CHAPTER 190
Laura
The night at Xavier’s headquarters no longer felt as cold as it once did. The stone walls that used to echo silence now stood as quiet witnesses to a new warmth beginning to grow–not just from the fireplace crackling in the corner, but from something deeper. Something slowly taking root between pain and trust that had learned to coexist.}
Xavier entered the room with damp hair. A thin black T–shirt clung to his body, and his eyes immediately sought out one person. Me.
I sat on the leather sofa, a thin blanket draped over me, hair loose, eyes narrowed at the laptop screen filled with reports about Amber’s captured men. Down in the basement, they had been separated and interrogated one by one by Xavier’s most loyal people. No one left that place without the truth spilling from their mouths.
But my mind… wasn’t entirely on the mission.”
Not because I underestimated Amber. But because tonight, something else shook me more than her betrayal: Xavier.}
“Still thinking about it?” Xavier’s voice broke the silence. His voice was deep, weighted, always sounding like it held secrets that could only be unlocked if you were patient enough.
I turned slowly. “I’m always thinking about a lot of things.“}
He stepped closer. His footsteps were quiet, yet full of purpose. When he stood before me, I looked up. His face was inches from mine, and there was something in his gaze–soft, yet intoxicating.}
“Does that include me?” he asked.}
laughed quietly, nervous. “Of course. It’s hard to ignore the man who saved my life, gave me a safe place, and now… even knows how I breathe.”
He sat beside me. Our bodies touched, skin meeting skin at the arms, and that alone was enough to slow my heart and make it race at the same time.§
“I know you’re strong, Laura,” he said softly, almost a whisper. “But even someone as strong as you deserves to feel safe. Deserves to be claimed.”
I turned to him. “Claimed?“}
He looked straight into my eyes. “By someone who knows how broken this world is, but still wants to build something with you.“>
The pause that followed felt like the world stopped spinning. I could hear the ticking clock on the wall, the rush of my blood, and his heartbeat. So close.
“I didn’t need much time to love you, Xavier,” I said, honestly. My breath caught. “Because I already did… a long time ago.“>
His gaze softened. But he said nothing. Instead, he cupped my
touched mine.”
Mina hilt his fingers warm against my cheek. And his lips–slowly, surely-
That first kiss wasn’t an explosion. It wasn’t a storm. It came like long–awaited rain on a dry night. Gentle. Deep. Healing.”
I kissed him back, my body leaning in, fingers tracing the line of his jaw. There was a small cut there, maybe from the last battle. But the wound was beautiful. Because he survived. Like I did.§
Without a word, he lifted me and carried me to his room. Every step was steady, as if the outside world no longer existed. The door closed quietly behind us.
In that room, we were no longer two people bound by vengeance and missions. We were simply two souls who had found each other in the ruins of fate. As my clothes fell, one by one, and his fingers traced down my spine, I didn’t feel exposed. I felt accepted.” His breath was heavy in my ear. “Are you sure?“}
I nodded, unable to speak. Because for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel the need to fight.”
We loved each other that night. In silence. In an embrace that held a thousand unsaid words. Every touch from Xavier wasn’t just passion, but a promise. Every kiss was a confession.
And as our bodies moved together in a rhythm only two connected hearts could create, I knew–my life had changed. Not because I finally took down Amber. Not because I discovered my father was still alive, living in disguise in a small Polish village. But because in this brutal world… I had found home.
That home was Xavier.
Morning came too soon. Sunlight filtered through the window slats, warming our skin still wrapped in each other beneath the blanket.
I opened my eyes slowly. Xavier was still asleep, one arm draped around my waist.
I watched him for a long moment, then whispered, “Thank you… for not giving up on me.”
Because I would never give up on this love either.
And in the end, I knew. That even in the midst of fire, ashes, and the wreckage of the past, love could grow.
All it took for me to realize that was one thing: Xavier’s gaze.M
Because in that gaze… I saw my future.”
