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Connor mped her wrist. “Xylia,” his voice dropped low. “When will this end?”
She must’ve pulled strings to get here.
Anyone asking around would know he was attending.
Wasn’t showing up just to beg for reconciliation?
The sight of her dress made Connor’s throat tighten, his brows furrowing.
Even if he didn’t want to admit it, tonight–she was stunning.
So stunning he noticed her the second she walked in.
Dressing like this–who else but for him?
In the next breath, Xylia yanked her hand free.
Cold impatience sharpened her eyes. “I-”
Before she could finish, Tessa floated in like a butterfly.
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She slipped her arm through Connor’s with a softugh. “Connor! fans kept stopping me for autographs. If the paparazzi catch us like this, they’ll think we’re dating. And my die–hard fans wille after you.”
Only then did she nce at Xylia, pulling her hand away in mock embarrassment.
“C’mon, we’re just friends. Don’t get the wrong idea.”
Her stare scraped over Xylia’s gown, jealousy icing her pupils.
But she quickly pasted on a generous look. “Xylia, you came tonight for Connor, didn’t you? I showed him your divorce papers the other day. Come on, there’s nothing between a husband and wife that can’t be smoothed over.”
She grabbed Xylia’s hand with a grin. “Since you made it here, just apologize to Connor. I’ll be the witness, and then it’s all behind you.”
Watching Tessa’s eager little act, Xylia’s lips curled in a coldugh.
She shook off Tessa’s hand, and in the next instant, Tessa cried out dramatically.
Tessa cradled her wrist, face pinched. “Don’t shoot the messenger, Xylia! Good thing it’s only
my hand…”
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Connor’s expression froze. He examined the reddening skin.
Connor’s expression went dark, a chill in his eyes. He nced at Tessa’s wrist, a red mark already blooming there. His voice cut sharp. “Xylia, be willful if you want–but why go after Tessa? Apologize.”
Augh caught in Xylia’s throat.
Connor Ford–empire builder–blind to this cheap act?
Of course he could. He just chose not to.
He only ever took Tessa’s side.
Whenever she and Tessa shed, he always stood with Tessa.
The thought pressed down on her again,yer afteryer, until it stung.
Even after deciding she wanted nothing from him or his son, the sting still lingered.
Xylia lowered her gaze, brushed past Connor. “I’m going to find my friend.”
“Xylia.” Connor’s voice cut sharp. “Didn’t prison teach you enough?” Her eyes flickered with impatience, and something sour twisted in his chest. “Don’t be reckless again.”
Prison? Three months of nightmare. And he used it to threaten her?
Catching her coldness, Connor reined in his tone, fingers mped on her arm, brows drawn. “Xylia, without the Fords, no one will shield you.”
That was him softening. And still, Xylia almostughed.
If she didn’t know–that the man in front of her was the very reason for those three months- she might have faltered.
Might have let his brief surrender move her. Might have ignored the coldness, the favoritism, for the child’s sake. Might have tried.
But she knew<i>, </i>
She tried to push him away. His hand mped harder.
Tessa chimed in, sugar–sweet. “Xylia, you’re always hanging around shady friends. That’s hardly what a married woman should be doing.”
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Her words only fanned the fire, the chill in Connor’s brow deepening.
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“Doesn’t he keep shady friends too?” Xylia let out a lowugh, her gaze sliding over Tessa. “And you? Who do you think you
you are?”
Tessa’s face nched.
The air froze–until a low, maic voice broke through.
“Can’t
you see? She wants nothing to do with you.”
Cool. Cutting. Xylia looked up. Joshua Garcia. He had closed in without her noticing, no more than two meters away, watching them with a half–smile.
Who knew how much he had heard.
Family uglinessid bare before him—and unease pricked at her skin.
Connor finally let go, his narrowed eyes studying him with caution.
The man before her had a face almost too striking to be real, his air regal–nothing like an ordinary man.
And that chill around him–impossible to ignore.
But Connor’s memory turned up nothing. No family matched.
His clothes were in. His expression, faintly careless.
“And you are?”
Joshua tucked away the sh of violence in his eyes.
The moment he saw Connor’s hand on her, something savage had surged–a violent urge to snap his neck.
Instead, his mouth curved. Gentle. Easy.
“I’m Xylia’s friend. You must be her ex–husband.”
“Xylia.”
The easy intimacy of it jolted all three of them.
Too close. Too much. Xylia’s brows drew tight.
Even when it was just the two of them, he never called her that.
:
Instinctively, she nced at Connor. And yes–anger already red in his eyes.
Connor narrowed his eyes, giving Joshua another look.
Since when did she know a man like this?
No money. No power. Just another pretty face.
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The thought of him clinging to Xylia in private had Connor’s eyes burning red with fury.
His eyes pinned her, his words scraped out between his teeth. “You want a divorce because of this boy toy?”
What could she even see in him?
His face? Just that?
Xylia stared at his sudden fury, baffled. She shot Joshua a re, as if ming him.
Joshua only lifted a shoulder, all innocence, a half–smile tugging at his lips.
Not on purpose? Xylia wavered.
Connor caught that look–and froze.
They didn’t seem close. So she was… using him? Deliberately? To provoke?
The thought clicked.
Of course. That exined why she came tonight, dragging along some nobody.
Just to spite him.
A flicker of disgust crossed him.
Connor leaned in, close enough to steal her breath. His anger twisted into augh, eyes chilling, razor–sharp, “Xylia,” he murmured, “you’re being very naughty.”
C