Caught

Clara gently lowered herself on the floor before placing Alex head on her lap, taking out a towel from the bowl of water, she squeezed some water out of it before dabbing it on his burning forehead.

Patiently she repeated this process until she felt some positive changes in his temperature even though his breathing had normalized, relieved she got up and cleared up everything allowing him enough space to sleep.

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" Thanks love , you are the best. Glory praised Xavier raising a thumb while flashing him her signature smile, running his hand down her hair Xavier returned her smile with the same enthusiasm,he gently tugged at a strand of her hair that fell out of place, before standing up.

" Let me freshen up, I've some work to carry out in my study. "He explained only to get a protest from her.

" You've been out all day, leaving me bored to death, why don't you spend some time with me please, huh ,huh." Pausing her lips to act cute while she continued swinging his hand left and right, Xavier reluctantly sat back on his previous seat, even though he was smiling at her, he was very troubled inside, he needed some space to think,so he playfully talked her into letting him off this time, which he was glad it worked.

When he was sure he was in the comfort of his room, Xavier hurriedly retrieved his phone from his front pocket, punching in some series of numbers on it. He waited for some seconds until the call was connected " Tony received my order! " He said in a serious tone.

" Yes sir! "Tony, who had his head buried in front of some document at the cafe before he received this call, quickly ran into a private room, on hearing the tone his boss used on him.

Although he felt something was off somewhere but since the boss wasn't saying anything or making an attempt to address it in his presence , he thought it was best to ignore that feeling , but why was the boss suddenly issuing another mission to him.

" For how long have you been with me, Tony?"

" Approximately fifteen years sir. " Switching to his business mood on sensing how serious Xavier was.

" Now,how many years have you been working alongside me?" he asked again.

" For more than five years, boss, is everything alright over there boss?, Did something happen to the madam ?,Why all this question you are making me anxious." Tony couldn't continue with the pretense that everything was fine when he was dying out of curiosity.

" No, probably not yet, that's why I will be assigning you the responsibility of keeping an eye on her , more than anything else her safety comes first, assign some of your trusted aides to secretly follow her, make sure they remain undercover and won't hers or any one's attention to themselves. " he instructed, taking a long draw on the cigarette burning between his fingers.

" Boss,I will surely do my best to keep her safe,even if I have to give my life in exchange I will make sure she returns to your side unharmed. "Tony assured,he was glad his instinct wasn't on the wrong this time, even though Xavier always appear nonchalant when it comes to things concerning Clara but Tony could see the little changes the lady was having on him,he saw his boss unknowingly allowed himself got caught in the web of love weave by the innocent looking woman so he was ready to make things work for them.

" No,you are equally important to me so if things should get out of your control don't forget to retreat and lay low. " This time Xavier doesn't want any harm to befall the people close to him.

" I sure will." Even though he was not seeing him Tony still bowed to the man who was more like a brother than a boss to him before saying" please take care of yourself too and always have it in mind that you have a lovely family waiting for you to come back. "

Xavier had a bitter smile on before he disconnected the call, like always his little brother knows him better than anyone else.

If Clara were to be here, she would have been really confused because nothing seemed to have changed since she left , all the body lotions down to her clothes and undies are carefully placed at the very right place where they were before .

Of course she took everything with her when she left , but a certain someone who was badly missing his runaway wife went and purchased everything she once owned. This was very easy for him to do since he knows the brand she loves most .

The room was just the way she left it .

He inhaled deeply, he couldn't believe this was actually happening to him, all his life he has been careful with the steps he took yet he still acted rashly, just last night he discovered that his weakness was now someone's strength to be used against him .

All this while he was being toyed with, if he hadn't let his guard down around her, he would have discovered who it was behind her.

If only he had gone ahead to pay attention to the friend she was talking about back then, he wouldn't have let a stranger come between them.

He thought his little Flora was back to him but he never suspected any foul play behind her return.

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Flash back.

"I'm back and guess what I have here with me, it's your favorite snack, baked just for you."

He was very excited that he walked into her room without knocking, unfortunately she was already asleep,he was about heading back to his room but he thought it was nice to leave a harmless kiss on her cheek so he returned back to her bedside, when he uncovered her head, he was shocked to find out that what was carefully wrapped under the blanket was just her pillows , at first he panicked, when he couldn't find her anywhere in the room but then he heard whispers coming from the balcony, he suspected that she was on call , but no one has her new contact, he became curious to know, who the person was , but that curiosity of his, brought him to a shocking truth .

" There's nothing to worry about, my plans are working just fine , no need to get that crazy woman involved."

" With my identity he will do anything to please me , I have him wrapped around my fingers."

" I think I will hurry up before that idiot will ruin everything for me. "

" Her?, What about her?, I don't think he has any feelings for her to begin with and did you forget?,she should also be wishing him death since he caused her miscarriage , but if you think otherwise, we will go ahead and get rid of her first maybe that will help push him to a closer to me. "

This person was way different from the person who has been by his side for almost seven months now.

Xavier was devastated but this was just a tiny tip of the iceberg, he felt his heart sank down, when his eyes mistaken fell on her flat stomach, ' where is the baby?', he ask in his mind,he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice when she ended the conversation but he got back to his senses quick enough to witness her changing the Sim .

'So this was the main reason she never said anything about that person, but games like this are best played by both sides if not the other party will feel bored.' With this thought in mind Xavier tip toed out of the room.

" Mrs Leah, I can't find Flora in her room, what were you all doing when she left?" he roared, his eyes immediately redden like a wounded lion his Lilac was gone.

" Judith , get Judith down here this instant." He ordered, pointing at a trampling guard.

" Xavier," a calm voice called him from behind, startled,he turned only to see the person he was desperately searching for standing behind him , he ran to her and pulled her in for a warm embrace, his heart beating loud enough for her to hear,it was as if he just experienced something very traumatic.

" Lilac, where were you?, I..I thought you left me again, I thought they took you away from me again." His arms around her tightened,

" I can't breathe! " She said, making him quickly loosen his grip.

" So sorry, did I hurt you?" He apologized taking a step back,he smiled when she nodded negatively,

"I'm fine." She added.

"What is going on?Why is everyone out?" She asks, looking behind him at the guards assembling behind them.

" Oh, nothing " he waved dem off and one after the other they started taking their leave

"When I got to your room and couldn't find you there, I panicked, " he explained, helping her back to her room .

" I am really sorry, I made you worried about me, I fell asleep on the balcony while waiting for you." She lied without any hint of regret, every word she spoke was as smooth as the truth,if it were just a few minutes back he would have bought this but.

" How many times do I need to tell you this, there's no need to wait for me?, now see how cold your hands are , you always forget about your condition Florida, now sit here let me get you warm water. " he made her sit, about to dash into the washroom but she was quick to stop him.

When she heard the commotion downstairs she quickly rushed down thinking that something big happened only to discover that he was only worried about her, she smiled inwardly seeing how miserable he looks now, what will happen if she really left with all his wealth ,when that time comes.

" I'm sorry. '' she burst into tears.

*Flash back ends*

The room was already filled with smoke

" I need to find out who the real culprit is, if not Clara will be in danger , whoever it was must have had a death wish. "

" Hopefully she won't make things difficult for Tony and move into that place like I've instructed her. She was angry with me last time, should I call her? no, it's late already, maybe tomorrow. "