NOVEL NEXT Chapter 227: Luxury Suite
"Come on, Xavier. Just this once. Have sex with me… before I black out…"
Xavier froze at her words, watching the faint struggle in her eyes as sleep kept dragging her under. For a moment, he said nothing. He just stared at her hand clutching his sleeve, her lips parted with a plea that wasn't fully hers but seemingly, the alcohol speaking through her.
He exhaled through his nose and muttered, "You're not getting it this way." With one hand, he gently pried her grip off him, then scooped her up from the couch. She murmured something incoherent against his chest but her head dropped to his shoulder, already gone.
Instead of answering her drunken demand, Xavier carried her to the bed. He set her down, pulled a blanket over her, and sat for a moment staring at her flushed face. "You'll thank me tomorrow. Or maybe you'll hate me. Either way, you'll know I didn't take advantage of you."
When he finally got up, he stripped off his own shirt, changed into a lighter set of clothes, and slid in on the other side of the bed. Sleep caught him before he realized.
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Light cut through the thick curtains, striking Angel right in the face. She groaned, rubbing her temple, her mouth dry. The pounding in her head was matched only by the racing confusion in her chest when she rolled over and saw Xavier sleeping beside her.
Her eyes darted down, only to realize that her clothes had been changed. A simple night shirt now covered her, and Xavier was in a clean set too.
Her fingers touched her lips unconsciously, as if trying to check for something. Her gaze lingered on Xavier's calm, sleeping face.
"You didn't… did you?" she muttered to herself, uncertain whether the mix of disappointment and relief in her chest was real or just the hangover twisting her thoughts.
Xavier stirred when the light shifted across his face, his eyes slowly opening. The first thing he saw was Angel staring at him like she'd been caught doing something wrong. He stretched, sat up halfway, and smirked faintly.
"You're staring too hard. Makes me feel like I should jump out of the balcony. And what, no good morning?"
"You're too full of yourself." Angel rolled her eyes and sat up as well, brushing her hair back. "Also, it's almost noon."
They sat in silence for a few moments, the atmosphere oddly calm after the chaos of the night before. Angel finally broke it.
"…Why didn't you?" she asked softly, not quite meeting his gaze.
Xavier blinked at her. "Didn't I what?"
"You know exactly what I mean." Her jaw tightened. "I asked you to have sex with me. I practically begged you. And you just… didn't."
Xavier leaned back on one hand, looking at her with a crooked grin. "I'm actually more surprised you remember that. Thought your head was too far gone."
Angel narrowed her eyes. "My tolerance is trash, sure. But even drunk, I remember everything. Every word."
"Impressive," Xavier muttered, pretending like she'd just revealed some grand feat.
She studied him for a moment, then tilted her head. "And I'm surprised you didn't get drunk. You drank way more than I did."
Xavier chuckled, shaking his head. "That's the thing. I didn't order alcohol."
Angel frowned. "What? I was sitting right next to you. You ordered the strongest drinks on the menu."
"Strong flavors. Strong mixes. But no alcohol," Xavier corrected with a smirk.
Angel froze, then replayed the night in her head. Her face began to heat up. "…Wait."
"Exactly." Xavier's smirk widened as he leaned in slightly. "Which brings me to the real question—how did you get drunk on nonalcoholic drinks?"
Angel's cheeks flared red, and she quickly looked away. "…Shut up."
"Two possibilities." Xavier raised two fingers in front of her. "One—you were pretending to be drunk. That way you could say whatever you wanted, do whatever you wanted, and not be held accountable. Just shrug it off with, 'I was drunk.'"
Angel pressed her lips together, refusing to look at him.
"Or two," Xavier went on, "you were so damn tired from working nonstop without rest that you just passed out and made it look like you were wasted."
Angel's shoulders stiffened. She still wouldn't face him.
Xavier's grin tilted sharper as he lowered his hand. "So… which is it, Angel?"
Angel's silence stretched, her lips pressed into a thin line, eyes locked on the sheets instead of Xavier. He waited, letting the weight of his words sink in. When she didn't answer, he leaned a little closer, voice low.
"C'mon, Angel. Don't tell me the great watchdog of my future empire's secrets suddenly forgot how to use words."
Her jaw clenched. "It's not like that."
"It's exactly like that." Xavier's smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "So which one was it?"
She shifted uncomfortably, still dodging his eyes, and for a while it seemed like she'd keep running circles around his questions. But then, with a shaky exhale, she gave in.
"…Doing something like that… it's not me," she admitted, voice soft but sharp at the edges. "I shouldn't. I wouldn't. It doesn't feel right. It's not ethical. I know all that."
Xavier tilted his head, listening without a word.
"But…" she continued, her cheeks flushing, "…I wanted to. I wanted to know what it felt like. That thrill. That excitement. That… guilty pleasure." Her voice dipped, almost guilty. "And I couldn't just… ask you for it. I couldn't do something like that openly."
She finally looked up at him, her eyes a mix of defiance and embarrassment. "So I thought… if I did it by mistake, if it looked like I lost control… then it wouldn't be my fault. And I'd still get what I wanted."
Her words lingered in the air, heavy with honesty and shame.
Xavier raised a brow, the smirk fading into something unreadable as he studied her. "So you wanted an accident. An excuse."
Angel's lips trembled, but she nodded faintly. "…Yeah."