A light in the darkness

Chapter 12

Anna had sat beside Xander at the dinner table, trying to keep swallowing the small bites of food. She was at the King Mansion for five days and it was the first time Mason King was home for dinner. 

His mere presence was making her nervous. He had sat at the head of the table, chatting quietly with his wife. He was oozing power and authority. He was smiling while speaking with his wife or when his children would talk to him happily and in those moments he was looking less intimating. But still, he was cold and emotionless when he was talking with his two brothers about the business. He was a man to not piss off and her sister had done the exact thing by trying to kidnap his kids. It was a miracle she and Maria were still alive.

Xander had sat next to her, silently eating his food. His actions were making her confused. He looked like the coldest and angriest man ever. She had seen him interacting with others. But around her, he would not talk at all. Instead, he would use any moment to stare at her oddly. She would dare to even say he looked calm in those moments when they would lock eyes. She even had heard Bella mumbling to herself about how odd it was he was home this much.

To make matters worse, Maria had called her that morning and had told her she was going to Japan for a mission and that had caused the worry for her sister's safety to eat her away. She unconsciously rubbed her chest, trying to calm down her aching heart.

She reached out with a trembling hand and took her glass of water. The action did not get unnoticed by Xander's sharp eyes. He looked at her with a frown as she picked her glass and brought it to her lips and took a sip, trying not to look at anyone.

"Anna, dear, are you fine?" asked Bella and put her cutlery down. Her words caused the others to look at Anna too.

"I'm fine." said Anna, forcing a smile.

Bella looked at Anna's plate and frowned. "You didn't eat lunch saying you will eat dinner." she said. "And now you have barely touched your plate. The pills you use for your heart are strong and need you to be physically strong. You need to eat more. You have lost a few pounds since you've arrived."

"Sorry." mumbled Anna under her breath and took her fork trying to eat. But the worry for Maria was making the bile rise in her throat.

"Your sister will be fine." said Mason and Anna looked up at him at hearing his deep voice. He picked up his half-asleep daughter from her high chair and cradled her on his chest. He then looked up and his sharp eyes got fixed on Anna. "She is with one of my best people. She will be safe if she doesn't do anything irrational."

Anna nodded and looked away. Mason King wasn't a man to say pointless words and Maria was not someone to do something irrational. So she decided to trust him. 

"Eat." 

Anna's head shot up at hearing Xander's voice. He was looking down at her intently. They locked eyes and she lost herself in his unreadable dark pools of eyes. Was he concerned? Was he angry? Was he feeling anything at all? He was a mystery to her. The most handsome and sexy mystery man she had ever seen and deep down she was eager to figure him out. 

She blinked several times after a moment and looked away, blushing because of her thoughts. She picked up her fork again and forced down a few more bites of her food before putting down her fork.

Thankfully Bella didn't argue when Anna excused herself for dessert and walked out of the room. 

"I'm worried for her." said Bella and looked at Mason. "This lifestyle is not healthy for her."

"She is a smart girl." said Mason, looking with his brows furrowed at Xander who was staring at the door. "She will be fine and I'm sure you will take care of her." he said and raised his eyebrows when Xander suddenly stood up and left the dining room as well. "And maybe someone else."