.V
I stared at him, genuinely stunned, my mouth parting before I could stop it. Then my eyes slid to Caroline, whose face had gone completely pale, her hand instinctively pressing to her stomach as if to shield herself.
“That’s not possible,” I said slowly, my voice tight but steady.
“Xavier, I gave Caroline apple juice. I was very deliberate about it. I know she’s pregnant. I would never give her wine. Never.” I shook my head, looking between the two of them. “I brought the glasses to the table myself so they don’t get mixed up…I—I don’t…I have no idea how this could’ve happened.”
Xavier didn’t interrupt me. He just listened, jaw clenched, before quietly lifting his glass.
“Cathy,” he said, gently but firmly, “I got the apple juice.” He held the glass up between us like evidence.
“I know you poured it yourself. I know you got us wine that I got you last Saturday. But I’m the one who got the apple juice.” His eyes searched mine. “Which means…the glass Caroline had wasn’t the apple juice.”
My breath caught. “No,” I whispered. “That doesn’t make sense.” I lifted the glass that was meant for Caroline, my hand suddenly unsteady. “This is apple juice,” I insisted, even as doubt crept in. I took a small sip, more to prove my point than anything else, and the taste hit me instantly.
Sharp. Bitter. My stomach dropped.
“Oh my God,” I breathed, pulling the glass away. “This is wine.” I looked at Caroline again, my chest tightening painfully. “That means… her glass was switched. Somewhere. Somehow.”
Caroline’s voice trembled. “Cathy, I swear I didn’t…”
“I know,” I cut in immediately. “I know you didn’t drink it.” I turned back to Xavier, my eyes burning. “I would never want to harm her like that, Zee. Never.”
Xavier nodded, his voice calm but heavy. “I believe you,” he said. “And I believe Caroline.” He exhaled slowly. “I’m giving you space, Cathy. I know this is a shock. You need time to process it.” Then his tone hardened just a little.
“But giving you space doesn’t mean you get to take this out on Caroline. She’s not the enemy here.”
I swallowed hard, nodding even as my hands trembled. “I wouldn’t,” I said, my voice breaking despite myself. “I’m angry, yes. I’m confused. But not at her. I’d never blame her for something like this.” I looked at Caroline again, softer now. “I promise you that.”
The room felt unbearably quiet after that, the weight of what had just been uncovered pressing down on all of us, and all I could think was how something so small...a simple glass, had managed to shatter the ground beneath our feet.
“Xavier,” Caroline turned to him, her voice measured, “I think there must have been some misunderstanding or mix-up. That’s why this happened. Catherine didn’t mean any of this.”
I felt a twist in my stomach, a mix of relief and frustration. Relief that Caroline was defending me, but frustration at how quickly Xavier’s temper flared.
Caroline’s eyes softened as she continued. “Look at this meal…this elaborate spread Catherine cooked. She must be feeling overwhelmed. She’s been doing everything she could to make tonight special.”
Before Xavier could respond, one of the servants, who was carefully cleaning shards of glass from the floor, spoke up. “Sir, Mrs. Dalton has been busy preparing the spread all evening. It was a simple mistake, really. Besides, it was one of the staff who set the table, not Mrs. Dalton.”
Xavier’s face hardened instantly. “Fire the person who made this mistake. Immediately.”
I felt my chest tighten. My voice came out before I could stop it. “No. Xavier, wait.”
He turned to me, surprise and irritation warring in his eyes. “Catherine?”
I stepped closer, my voice trembling slightly, but firm. “I don’t want anyone fired over a misunderstanding. It’s not fair. It’s just… a mistake. One mistake. That’s all it is.”
Xavier ran a hand through his hair, clearly torn between anger and reason. “But this…this is unacceptable.”
“I know,” I said softly, my own eyes stinging. “I feel terrible about it. I know it ruined the evening. But firing someone won’t fix what happened. It won’t make me feel any less guilty, and it certainly won’t bring back the mood we lost.”
Caroline gave me a small, approving nod. “She’s right, Xavier. No one meant for this to happen. Let’s just… move past it.”
Xavier’s jaw tightened, and for an instant I thought the storm had passed, but I was so, so wrong. “Absolutely not,” he snapped. “This cannot happen again. And I need to make sure of that.”
I felt my chest tighten, the tension from earlier still hanging heavy between us. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Xavier had never been like this before…this…angry.
“Xavier,” I started, my voice shaking slightly, “you can’t just fire her like that! She’s worked for us for years. She’s loyal, she’s never…she’s never done anything wrong!”
He didn’t even look at me at first. He was pacing slowly, his hands clasped behind his back.
“Catherine, I don’t want to hear it,” he said finally, his tone sharper than I had ever heard. “Do you understand what could’ve happened? That person could have harmed the baby. If we don’t make an example, it will happen again. I can’t take that risk.”
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady, but it cracked anyway. “I get that, Xavier, I really do. But there has to be another way. There’s always another way. You don’t just throw someone out after decades of service! She’s more than just an employee…she’s family in a way. Please, think about what you’re doing.”
He stopped pacing and finally turned toward me, and for a brief second, I thought I saw a flicker of the man I used to know…the one who used to pause and consider, the one who used to care what I thought. But it disappeared almost immediately, replaced by something cold and resolute.
“Catherine, I’ve considered it. And this is the only way. She has to learn her lesson. It’s for the baby. For all of us.”
I shook my head, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. “Xavier… this isn’t you. I don’t even recognize you right now. You’re… you’re not even considering the person who has worked for this family for years!”
He sighed, running a hand over his face, but it wasn’t the exasperated, vulnerable sigh I used to know. It was heavy, unyielding. “I’m doing what I have to, Catherine. You think I like it? I don’t, but I can’t let sentimentality endanger our child. She… she has to leave.”
I wanted to scream, to beg, to shake him into understanding, but the words caught in my throat. Instead, I whispered, almost to myself, “I can’t believe you’re willing to lose her… after everything. After all these years…”
He looked away, jaw tight, eyes hard. “Sometimes, Catherine, protecting the future isn’t about what’s easy. She’ll be fine. She’ll find another place to work. This is… the only way.”
The old maid, who had been standing quietly by the door, her hands trembling slightly, met my eyes. She didn’t say anything, but the look she gave me…full of quiet sorrow and resignation was enough to shatter me completely. My heart ached for her, for the life she had built here, and for the sudden, unrecognizable man standing in front of me.
I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Xavier… please… this isn’t just about duty or responsibility. It’s about people’s lives, about kindness, about… about humanity. Don’t lose yourself in all of this power. Don’t let it take you from me, from us.”
He shook his head, voice low but firm. “I’ve already lost myself once I realized what’s at stake. This… this is what’s necessary. I’m sorry, Catherine. Truly, I am. But I can’t compromise.”
I felt tears spill freely now. “Then what am I supposed to do? Watch someone I care about someone who’s cared for us for years…be cast aside while you… you become someone I don’t even know?”
He said nothing for a long moment, only stared out the window, and I realized then that whatever version of Xavier I had loved, the one I could reach, had vanished behind a wall I didn’t know how to scale.
And in that silence, the old maid quietly gathered her things, her shoulders slumping, and walked toward the door. My heart broke with every step she took. Xavier said nothing, only watched. And I knew, with a clarity that cut through me like ice, that the man I had loved was gone, replaced by someone unrecognizable, someone terrifyingly determined, someone who would sacrifice everything in the name of… what, exactly? Protecting his child? The Dalton heir?
I sank to the couch, burying my face in my hands, trying not to scream at the injustice, at the loss, at the hollow space where love and reason should have been. And outside, the soft click of the door shutting marked the end of something I wasn’t sure I could ever get back.