Chapter 045 I Will Never Marry Ryan
"You should go freshen up," Xavier said indifferently.
Indeed, Grace's face had been through a bit too much.
Xavier called a maid to lead Grace to the restroom.
Following the maid, Grace opened the voice recorder on her phone and sure enough, found a lengthy audio recording there.
Before she'd considered calling the police the day before, she'd started recording. It seemed that her phone had been snatched and thrown to the ground by those thugs, likely picked up by Xavier afterward.
Everything around her could be evidence, and naturally, Grace wouldn't overlook those people.
"Ms. Lewis, this way," the servant beckoned Grace back to her room and then brought over a lot of stuff. There were clothes, as well as an assortment of toiletries and makeup products. Everything she needed was at her disposal.
"Thanks," Grace said, preparing to brush her teeth. But when she lifted her head to look in the mirror, she froze.
Was that ashen-faced person in the reflection really her?
Her face was streaked with black smudges, looking as if she was covered in soot. No wonder Xavier had been staring at her earlier. With her current appearance, anyone would gawk!
Could it be that her waterproof makeup had smeared when she encountered water yesterday, leaving her face muddled?
Grace took a sharp breath in dismay, covering her face, feeling too mortified to show herself.
After freshening up and applying makeup to fix the disaster, Grace started changing her clothes. She glanced down at her pajamas and thought, ‘So who changed me into these clothes? Was it the servant?’
"Excuse me, did you help me change into these clothes?" Grace asked the attendant.
The attendant, selected for their discretion, answered politely, "Last night, after you spent hours in cold water, Mr. Montgomery instructed us to take care of you, and by then you were already dressed."
Grace's cheeks flushed a deep red. So, it was Xavier who had changed her clothes! Even though this wasn't the first time Xavier had seen her undressed, Grace couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
She quickly put on clean clothes and the servant led her to the dining room.
The Montgomery villa was impressively large, oozing a medieval charm. They took several turns before finally arriving at the foyer.
Xavier was sitting on the couch, looking clean and dressed, his legs crossed, suit pants snugly defining his thighs with an almost ascetic tightness.
Xavier's facial features were impeccably sharp, with arched, lengthy eyebrows and deep eyes that held a severe keenness. His thin lips conveyed an imposing icy aloofness.
Close by, the television was playing the morning financial news, while Xavier held a tablet, engrossed in something.
Beside him, Mason was reporting on some work-related matters.
"Mr. Montgomery, did you wear perfume?" Mason asked, finding it odd.
Xavier was known to dislike such things, finding scents cloying. He never sprayed any on himself and even someone else's perfume scent could easily irk him.
"How does it smell?" Xavier asked.
"Quite subtle and refined, not overwhelming. It's pleasant," Mason noted.
Xavier didn't comment much; he had only tried a little from the bottle that Grace had given him. The scent wasn't awful, and he didn't seem to mind it at all.
Knowing that Xavier didn't mind was, in itself, considered high praise.
Grace had no idea what the people inside were talking about, and she refrained from interrupting until a while later when Mason left. Upon exiting, Mason caught a glimpse of Grace and nodded slightly in greeting. Grace walked in to find Xavier by the dining table, exuding elegance in whatever he did.
"Mr. Montgomery, it seems you don't plan on returning to Oakworth anytime soon?" she said.
"Hmm," he hummed in response.
Grace chuckled to herself, confused at what she found amusing.
Xavier caught the expression on Grace's face and wondered, "Is she that happy I'm not leaving?"
In movies, heroines often fall for the hero after a daring rescue. Since Grace was Ryan's fiance, Xavier certainly didn't want her to get any wrong ideas.
He cleared his throat then said, "A few days ago, Patrick pointed out some potential dates, asking which I thought were suitable. This is your engagement we're talking about, perhaps you'd like to choose the date yourself."
With that, Xavier handed her a calendar with several important dates already marked.
Grace saw that every date noted was perfect for a wedding.
She spoke with a chill in her voice, “Mr. Montgomery, you ought to know I don't wish to marry Ryan. Why then do you persist in forcing me?”
Xavier spoke calmly, “Sometimes, that's just how destiny plays out.”
Grace scoffed, "Mr. Montgomery, are you a believer in fate? If so, why did you leave Montgomery Manor in the first place? Shouldn't one's destiny be in their own hands? What era do we live in, where marriages should still be decided by us, not treated like transactions?
"Life is short; it's meant to be lived happily, not shackled and controlled like a puppet." Grace closed the calendar and set it aside, declaring, "I will never marry Ryan in this lifetime!"
Xavier's expression remained stoic as his other hand rested on a wristwatch, fingers gently caressing it.
After a long pause, Xavier finally spoke, “Do you realize how difficult it is to defy destiny?”
People only saw his success after leaving the Montgomery family; they witnessed how quickly he established his company and expanded DG Group. But they were unaware of the sacrifices he made along the way.
Grace's gaze was resolute. “I know, yet I don’t.”
No one could predict the future.
Grace pursed her lips, her face set in defiance. "No matter the difficulty, I cannot bet my whole life on Ryan."
"Mr. Montgomery, I'm not asking for any help, but there's no bad blood between us, so I hope you'll stay out of this," Grace asserted without a trace of desperation in her voice.
"No bad blood?" Xavier's reaction was laced with incredulity, his laughter carrying a touch of mockery.
Watching his expression, Grace puzzled within, "What does he mean by that? Where's this supposed animosity coming from?"
‘Could it be that Xavier is still hung up on that night when he first got back to town, the night I played him?’ she wondered. It seemed petty for Xavier, who she thought was above such trivial grudges.
"If I've offended you in any way, I apologize. And Mr. Montgomery, please rest assured, I'm not one of those women. I won't be clinging to you, nor will I show up weeks later with a child to hold over your head. I've taken precautions; there's no issue," she stated.
"Thank you for your help last night. I've got to get to work." Standing up, Grace walked towards the door without looking back.
Xavier didn't stop her. He just lifted his coffee and took a casual sip, his gaze lingering on the glass reflecting the direction of Grace's departure. His look was enigmatic and inscrutable.
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