Chapter 27 Chapter 27: Someone to Share With
Catherine’s P.O.V
I didn’t know what to say. I had trusted the patterns, the rules he always played by. But something about these last few days made me feel like everything had changed.
“You’re different,” I said, almost whispering, not wanting to admit it even to myself. “Why did it feel… normal? When you kissed me, I mean.”
Hunter tilted his head, eyes curious but calm. “Normal isn’t what I aim for with most people. You’re not most people.”
I wanted to argue. I wanted to say I didn’t believe him, that this was just another game. “I can’t trust you,” I said. “Not after everything I know about you.”
He laughed softly, and it wasn’t the mocking sound I expected. It was warm, easy, and somehow it made my chest ache. “Maybe you can. Maybe it’s about time you did.”
I pulled back slightly, trying to process the chaos he stirred in me. “You’ve never crossed lines before,” I said. “So why now? Why me?”
He shrugged, leaning closer again like the space between us had been measured and carefully calculated.
“Maybe you’re worth the risk.”
Just like that, I didn’t know what to think. The part of me that was cautious, hardened by months of watching him charm, flirt, and disappear, screamed that I should step back, run as far as I could. But another part…the part I never admitted even to myself, wanted to lean in, to see if maybe, for once, someone like him could be real.
Because right now, he was the only person I could open up to. The only person who would listen to me and not call me paranoid or crazy. And maybe…just maybe, he knew more about Xavier than even I did, and maybe his warnings hadn’t been just to get under my skin.
“I…” I started, then stopped, unsure what the words could even be.
He reached out, gently brushing a strand of hair from my face. “Hey,” he said softly. “You’re safe with me. At least, right now, you’re safe.”
At that moment, against all reason, I believed him.
“I… I need to tell you everything,” I began, my voice tight, trembling slightly despite my attempt to sound steady. “Everything that’s been happening since Christmas. And I…I don’t know if I’m being paranoid or reading too much into this, but I just…I need to have someone listen to me and not judge.”
“No judgment. Never that. You can say whatever you want to me, Cathy.” Hunter leaned back, hands folded loosely, giving me space to speak.
I nodded, took a deep breath…and let it all out.
“It started when the surrogate came to stay with us, yesterday. I didn’t know how to handle it, how to even bring it up. I confronted Xavier, begged him to do something about the situation, but he told me the truth. About how Lydia had a health scare and manipulated Xavier into donating sperm for a surrogate. Xavier wanted to refuse, but then…then Lydia… she threatened Xavier. She said she would disown him if he didn’t produce an heir. Can you believe that? She was ready to kick him out of the inheritance, she… she made it a demand, a threat. All for an heir!”
Hunter stayed quiet, letting me continue, nodding just slightly, his eyes fixed on mine as though willing me to let the truth spill out.
“So we didn't have any choice but to let the surrogate stay at our house. But last night…it was different. …something happened during dinner…a mix-up. Xavier… he raised his voice at me. He’s never done that before. Never. And yet, last night, it wasn’t just a raised voice. It… it cut deeper than anything I’ve ever felt. I don’t even have words for how it hurt, how it made me feel small and invisible all at once. I wanted to run away, to… to disappear somewhere he couldn’t find me. I don’t know what went wrong, but I thought that it would pass; that this morning, he would wake up and apologize. But it didn’t happen.”
My hands trembled so violently that I had to fold them onto my lap, hoping that the tears wouldn’t spill despite how blurry my eyes were. But Hunter didn’t interrupt. He just listened, completely tuned in as if I was the only thing in this room, in the world. And that somehow gave me courage to keep going.
“I’ve tried to see it from his side,” I admitted, voice dropping to a whisper. “I’ve tried to rationalize it, to tell myself he’s under pressure from Lydia, that he’s trapped in all of this and…”
I cut off, shaking my head, my chest tightening. “No. Last night… it wasn’t pressure. It wasn’t desperation. It was something else. Something I can’t quite name but… but it was deliberate in a way that scared me and I can’t get it out of my head.”
Hunter leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees.
“Catherine… slow down,” he said gently. “Breathe. Let me get this straight. You’re saying the surrogate came to stay with you because Lydia threatened Xavier over heirs, and then last night, something happened at dinner and he lost control in a way he never had before?”
I nodded quickly, biting my lip.
“Yes. That’s exactly it. And it’s not just the voice, Hunter. It’s… it’s the way he tried to accuse me of trying to harm Caroline. It’s the coldness…I’ve never seen him like that. He even fired a staff who worked for him for over thirty years! And I feel… I feel like I’m standing on the edge of something I can’t fix.”
My voice trembled, tears spilling that I quickly wiped away. “The wine glasses were swapped somehow. I checked everything, I swear, but still…it was an honest mistake. But the way Xavier looked at me…as if I had done it on purpose? I may not be okay with the situation, Hunter, but hurting a pregnant woman? How can I ever do that? What—how—how can Xavier even think I was capable of something like that? He knows me for six years now!”
He was silent for a long moment, just watching me, letting the words hang in the air.
“And after all of this… Catherine,” he asked carefully, “do you really believe Xavier is the victim here? That he’s being squeezed and manipulated, and all he’s doing is reacting to his mother’s threats?”
I frowned, surprised by the question, my mind spinning. “What do you mean?”
“I mean exactly what you’re thinking but are too afraid to say out loud.” Hunter looked me dead in the eyes, his voice strong and confident. “Have you ever wondered if… if maybe, Xavier isn't the victim? That he’s the one playing the big game, the one controlling the pieces while everyone else thinks he’s trapped?”