Chapter 7
"How did the checkup go?" Xavier's voice was so gentle it almost hurt, a tone he used to save just for her.
"I'm super healthy!" Dahlia replied with a bright grin. "The doctor said everything looks perfect."
Eliza found herself taking a couple of steps forward, then ducked behind the greenery at the corner.
Not far away, Xavier reached out and ruffled Dahlia's hair, the gesture so familiar it was like he'd done it a thousand times before.
Dahlia looked up at him with a bright smile, waving her checkup report in the air.
That moment felt like a dull knife, slowly and cruelly twisting into Eliza's heart.
She remembered last year, when her checkup showed a slight abnormality. Xavier's eyes had gone red with worry right then and there, and he spent the whole night getting three specialists together for a consultation.
Eliza had felt so sweet and happy, playfully teased him, saying he was overreacting.
Xavier had gripped her hand and told her, dead serious, that he never wanted anything to be wrong with her.
But now, he was standing here, showing that same concern for someone else.
Dahlia's smile sparkled in the sunlight as she stood on tiptoe to whisper something in Xavier's ear.
The next moment, Eliza's world turned upside down.
Xavier bent down and pressed his lips to hers.
His hands cupped Dahlia's face, and as their lips met, her fingers dug into the front of his suit jacket.
Eliza's vision blurred, but the image of their kiss was burned into her eyes.
She pulled out her phone and, almost on autopilot, pressed the call button.
Three feet away, Xavier's phone started ringing.
He frowned slightly, but instead of ending the kiss immediately, he lingered for another two seconds before finally, and a bit reluctantly, letting go of Dahlia. Then he pulled his phone from his pocket.
When he saw the caller ID, his face stiffened for a split second. He gave Dahlia a quick shushing gesture, cleared his throat, and answered, "Eliza? Is something wrong?"
His voice was perfectly steady, as if nothing had just happened.
Eliza stood behind the greenery, unable to look away from his lips, with Dahlia's lipstick still smeared on them.
"Where are you?" Eliza finally asked.
"At the office," Xavier replied without missing a beat. "What's up?"
Dahlia playfully poked him in the chest, and he caught her finger, a helpless smile tugging at his lips.
Eliza hung up.
The echo of the call ending was still ringing in her ears as Eliza stepped out from behind the greenery.
Xavier was bending down, whispering something to Dahlia, who covered her mouth and giggled.
It wasn't until Eliza's shadow fell over them that Xavier finally looked up, as if just realizing someone was there.
"Weren't you supposed to be at the office?" Eliza asked softly.
Xavier's face went ghostly pale, and he instinctively let go of Dahlia's hand. "Eliza... What are you doing here?"
"Just here for a checkup," Eliza said, her eyes drifting over the intimate tension between them before finally landing on Xavier.
Xavier's Adam's apple bobbed, but he quickly masked it with his usual cool confidence.
"Work's been pretty intense for her lately, so I just brought her in for a health check. That's all it was," he explained.
Eliza stared at him, and suddenly, the man in front of her felt like a complete stranger.
Dahlia piped up in a small voice, "Mrs. Delacroix, please don't misunderstand..."
"I'm not misunderstanding anything," Eliza cut her off. "I saw it all clearly."
Xavier's brows knit together, as if he was steeling himself for a stormy confrontation.
"Eliza, try to calm down..." he said.
"I'm perfectly calm," Eliza replied, even managing a faint smile. "You two carry on."
With that, she turned and walked away. No hysterics, no tears, as if she'd just stopped to say hello in passing.
Xavier was rooted to the spot, totally blindsided. He hadn't seen that coming at all.
Two seconds later, he quickly strode after her. "Eliza! Wait!"
His fingers had just touched Eliza's wrist when a heated argument suddenly broke out behind them.
"You useless hack! If anything happens to my wife, I'll make you pay!" the middle-aged man bellowed, yanking the doctor by the collar.
A crowd swarmed in, cutting off the hallway.
The doctor tried to say something, but the guy socked him right in the face, sending his glasses flying. All hell broke loose in an instant.
"Just die, all of you!" the man screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing down the corridor.
He grabbed a chair and hurled it straight at the glass window beside Eliza.
The tempered glass shattered instantly, raining down shards like a violent hailstorm.
"Watch out!" Xavier shouted.
All Eliza heard was Xavier's warning as she instinctively threw her arms up to shield her face.
Razor-sharp glass grazed her calf, tearing open a jagged wound. Blood immediately snaked down her pale skin.
The pain registered a heartbeat later, and Eliza staggered, clutching the wall for support.
"Miss! You need to get that wound treated right away!" The nurse's frantic voice echoed from somewhere far off, barely cutting through the haze in Eliza's mind.
Someone grabbed Eliza's arm to steady her, but she just stood frozen, her mind blank, eyes locked on the two figures ahead.
Through the swirling crowd, she watched as Xavier swept the shell-shocked Dahlia into his arms and rushed her out of harm's way.