It's weekend again, Amores. Days go by so quickly indeed. Anyway, bon weekend tout le monde. :)

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SABINA's POV

I woke up with a start and automatically reached out my arm for Xzavier next to me but his side of the bed was cold and empty. I groaned in disappointment, opened my eyes and looked around the room, looking for him, but he was nowhere to be found. I heaved a sigh and slowly sat up.

I stretched my arms above my head to ease that discomfort feeling in my back and to awaken my senses because I still felt so sleepy. I was about to get off the bed when I saw the time on the wall clock and my eyes almost popped out of its socket.

"Jesus! I'm so late!" I couldn't believe that it was already 9:30 am! Why didn't my alarm go off?! I took my phone from the bedside table to check what happened and saw that it was off. Did I turn if off last night?

"I'm so dead!" I swung my legs to the floor and was about to head to the bathroom when I heard a voice coming from the balcony of the room. It was Xzavier, no doubt.

I marched my way towards the door that leads to the balcony and poked my head through the slightly ajar door. It was indeed Xzavier, talking with someone on the phone.

"Make sure that you get the right person. I don't want other people to get involved in this unnecessarily...Okay, call me again when you confirmed about all these." The rage in his voice was very evident while holding onto the balustrade firmly that his knuckles were already turning pale.

He was about to come back inside the room when he got surprised upon seeing me. Then, his face softened before coming up to me and planted a soft kiss on my lips.

"Good morning, Ina. How was your sleep?"

"Miraculously, I managed to sleep. Maybe, I was just too tired even though I was still shaken up of what happened." He nodded his head and didn't comment any further.

"Who were you talking to just now?"

He raked his fingers through his hair. "One of my men."

"About what happened in Zurich yesterday?"

"Yes." I slowly nodded my head and no one spoke for a couple of seconds until I decided to break the silence.

"Aren't you going to tell me about it?"

"Unfortunately, my men are still chasing after that person. Whoever it was, seems like they're good in what they do that they managed hide until now. My men already have an intel who could've possibly done this but still in the process of verifying the information. For now, all we need to do is wait for the result." He then cupped my face and our gazes locked.

"Are you sure, you're feeling better now?"

I bit my lower lip. "Honestly, I'm still shaken but I think I'm feeling better compared yesterday."

"I'll do everything to protect you. I promise you that." I noticed that his jaw clench tightly. Multitude of emotions passed through his eyes and yet, rage was the very apparent.

"I know, you will. Thank you for thinking about my safety but make sure to be careful too, okay? Promise me."

"I promise." He then enveloped me into a tight embrace before kissing my forehead as his hand gently touched the band aid on my arm which was concealing the biggest scrape I got from yesterday. Thankfully, nothing bad happened. I suffered some scrapes in my arms but that was just it.

"I will never forgive them for what they've done." My eyes searched for his and caught the ire in his eyes. I took his hands and brought it to my cheeks.

"I'm fine, Xzav. You saved me. Thank you because you kept your promise to always protect me. If you weren't there, who knows what would've happened to me." His face softened before leaning his forehead against mine.

"I got so scared. Thankfully, I managed to save you before they could...I thought..." He stopped in midsentence as his voice cracked.

"Nothing bad had happened because you were attentive and brave enough to save me. You're my hero." I kissed him tenderly before wrapping my arms around his waist, burrowing my face in his chest.

"I will gladly give my life for you, my Ina. You're my life." His strong arms tightened around me even more as if he was afraid that I might disappeared on him.

"Don't say that because life without you is not life at all. You're the air that I breath and the strength I need to keep living so please don't say that. I need you with me." I tilted my head to look him in the eyes and cupped his face. "Say that you'll keep your other promise; that we'll spend the rest of our lives together." Just thinking that he would die because of me was already tearing my heart in thousand pieces.

"I will do everything to make that happen because I love you too much to just leave you alone. That will surely break my heart and I would never forgive myself knowing that you're crying and sad because of me." Just like that, my heart filled with so much joy.

"I love you too, so much that my heart feels so full." His eyes sparkled in happiness and smiled. Finally, I saw that genuine smile of his. Since yesterday, he'd been so quiet and angry even though he was trying his best to camouflage it by smiling whenever I stare at him.

I could still picture the panic on Xzavier's face as he frantically checked if I was alright after that car attempted to run us over. That was my first time seeing him like that. He got terrified not because of that person who attempted to hurt us but because of me.

He thought, I was gravely hurt upon spotting some blood in the minor scrapes on my arms. Even though I told him that I was fine, he still brought me to the nearby hospital.

He planted another kiss on my forehead before whispering how much he loved me one more time which made me smile. We stayed like that for how many minutes before I remembered about something.

"Oh, shoot! I need to hurry. I am super late already. Why didn't you wake me up anyway? I think, I accidentally turned off my phone last night that's why my alarm didn't go off." I pulled away from our embrace and was about to go back inside the room when he answered.

"I was the one who turned if off."

I scowled at him. "And why did you do that? Because of what you've done, I'm late."

"I did it on purpose so that you could rest. It's okay. I already called your boss. You can go back to work tomorrow. For now, I think you should stay home."

"Xzav, you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine. This is too much. I'm just a newcomer in CXM and yet, I'm already getting special treatment. What would they think of me in the office?"

"Well, your lover is the CEO of CXM so it can't be helped." His tone became playful and I gave him a sharp glare.

"I thought we agreed for you to not give me any special treatment?" His face became earnest.

"I'm not giving you special treatment. I am doing this because I am your boyfriend. I am worried about you. Even though you're trying your best to appear okay in front of me, I know that you're still shaken about what happened yesterday. I don't care about what everyone thinks in the office right now. The important thing for me right now is your welfare."

"But—"

"—Ina, please. Don't argue with me. Can you listen to me just this once?" Our gazes locked and I saw that strange emotion that passed through his eyes. It was just brief but I swore, I saw it. I pressed my lips together.

"Are we still in danger, Xzav? I know that the person in that car hasn't been caught yet but we're already back here in France. I'm sure, they wouldn't come all the way here just to finish what they've started." His body obviously went still.

"Xzav, I'm asking you." I queried sternly when he didn't respond. He sighed in defeat.

"I'm not sure yet, but I hope I'm wrong. For now, please, just listen to me and stay home. I'll be staying home today as well and do my work here." I released a breath. I didn't have the heart to argue with him knowing that he was just trying his best to protect me by not informing everything that was happening.

"Okay. I'll stay home today but I'll be going back to work tomorrow."

"Thank you, Ina." After that talk, I took my shower and stayed in bed for the rest of the morning. Even after showering, I still felt so sleepy so I napped for about two more hours before Xzavier woke me up for lunch.

"I heard from Fey that you didn't come down to eat breakfast after your shower." Xzavier said while staring at me intently. We were in the garden, eating lunch. He'd been working in his study all morning.

"I was so sleepy. Maybe because we slept late last night." We arrived home at past 1 am already and I couldn't sleep right away because Xzavier went to his study and stayed there for some reason. Until I finally fell asleep, he still didn't come to bed.

"You know that it's not good for the body if you miss a meal. You could've at least eaten something." I chuckled.

"You sound like mom."

"I'm being serious here, Ina."

I sighed. "Fine. I'm sorry, okay? I was just too sleepy that I forgot about breakfast." He reached for my hand.

"I'm just worried about you. I want you to be healthy and not to get sick. I'm sure, your parents will kill me if you get sick. Your father almost skinned me alive when we decided to move in together."

I arched a brow. "Oh, so you're just worried about my health because you're scared of my father?" He swallowed the food in his mouth before answering.

"That's not what I meant. I love you and I don't want you to get sick, that's all." I suppressed a smile.

"Really?"

"C'mon, my Ina. Don't look at me like that. You know that I mean well." He kissed the back of my hand thrice while gazing at me with puppy dog eyes. I rolled my eyes and his response was those three magic words which were music to my ears.

My heart swelled as my lips curved with a contented smile. He was such a sweet guy. After that, he decided to feed me as if I was a kid. Of course, I protested but he insisted, saying that he wanted to spoil me and take care of me the best way he could.

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We just finished eating when my phone beeped. I checked who messaged me and it was Akira.

'Good afternoon, Sabina. How are you? I heard that you're sick. I hope you're feeling better now. I wanted to call but I didn't want to disturb your rest. Get well soon.'

I typed a reply with a smile on my face.

'Thank you, Akira. I'm doing fine, don't worry about me. See you tomorrow.' I then pressed send.

"Who's that? Why are you smiling?" I looked at Xzavier and his eyebrows were already knitted together.

"It's Akira. You don't have to be jealous."

"Ah, so it's Akira." He even nodded his head.

"What if it was a guy? Would you be okay with it?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"It depends."

"You won't get jealous?"

"Why would I get jealous? I'm sure, I'm not the jealous type."

I scoffed. "Yeah, right. Let's see about that tomorrow."

He stood up. "Hmmm. Looks like my Ina is planning something naughty, huh?" His voice was low and with a hint of playfulness. I knew that look.

"I was just messing with you."

"And now, I'm going to punish you." I hurriedly stood up and was about to run away from him but he caught me by the waist and tickled me. I shrieked as my laughs echoed loudly.

"Xzav, stop! I can't take it anymore!" I uncontrollably laughed as he targeted my sides which were my most ticklish part.

"Okay, okay. I give up. I'm sorry for messing with you. Stop!" Finally, he stopped and sat back on his chair.

"That's what your punishment for being naughty." He then said triumphantly. I sneered at him and he laughed before gently pulling me by the hand and made me sit on his lap.

"Now, kiss me."

"Demanding, huh?"

He smirked. "Kiss me or..."

"Fine. Just don't tickle me again." I gently gave him a peck before pulling away immediately. His eyebrows arched.

"That's it?"

"What? That was a kiss, right?"

"C'mon, my Ina. You know what kind of kiss I want." His eyes darkened in desire.

"You're so demanding." He chuckled. I then angled my head to kiss him again and the moment our lips touched, he cupped the back of my neck and deepened the kiss right away. I groaned as the intensity of that kiss increase like a wild fire.

Just like that. I got enchanted and kissed him back with equal fervor. Our hands were already roaming around each other's body, didn't care where we were.

"I really can't get enough of kissing you." He breathed hoarsely when we stopped to breath for air. His forefinger traced the outline of my lips as he gazed at me full of longing and need.

"Because of that person, I couldn't make love with you last night. I will never forgive him for ruining our evening. Now, I'm burning for you. I want to take you right here, right now." I got confused of whom he was referring to until I finally comprehended it.

"We're here in the garden, Mr. The household helpers might see us." I reminded him while chuckling and he huffed. After what happened yesterday, being with him like this felt so much better and sweeter.

I just hoped that there wouldn't be any more danger that be coming our way because there was nothing I wanted but to spend my days with Xzavier full of happiness and love.

"But maybe, we could...tonight." I winked up him. His face brightened.

"Really? You mean it?

I laughed while shaking my head. "You never changed. If you overdo it, I'm sure, you will eventually get tired of me." He turned serious right away.

"Never, my Ina. You should know by now that you're my addiction and I will never ever get tired of making love with you. I can't believe you're actually saying that." I touched his cheek with the back of my hand as my eyes bored into his.

"I know. I was just messing with you." When I kissed the tip of his nose, he finally smiled. Then, our eye-contact broke when my phone beeped again. I curiously checked who the message from this time. Mark. Just like Akira, he was worried and asking if I was okay.

"Another officemate of yours?"

"Nope. It's from Mark, the front desk representative. I'm sure, you know him."

"That fùcker." He muttered irritably and I glared at him.

"Mark is a nice guy. You shouldn't curse him like that." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I thought, you weren't the jealous type?"

"I'm not." He averted his gaze. I cocked my head to the side.

"Good." I then pretended to pressed the call button and pressed the phone against my ear.

"What are you doing?" He asked with a scowl.

"Calling Mark. I'm too lazy to reply through text." I suppressed the urge to laugh when the creased on his forehead deepened. Then, without warning, he stood up, carrying me bridal style in his arms. I squealed in surprise.

"Where are you taking me, you jealous ogre?" His eyebrows shot up.

"And now, I'm an ogre, huh?"

I shrugged my shoulders but didn't answer, still holding my laugh.

"Well, get ready because this ogre will keep you occupied the entire afternoon so that you wouldn't have the time to entertain some dog out there, wagging its tail to get your attention."

I chuckled. "Hey. I thought, I was supposed to be resting?"

"Hmmm. Yes. But after your punishment. Get ready because I'm going to make you scream until you can't take it anymore." I swallowed in anticipation and when we reached our room, he kept his word which I enjoyed thoroughly.

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The ending is getting nearer so stay tuned 'til the end, Amores. :)

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