“...At dawn, the storm had passed. The little mermaid carried the unconscious prince toward the shore and left him on the beach...”
Warm and cozy under the covers, Cecilia Ye’s voice grew softer and softer as she told the story, her words blurring together as she drifted off herself.
Zoey Zhang, too, closed their eyes, occasionally flicking their tail—as if to signal, Yes, I'm still listening.
By the side of the wooden door, the wall bore a simple sign: 'Chi & Zao Art Studio', with a small doorbell underneath.
Xavier Foster’s hand hovered over the bell, thoughts racing wildly through his mind.
Go inside... and then what?
See Cecilia? And say what?
Would she come back? What if she didn’t want to see him at all?
She was living in Julian Jarvis’s house; what about her and Julian Jarvis...?
That last question left his mind spinning, dazed.
Long fingers hesitated, frozen on the doorbell...
It was a long time before the light in the window upstairs finally went out, leaving only a sliver of warm yellow glow.
His girl had been here all along, almost a month now.
He’d gone from anger, irritation, and indifference to being completely addicted to missing her.
But Xavier Foster was never the type to run from problems. He knew he was wrong, so he was here to fix it.
Ding-dong—
The sudden chime of the doorbell startled the girl in bed. She blinked, those long lashes fluttering like little brushes.
She'd just lain down to sleep. Propping herself up, she reached for her phone on the table—half past nine? Who would be coming by at this hour?
Cecilia Ye felt a little scared. Julian Jarvis and them wouldn’t come this late... So who else could it be?
Before she could think further, the doorbell chimed again.
Warily, she climbed out of bed. Her porcelain-pale feet slipped into plush slippers, the ruffled edge of her white nightgown brushing her ankles.
The bell woke Zoey Zhang, too. Perched at the edge of the bed, the little creature stared at her with big, round eyes.
"Zoey Zhang, will you come downstairs with me?" Cecilia Ye scooped the little one into her arms.
As the room light flickered on, Xavier Foster saw the lamp on the second floor turn bright. His heart thudded, feeling like it might leap from his chest.
The corridor lights lit up. Cecilia Ye descended the stairs, switching on the main light downstairs as she went.
From the door, she could only see half the yard. There seemed to be someone outside, though she couldn’t tell who—she held Zoey Zhang a little closer.
Cecilia Ye stepped into the yard, wove past the garden umbrella and little table and chairs, heading for the gate.
Cradling Zoey Zhang, she watched her step carefully.
From the moment she stepped outside, Xavier Foster’s eyes never left her. His hand gripped the wooden gate so hard it hurt.
Zoey Zhang caught sight of Xavier Foster first and barked at him.
Cecilia Ye looked up, her eyes wide and startled like a deer’s, meeting the man at the gate.
They stood just a few steps apart, gazes locked.
Cecilia Ye’s face went ghostly pale, a sharp ache stabbing her chest as memories she’d tried to bury came rushing to the surface.
Her mind blanked—she forgot how to think, only knowing, deep down, to take a step back.
Her lips parted, but no words came. Up close, even her whole body trembled.
The man outside the wooden gate looked just the same as ever—precisely tailored suit, cold face set with stern lines, impossibly familiar and also somehow unfamiliar.
She’d imagined a hundred ways to meet Xavier Foster again. Maybe years from now; maybe he’d have forgotten her by then.
She’d never thought it would happen so soon.
Seeing her like this chilled Xavier Foster to the core, a bitter taste flooding his mouth.
"Cecilia, open the door." His voice struggled through roughness, hoarse and raw.
Cecilia Ye shook her head, instinctively wanting to run back inside.
"Cecilia..." His voice was tight with urgency. He didn't know what to say—he just couldn’t let her disappear from his sight again.
Zoey Zhang, oblivious to their tension, just saw an old friend—barking twice more for good measure.
"Go away..." Her voice wavered, nearly lost in the wind, her eyes brimming with tears.
Moonlight spilled cold and clear across the garden. The breeze slipped through Cecilia Ye’s thin pajamas, making her shiver.
The pain in Xavier Foster’s chest grew worse, especially at her visible fear of him—mixed with a thread of frustration.
"Let me in. Can we just talk for a bit?"
He kept his voice soft, forcing down the storm within.
God, right now, all he wanted to do was burst in and pull her into his arms.
Cecilia Ye looked up, hugging Zoey Zhang even tighter. "I don’t want to talk. I don’t want to see you."
His face turned even colder with every word. Looking into her eyes, he no longer saw the old dependence and trust—only wariness and fear.
"So you just left with Julian Jarvis instead? You trusted him, lied to me about being in Country Y—did you know I went there to look for you?"
"I went to Country Y for nothing, you two running circles around me."
He didn’t want to be angry, but the thought of her running with Julian Jarvis—living in Julian Jarvis’s house now, giving all the trust that used to belong to him to someone else—drove him half mad with jealousy. It grew wild, like weeds, tearing at him from the inside.
Cecilia Ye’s eyes flashed disbelief. She didn’t want to talk to Xavier Foster—not when he was always so high and mighty, always like this.
She hugged Zoey Zhang to her chest and whirled around to leave, walking in a stumbling rush like she just wanted to escape.
The garden gate barely came up to Xavier Foster’s waist. He braced his hands on it, swung a long leg over, and vaulted easily into the yard.
The wood creaked under his weight, and at the sound behind her, Cecilia Ye sped up, convinced he was an unstoppable flood about to sweep her away.
But she couldn’t outrun him. Before she made it halfway to the house, her arm was caught.
Her body lurched to a stop—straight into his solid chest, instantly surrounded by the familiar scent of sandalwood.
Her grip loosened on Zoey Zhang, who wriggled free, did a circle, and proceeded to paw at Xavier Foster’s trouser leg.
Cecilia Ye trembled, trying to pry herself free, but his hold was iron-strong.
Xavier Foster just held her, feeling the person in his arms.
A heart frozen for so long seemed to thaw, turning tender and weak.
She seemed lighter, frailer, when holding her now. Such a small, weepy, timid little thing.
How was it that just holding her like this was enough to warm himself—enough to fill his heart completely?
The man behind her bowed his head, his trembling voice whispering into her ear, "Cecilia, I’ve missed you so much."
He breathed in her warm, familiar scent, eyes growing hot and wet.
All those days not knowing where she was, he hadn't had a good night's sleep. Not a single day went by without missing her.
Cecilia Ye squeezed her eyes shut in pain, tears streaking down her cheeks. I don't want to listen—I don't want to hear any of it.
She struggled, clawing with her hands at the fingers holding her so tightly.
"Let go. Let go of me. Let me go!"
Her voice was choked with rejection, but she couldn’t break free from his grip.
Tears streamed unchecked as she opened her mouth and bit down, her little teeth sinking deep into Xavier Foster's arm.
He hissed in pain, but didn’t flinch. "Bite all you want, as long as you don’t slip away on me in silence again."
It was chilly outside, and she was only in thin pajamas—whether from fear or cold, she shook all over.
Xavier Foster was relentless; his stubbornness, his brute force—Cecilia Ye had always known he would be like this.
She stopped struggling, her eyes glossing over, utterly broken.
"Let me go, let me go..." she repeated, her whole body slack with exhaustion.
Xavier Foster’s heart ached so badly it twisted. He relaxed a bit, but still didn’t let her go completely.
Cecilia Ye looked up, meeting the complicated storm in his otherwise cold, stern eyes.
"Why—why won’t you let me go? What do you want from me? How am I supposed to make you satisfied?"
She just wanted a quiet life with her baby, to escape all those old memories of hurt and heartbreak.
Why, why was even that tiny wish too much to ask?
Her voice, broken with despair, struck Xavier Foster right in the chest.
"I’m sorry, Cecilia. Don’t cry, please, don’t cry." He fumbled clumsily to wipe her tears.
Cecilia Ye took advantage of the loosened grip, stumbling back a few steps to stand as best she could.
Pain and dread filled her face, so much that even Xavier Foster winced at the sight.
Her arms hugged herself tightly, shying away from his approach.
This wasn’t how Xavier Foster wanted things—not this at all. He forced himself to stay still, not to scare her anymore.
He’d warned himself, over and over before coming, that he needed to take things slow, not be too impatient. But seeing her, he’d thrown all those promises aside.
He took a deep breath, his voice steady but heavy: "Cecilia, I won’t come closer."
His words were deliberate, his eyes never leaving her face. "I just... I want us to go back to how things used to be."
Cecilia Ye stared at him in disbelief, tear-filled eyes shining.
Go back...? There was never a ‘before’ for them.
*
Here’s a nice, long chapter to start—everyone, get some sleep. Nighty-night, mwah.
Next chapter, I’ll pop up again at midnight! Haha!~