CHAPTER 391
Arianna’s footsteps echoed in the quiet street as she approached the small café. She had walked this way countless times before, but today, everything felt different. Her heart was a chaotic mess—nervous anticipation clashing with the simmering ache of betrayal.
The bell above the door chimed as she pushed it open, stepping inside. The warm, fragrant air immediately hit her senses—freshly brewed coffee, baked goods, and the comforting sound of soft conversations. But the moment her eyes found him, everything else blurred.
Xander.
He sat at a corner table, his presence so commanding even in such a modest place.
The three-piece suit he wore—dark, sharp, almost too polished—seemed out of place in the relaxed setting of the café.
His broad shoulders barely fit within the confines of the chair, his long legs stretched out, but his gaze was fixed on her, as if he had been waiting for this moment since forever.
As soon as he saw her, his face lit up with that smile—half hopeful, half apologetic—and before she could brace herself, he was up from the table and making his way toward her.
“Arianna,” he said softly, his voice full of longing, as he reached for her. His arms extended, and the instinct to pull her into a kiss seemed automatic, as if no time had passed between them.
But Arianna, her breath catching in her throat, instinctively stepped back.
She could feel the shock in his eyes, the flicker of confusion, but she couldn't bring herself to let him touch her, not yet, not after everything.
“Please,” she whispered, her voice barely audible, “sit down.”
Xander paused, the hurt evident in his eyes, but he obeyed, slowly sitting back down at the table. There was a brief silence, thick with the weight of everything unsaid, as Arianna carefully took the seat opposite him.
“I came an hour early,” Xander said after a moment, his voice trying to break the tension. He chuckled lightly, as though the joke could ease the storm swirling between them.
“I didn’t want to be late.”
Arianna didn’t respond.
Instead, she took a slow, deliberate sip of the water in front of her. She could feel his eyes on her, waiting for something, anything, but she couldn't give him the relief of a smile, not now.
She set the glass down, the clink of it punctuating the silence. Her fingers trembled slightly, but she hid it behind the coolness of her demeanor.
“You came early,” she repeated, her voice detached. She wasn’t sure if she was speaking to him or just to fill the space between them. “That’s… thoughtful.”
Xander’s eyes searched her face for something—a sign that the warmth, the connection, was still there. But all he found was an emptiness that made his heart tighten in his chest.
"Arianna," he began, his voice low, heavy with both regret and desperation.
He exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his hair, his frustration with himself evident.
"I know I messed up. I should have been honest with you from the start. I don’t even know why I kept certain things from you... Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was because I lost you once, and I was terrified of anything that could push you away again."
His gaze locked onto hers, pleading.
Xander exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his hair as frustration and regret weighed heavy on his shoulders. "Before I even had the chance to introduce you two… I found out you and Harmony were already at war. You weren’t just competitors—you were arch-rivals. I saw how much you hated her, how you believed she was sabotaging everything you worked for, and I didn’t know how to bridge that gap." He let out a humorless laugh, shaking his head. "How was I supposed to come to you and say, By the way, the woman making your life hell is someone I once called my best friend?"
His throat tightened as the words stuck, but he forced himself to continue. "I was a coward. Instead of being upfront, instead of standing by you, I let fear dictate my actions. I kept quiet, thinking I was protecting our relationship when all I was doing was tearing it apart." His voice dropped, thick with self-loathing. "I thought I owed her something. I held on to this stupid idea that I was in her debt. And in doing that, I ended up betraying you—the only person who ever truly mattered."
He looked up then, his gaze locking onto hers, raw and desperate.
"After everything that happened between you and Harmony, after all the damage she caused, how could I come to you and explain? How could I tell you that our ‘friendship’ was nothing more than pure friendship? That’s all it was, Arianna. Just friendship. But I see now that my silence made it into something much worse in your eyes." His fingers curled into fists, his jaw clenching before he forced himself to say what had haunted him for years.
"I should’ve put us first. I should’ve fought for you harder. I should have never, ever let you doubt your place in my life."
His voice broke as he whispered, "I should have chosen you, every single time."
His chest rose and fell heavily, his hands trembling at his sides.
"And not doing that… is the biggest mistake I’ve ever made."
His voice dropped lower, raw with emotion.
"And now... I don’t know if I’ve lost you for good."
She didn’t reply.
Her lips pressed into a thin line as she sat back, her posture stiff. Every inch of her was telling him she was holding herself back, keeping him at a distance. The silence between them stretched longer, a chasm that neither of them seemed able to cross.
Xander opened his mouth again, but then hesitated, unsure of how to begin. It had taken so much for him to even get to this point, to sit across from her, to ask for her forgiveness, but now, with her cold silence surrounding them, he felt as if every word he spoke would just push her further away.
“Arianna,” he finally said, his voice cracking with raw emotion,
"Please, say something." Xander's voice was barely above a whisper, laced with desperation.
"I need you to understand—what I had with Harmony was never about love. It was guilt… the accident… I—I just didn’t know what to do." Xander’s voice was raw, filled with desperation. "I felt responsible for her. After everything that happened, she was in a vulnerable state of mind. She’d have anxiety attacks, panic episodes where she couldn’t even breathe, and I—" He swallowed hard, shaking his head.
"I couldn’t just turn my back on her..." Xander's voice wavered, his frustration evident. "I didn’t know how to tell you... what to do. I was caught between the past and the present, trying to do right by both of you, and in the end, I failed you."
His eyes flickered briefly to her face, searching for something—anything—but Arianna’s expression remained unreadable.
A slow, humorless smile curled at her lips as she tilted her head, her eyes dark with disbelief.
"You didn’t know what to do?" she repeated, her voice quiet but sharp enough to cut through him.
"That’s rich, coming from Xander King—the man who dominates boardrooms, makes million-dollar decisions without breaking a sweat, and rules the business world with an iron fist." She let out a bitter chuckle, shaking her head.
"But when it came to me—when it came to us—you didn’t know what to do?"
Her words hit like a slap, and Xander flinched, guilt burning through his chest.
"You didn’t even know who you were choosing when you turned away from me," she whispered, the pain in her voice unmistakable.
"And the worst part is… you still don’t, do you?"
Xander flinched as though she had slapped him, the guilt crashing down on him again. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words didn’t come.
Arianna’s gaze softened, but just for a moment, as if something deep inside her was breaking. But she quickly masked it with a sigh, pulling herself back from the edge of whatever fragile connection they once had.
Xander wanted to reach for her, to pull her back, but he didn’t. He knew now that it wasn’t his touch she needed. It wasn’t his apology she was waiting for.
What Arianna needed—what they both needed—was the truth. The whole, unvarnished truth.
“I’m sorry, Arianna,” he whispered, barely audible. “But i swear its not what you think.”
Arianna hands dropped into her lap, her fingers nervously picking at the fabric of her pants as she tried to keep the words from spilling out. But she couldn’t hold them back anymore. She had to say it all, even if it broke her to do so.
Her lip trembled slightly as she worried it between her teeth. Xander watched her, his heart aching to reach out, to stop her from hurting herself in this small way.
He longed to take her hand, but he knew, deep down, that the distance between them was more than just physical now. He had caused this pain. He had pushed her away for far too long.
She took a deep breath and finally spoke, her voice steady but heavy with emotion.
"Why is it that every time men get caught, they use that same tired line... 'It’s not what you think,' huh?" Arianna’s voice dripped with sarcasm, her words slow and deliberate, every syllable dripping with the bitterness she was barely containing. "So, you want to tell me she’s just a 'friend'?"
Her eyes locked onto his, a mixture of disbelief and frustration crossing her face. "Oh, right... she's going through a tough time, and you're just doing your best to 'support her,' huh? There for her every minute, running to her every time she calls... because that's what friends do, right?"
Xander’s throat tightened, panic rising in his chest as his heart hammered in his chest. He nervously licked his lips, opening his mouth to try and explain, but the words caught in his throat. He knew she wasn’t finished.
Arianna’s gaze never left his, her pain and frustration cutting through him like a blade.
"If that were really the case," she continued, her voice lowering, though the pain was still evident,
""I could understand. I might even admire you for it... if you had been honest with me. Despite everything with Harmony, I would never mock her so-called 'fragile state of mind'..." Her eyes flashed with a mix of anger and hurt, her voice steady but laced with disbelief.
"I could understand. I might even admire you for it... if you had been honest with me. Despite everything with Harmony, I would never mock her so-called 'fragile state of mind.' Though, I must admit, that 'fragile' mind of hers seems to work in very calculating and manipulative ways." Her eyes flashed with a mix of anger and hurt, her voice steady but thick with disbelief.
"It's funny how she plays the victim while pulling the strings from behind the scenes."
Xander swallowed hard, his chest tightening.
“But…” Arianna’s voice faltered, her shoulders stiffening as if bracing for something. She hesitated, as if the next words would shatter whatever was left of their connection.
“But you hid it from me?” she finally asked, her voice soft but sharp, like the edge of a blade.
“If there’s nothing else between you, why keep it all a secret? Why make me feel like I’m the one in the wrong?"
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