Chapter 14 - The Lie.

Hiking at the Tamarin Falls, a romantic boat trip to the Reunion island, water sports, shopping and exploring the island and Sega music and dance with the locals.

There was no activity on the list that Xavier and Amelia didn't check off on their list. Their days and nights were filled with adventure. With only two more days left to spend in the magical paradise, Amelia and Xavier decided that they'd spend it at the beach.

With browning legs curled under, dusted with sand like flour on bread, Amelia sat close to the lapping waves.
She had her sunglasses on and she was enjoying the breezy air and bright sunshine while Xavier went out for a swim in the water.

She had texted her friends a few times on the trip but the time difference was so messed up that  they never replied until the next day or a few hours after. 

Amelia whispered into the breeze, her eyelids fluttering closed as she breathed in the briny aroma. Scrunching her toes, she felt the softness of the sand, still damp from the retreating tide. She wiggled as a shiver cascaded down her spine and her eyes burst open as she took her sunglasses off to look for Xavier.
Her pale lips curve upward as she spotted Xavier swimming back to shore.

She bestowed her gaze to the far off horizon, the flaring hues of the sun melting into the sky and ocean like a divine painting. The forever stretching sea was masked with colour, that beautiful umber flowing into turquoise. Through narrowed eyes she watched as each wave overlapped one another, sending the white bubbling crests descending, masking the shore with the transparent fading water.

She picked up her sunscreen deciding that she wanted to lay on her back. She had only been able to apply sunscreen on the areas she could see as she sat upright in her tiny beach chair.

Xavier came out of the water and ran towards the beach, still dripping with water, he was heading directly to her side.

"The water's nice for a swim." He said as he stopped in front of her and picked up a towel to dry himself.

"I'm fine for now. I'd rather swim when there's a sunset."

Amelia said as she tried to reach her back with the sunscreen. She and Xavier had been having so many activities lately that they barely had enough alone time like they did now. They were always stuck in so many things so as to avoid both of them being inevitably alone to do other things.

"Let me help you with that."

Xavier said as he took the sunscreen from Amelia's hands. Amelia watched him quietly as she laid flat on her stomach and gently removed her bikini top so as to not get tan lines.

Xavier edged closer to her back as he applied the sunscreen on his hands while watching Amelia take her bikini top off. He had respected her decision not to go any further with him ever since the night at the pool but with every passing day it was getting harder and harder to keep his cool once it came to Amelia. The sundresses she wore were short enough to reveal her shapely legs and she was always walking around in a bikini bra most times inside the villa that it drove him crazy just looking at her.

He rubbed the sunscreen slow and sensuously around her back, taking his time to let the sunscreen soak into her delicately soft and beautiful skin. Her skin had a buttery texture to it and it was smooth and velvety. It brought fond memories to Xavier.

Amelia moaned softly, obviously enjoying the feel of Xavier's hands on her skin. She was feeling deliciously enticed with every stroke of his finger. Featherlight strokes at some areas and with more applied pressure at other areas.

It wasn't long before Amelia slowly turned, her hands clutching her bikini bra in front and her lips met Xavier in a heated passionate kiss. Xavier drew her closer to him until she was pressed flat against his hard chest and her hands were free to hang around his neck.

The kiss was not gentle, it was a battle of tongues and Xavier was dominating, although Amelia matched each stroke with brutal efficiency. Xavier's lips disappeared into her neck and softly bit into it while Amelia moaned loudly. She was aware of the ocean in front of them and the beach they were in.

Spotting a few people approaching the beach, Amelia slowly pulled away from Xavier and used her free hands to cover her breasts.

"I'm sorry." Xavier curtly said as he slowly pulled away.

"It's okay. I got carried away too."

Amelia said as she fixed back her bikini top as he looked away.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked out of the blues.

Amelia nodded.

"Sure. Surprise me."

She replied before he could ask her the type of drink she wanted. Her lips felt sore and her cheeks were tinted pink from embarrassment as she picked up her phone and decided to see if there was any new update from her friends.

There was one, from Ruby. It was a message she had not seen before. A link to an article, Amelia noticed as she squinted her eyes.

The website was called New Yorker's gist.

She clicked on it out of curiosity as the only reason Ruby must have sent it to her was because she wanted her to check it out.

CEO Xavier Carlton secretly weds barely a month after his failed proposal with Swedish American actress Daphne Steele.

That was what the headline said as Amelia clicked on the site, she slowly read through the story, digesting the news and staring at the pictures a little longer than usual. It was a local New York tabloid, but that didn't mean it wasn't true. Especially with the pictures of Xavier and a tall redhead woman in elegant clothes. They seemed intimate as they appeared to be holding hands in the picture.
He was only known as the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the country.

Amelia didn't know that Xavier had a girlfriend, in all honesty there wasn't much she knew about him, besides, Xavier was a pretty private person, not much was said about his personal life.

Even the 'inside sources' of the tabloid couldn't provide pictures of their wedding day to show that they had secretly wed.

Why didn't he tell her? She wondered as she looked at the news again, zooming the picture of Daphne Steele. She googled her quickly and the face of a pretty sophisticated redhead popped up.

She was tall and slim, built like a runway model with the face of an angel, for a minute, Amelia felt jealous about the woman's perfectly structured face.
The news of being a second choice didn't sit well with Amelia, it made her feel sort of inferior to the woman.

She sat in her beach chair sulking while she waited for Xavier to arrive. He had some questions to answer.

Xavier came back with a drink for Amelia.

"They're still making mine. So the waiter from the bar will bring it over. This is what you got last time so I decided to order this for you."

"Thanks." Amelia replied crisply as she set her drink on her lap.

"Who's Daphne Steele?" She suddenly asked out of the blues while watching his reaction morph from one of relaxed to surprise.

"Why are you asking about that?"

Amelia raised her phone to his face.

"Because... There's a tabloid talking about how she refused your marriage proposal and then you went ahead and married me."

There was a short pause and Xavier rolled his eyes as he settled in his chair.

"So? She said no. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal? The big deal is I don't understand why you would marry me when it's clear that you love someone else?!!"

"Amelia, you knew this was an arranged marriage. You know already!"

"Yes, yes, I know. I just don't know why you chose to exclude the part where your ex girlfriend rejected your proposal. Makes me feel like I was your second choice or something..."

Xavier let out a long sigh.

"It's not like that... We were dating and I knew she was the one, so I asked her to marry me. I was desperate and she said no. And I moved on."

"No, you didn't Xavier. You didn't move on, you just found another problem to deal with. Why the hell are you so hellbent on being married?"

Xavier grunted in frustration as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Can you stop acting like you care? It's not like you and your family aren't getting paid to do this! So stop making a big fuss about all this!"

"Yes! You were never my first choice for a wife! Is that what you want to hear?!"

He snapped and Amelia was taken aback by the words. It wasn't only the words that hurt her, it was the fact that it was true that hurt her the most.

Xavier was right, Amelia wasn't entitled to know about his past or whatever he was into. After all, it was an arranged marriage that she had been unwilling to enter.

She was never his choice of a wife, only a sorry replacement of the original. She thought as she stood up and walked out to the beach.

She could hear Xavier calling her back but she tuned him out. She didn't want him to apologise over something he meant to say.

The cool water lapped at Amelia's feet, fizzing and bubbling like brine. Even though the sun was beaming in her eyes, Amelia couldn't help but smile as the wind caressed her face.

She turned back slowly and watched Xavier stare at her from the beach.

Amelia decided right on from that moment that she would do anything possible that she could to divorce him as soon as she could.

They didn't love each other and from the looks of things, they never would.