She didn't know why, but Martin abruptly brushed through her mind almost immediately. With the way Xavier acted that day, it was certain there was an undying tension between both of them
One look at Xavier and she noticed the tiredness, anger, and hurt his face held. The phone had already stopped ringing. She walked towards him once more, stealthily, trying not to get punctured by the broken glass.
Standing in front of him, she stayed with her hand akimbo, looking at him like a mother staring down at her child.
Xavier didn't look at her, he was just too angry to do so. He just sat, head bowed and fingers supporting his head.
"Now, will you tell me what the problem is?"
"I'm not in the mood to do so"
"I have every right to know because you made this place a pig style due to your anger," she said and a sigh escaped from his lips. He was trying his best not to lose his mind due to her stubbornness.
"You have no right to show exhaustion toward me. I am just as pissed as you could probably be. I mean, look at the place" she said, looking around.
Xavier just stared at her blankly. He was too angry to even speak, and he seemed to be making things harder for her. It was certain that even though he tried to shake her off, it wasn't going to work, rather she would linger until she got what she wanted. Amelia was very stubborn. That was typically her characteristic.
"You almost thrashed the TV if I wasn't here to stop you"
"And you care so much about the TV?"
"Of course I do. I care solely for the TV, not for you. I mean you aren't that important to me anyway" she folded her arms under her breast. The look she had on her face while making the statement made him feel the need to erupt into laughter.
Whenever Amelia was around, it was just so impossible to stay angry. Her personality was so lovely that Xavier found a certain likeness to it.
"And what were you taught to do whenever you see a person angry?"
"I wasn't taught anything"
"I assumed"
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"Are you so dumb not to know to leave when a person is angry?"
" I don't do that. That's not my style. If I ever see a person angry, I have to find out the reason before doing anything and I can't just leave, my nosey self won't let me"
"So you agree you can be nosey at times?"
"Maybe" Amelia shrugged. "And guess what? "
"What? "
"You aren't angry anymore," she smiled proudly. When the statement registered, Xavier realized she was right. Just like magic, his anger faded away. That was something that hardly happened. It caused him to wonder what kind of powers Amelia possessed.
"What makes you say that" he pushed on further even though it was a certainty he wasn't angry anymore
"You are like an open book, so easy to read"
"That's ironic. Most people say I am like a closed book, hard to read".
"I'm your wife, I know you better than them," After the words left her lips, she realized how absurd she sounded. Typical Xavier would have shunned her and reminded her she was just a fake wife, but he remained quiet which was surprising. Xavier felt awkward due to the silence and turned to leave
"Where are you going? "
"Out, to cool my head," he said and almost immediately confusion clouded his thoughts. "And since when did you start caring about where I went?"
"I don't. I'm just concerned about who would clear the mess you created".
"Mrs. Rebecca will do it"
"No, she will not" Amelia voiced out.
Xavier stared at her like she had lost her mind, but she stood her ground
"What do you mean by that?"
"Who created the mess?"
"Me, and? "
"You get to clean it" She smiled even though she knew Xavier didn't find her funny.
"Then why do I pay her? "
"You pay her to keep the house tidy and not to clean up your mess"
"And I assume you were there when I hired her? "
"I don't need to be there to know some basic things," Amelia said with folded arms. "Well, you still have to clean it up"
"And if I don't? " He asked
Amelia began to think of something she would do if he decided not to clean up.
"Then I will not talk to you until the contract is over" she blurted out. That was the only thing she could come up with. As soon as Xavier erupted into laughter, she concluded what she said made no sense.
"You know you can't do that?"
"Are you doubting my words? "
"You know you can't. None of us trusts your garrulousness"
"I feel offended"
"I should be the one offended. You just asked me to clean up, in the bossiest way You could think of"
"Who do you think taught me how to be bossy? "
"I don't know who?"
"Are you being serious or did I hear a hint of sarcasm in your voice"
"Probably" he shrugged
"Well, sarcasm or not, you will be cleaning this place. I will gladly give you a helping hand. I can't stand the sight of Mrs. Rebecca stooping over to pick up the broken glass that was shattered by you"
"You still can't tell me what to do. It doesn't make any sense"
"This would be a glad reminder of why you shouldn't throw things when you are angry most especially bottles, and I know these drinks are worth a fortune," Amelia said, turning to look around the sitting room. The broken bottles were all over the place alongside wine that was spilled.
Xavier did the same, he turned around to look at the mess he created. He instantly felt guilty for thinking Mrs. Rebecca could clean it alone effectively
*****
A scrubber was in his hand with a scowl on his face. She had a vacuum cleaner in her hands too. He was supposed to be grateful that she agreed to help, but he kept questioning why she took the vacuum cleaner and gave him a scrubber.
It was almost impossible to believe Xavier would listen to her appeal of cleaning up his mess. After much teasing and slight persuasion, he finally agreed, and here they were about to clean up the mess he created.
With the look on his face and the way he held the scrubber, it was obvious cleaning was something he didn't know anything about.
"You have no idea what to do, do you?" She teased, while Xavier stared at her with furrowed displeased eyebrows.
"What makes you say that?"
"The way you are holding the scrubber and the look of disgust on your face isn't doing a good job to hide it"
"I know a few basics" he shrugged, and she erupted into deep laughter.
"I bet you can't even shift the scrubber to the right properly to get to broken bottles off"
"Ok, I might not know the basics, but I sure know one or two things about it"
"Do you really?" she laughed and the sarcasm in her voice wasn't hidden. "Well, carry on," she said to Xavier who was staring at her in disbelief.
"Like a trial or what?"
"It's not a trial, dummy," she said with a scoff. "And it's you who caused this, not me," she added.
A sigh escaped from Xavier's lips as he positioned the scrubber in a way he felt was the best to have the bottle gathered.
"You should have it at the back of your mind that I'm doing this because I feel bad for Mrs. Rebecca and the fact that she might clean the thrash all alone. I am not doing it for you" he said, dragging the scrubber across the floor.
On the first attempt, he flung too hard and the bottles went in all over the place, making the place even worse than it was earlier. The gesture alone made Amelia burst into laughter while a displeased scowl remained on Xavier's face as he gazed at her, but that didn't stop her from laughing her heart off.
"You really do know one or two things," she said, making air quotes. With the look Xavier gave her, it was obvious he was frustrated, and she was the reason for his frustration, but she just couldn't help to stop making fun of him.
"I don't think a scrubber is an appropriate tool to clean up broken glass," he said, trying to make up for his error. That even made the scene funnier than it was. Amelia just couldn't help herself, she erupted into laughter again while Xavier just stood there. His signature tired expression found its way to his face yet again.
*****
The sitting room was back to its normal self all thanks to both of them. Amelia was glad they were finally done. Xavier was the slowest judging from the fact that he didn't know where to face the scrubber which made him lag while Amelia did most of the cleaning.
He didn't do anything, but the fact that he even thought of helping by keeping his bossy nature aside, meant a lot to her.
" Don't you see how nice this place is now?"
"Who would have ever thought I would ever clean in my life"
" I guess your childhood had been so fun," Amelia said, settling beside him on the couch. She noticed immediately she made that statement, his eyes changed from happy to depressed.
"I wish I could say that."
"What do you mean?" Amelia asked, perplexed.
"My childhood wasn't fun. It wasn't anywhere near fun," he said, pressing his lips together.
Amelia remembered what Daphne said about Xavier always being the reserved type since when they were both kids. Different, Daphne addressed him as. Amelia hadn't stopped wondering why she said that
"What more could you even ask for, you have always been rich, and I'm sure you were taken good care of while you were a kid"?
"One thing you would never understand is" he sighed as the sadness in his eyes doubled. "Money isn't everything"
"Something made you conclude that. What was that something?"
"not something, everything. It's ridiculous but true" he peeled his eyes off her and landed them on his thighs. It was certain he was nervous. That was something she had never noticed from Xavier before.
"Like what?"
"I can't tell you," Xavier sighed as the memories came flooding back. Memories of depression, anxiety, and not a single happy thought. It was hard for him growing up, and it became even worse when he became a teenager, having to hide his sexuality due to fear of the unknown. His father had a strong taste for perfection. He always pictured his son getting married to a lady and having children, but Xavier didn't see himself doing any of that.
Xavier thought as a grown adult he wouldn't have to care about that, but after hearing his father wanted to pass down the company to one of his sons, he knew he had to do something. If ever he found out about his sexuality, the company would be handed over to Henry instead, who wasn't so strong-hearted. Martin might maneuver his way, manipulate Henry, and he might find a way to run the company.
The main plan was to have the company to himself and hand it over to someone strong enough to handle it, and that was Lucas. He already had Fegal to himself. Having another one wasn't his agenda, but no matter how much he tried to convince himself, that wasn't the real reason he was getting married.
"I'm a good listener. Try me" Amelia spoke up after a brief minute of silence
"It's not about listening, I am just not ready to say it"