Addicted to the Billionaire

-27-

"I am so glad to meet you, Candace. I have heard so much about you from Louis.", Vera says. Her voice is light, but confident, as if she used to be shy but recently started speaking up for herself.

"I've heard a lot about you too. Most of it from Xavier", I say plainly, and I notice that she winces.

"Xavier and I – it's a long story, but I heard what happened between you two, and I wanted to tell you my story."

I shrug, and she goes on.

"Xavier and I knew each other ever since we were six. He had just been brought to America. He was so shy, and the other kids didn't make it easy for him. He was adopted you see – everyone made fun of him because his parents were dead. And of course, there was Asher. Asher never liked Xavier, and it broke Xavier's heart because, back then, I think the only thing he wanted was a friend – he was a young child who was brought into a new world, and he was all alone. One day, Louis and I saw him crying under the slide. We became his friends and from that day on, we always had each other's backs. But Xavier never really got over it all. I think he was always scared that we would turn on him or something. He always kept us at a distance."

"Except Beatrice", I cut in.

Vera frowns. "Beatrice was different. Xavier saved her from being bullied – it was on the first day of sixth grade and her mom and dad had just gotten a divorce. She saw him as her savior, and he felt like he related to her because they were both victims. He always wanted to protect her – to shield her from all harm – because he felt that they were the same. But she was always in love with him."

I sigh. This is not what I want to hear. "Let's move on to when you and Xavier started dating."

She visibly tenses. A waiter passes by us with glasses of lemonade, and she grabs two from the tray, handing one to me. After a long sip, she continues.

"Xavier and I started dating in our senior year. He had been in a huge argument with Asher, and I could tell that he was upset and... I just kissed him, and he kissed me back", she says, a wistful look on her face. I really don't want to hear this, even though it happened long before Xavier and I even met.

"From then on, we were official, but I don't know if it really changed anything between us. Xavier and I had always been friends, and I guess we somehow both knew that we would end up together. We had many events together and we just clicked. But I never felt like we were in a real relationship. He was always like a brother to me."

"Then why didn't you tell him? Why did you lead him on?"

"I just couldn't. he was already traumatized by the death of his parents and the bullying. I couldn't make him think that he was unlovable. Sometimes, he confided in me that he felt that no one would ever want him. I couldn't just break his hear by saying that I didn't love him the way he loved me."

"Well you broke his heart wither way. You cheated on him, you ruined his trust in people.", my voice breaks at this point. Xavier has been through so much.

Vera looks pained. "I know that it sounds so horrible but you don't understand. Asher was so sweet and understanding."

My breath hitches in my throat. "What do you mean?", I ask, and my voice sounds strangled, even to my own ears.

"The person I cheated on Xavier with... it was Asher."

No. It can't be Asher. He would have told me something. Wouldn't he?

Vera continues, oblivious to the internal dilemma that I am going through. "We were about to go to college – Xavier and I had been dating for two years, and trust me, it had not been easy. Beatrice had been constantly looking for a reason to make me and Xavier break up – she had spread lies and rumors, but Xavier never saw her as the issue. He always tried to encourage peace between both of us, but it had reached a point where I couldn't even stand to be around her anymore. Of course, she always played the victim, so it looked like I was unnecessarily jealous, when in reality, I was just trying to hang on to my boyfriend. Sometimes, I wanted to leave, but I knew that it was what Beatrice wanted. She knew that Xavier loved me, and she wanted me out of the picture.