"What?" Xavier opened the door.
"She sounded so scared." He shrugged on his blue coat, grabbed his keys, phone, and wallet, and headed toward the door.
"I might have said something." Xavier grinned.
Chris smiled. "What?"
"It was a joke."
"What'd you say?"
"That I killed the man you asked me to."
His brows shot up. "What? Why would you say that?"
"I was frustrated, okay? She wasn't letting me in, the guard had taken my gun, and—"
"A gun?" Chris stared at him, his smile fading.
He paused.Shit. "Yeah, um, it's for safety purposes. Petrichor is not safe, you know."
Chris buttoned his coat and nodded, though he looked like he wanted to say a million things. "Let's go."
On their way out, Chris cleared up the situation with Sarah because he didn't want to gain a reputation, though Xavier didn't understand why it mattered at all. He got his gun back. They got into Chris's white Range Rover and headed home.
He was finally going to see Giselle.
Chapter 27
Chris parked his car outside Giselle's house. He told himself that the tightness he felt in his chest had nothing to do with jealousy. He'd long convinced himself to be happy for her and with her choice, but then why was he dreading the moments ahead?
"Is this it?" Xavier asked from the passenger seat. Chris gulped.
"Yup," he said, glancing toward the man Giselle had chosen over him.
Xavier stared at the mansion. "Is she inside?"
"Uh, yeah. I t-texted her. She's w-w-waiting."
Xavier turned his head and looked at him with furrowed brows. Chris could've sworn it was because of the stutter in his speech, and he scoffed internally. He hated letting others feel through his broken words how shattered he felt on the inside.
He watched as Xavier opened the door and walked toward her house without another word. Chris waited in the car, not trusting himself to be able to watch their reunion.
Come to think of it, he'd never seen them together. The only time he'd witnessed them as a couple was when Abbott had died, and his heart was already filled with grief at losing his father figure that it didn't have the space to accommodate another heartbreak.
But from this day onwards, he had no way out. He knew he'd lost the love of his life, but seeing it with his own eyes devastated him. It was as if the last shred of hope was being taken away. So, he sat in the car, contemplating whether he had it in him to watch them together.
Taking a deep breath, he looked in the direction where Xavier had gone and waited for a few moments. Giselle opened the door herself. Ana didn't open it like usual. He noticed that detail.
He watched.
Giselle covered her mouth with her hands. Her beautiful green eyes, though not clearly visible from the distance Chris was in, scanned Xavier's face for a moment before she opened her tender arms and threw herself into his embrace. He picked her up and twirled her around, her laughter echoing.
His hands started aching and Chris realized how hard he'd gripped the steering wheel.
Closing his eyes, he counted to ten. Breathing in and out, he admitted that he couldn't bear it, that he might never get used to it, and that he'll find the strength to watch them together some other time.
Before he could leave, he made the mistake of glancing at them once more. It was a mistake because he couldn't move anymore, for Giselle walked toward his car, Xavier nowhere around.