Willow had said what needed to be said. Now, she got up to leave.
Xavier caught hold of her hand. His hand felt hot and sweaty against her skin.
Startled by this move from him, she instinctively yanked her hand free of his grip. “Xavier Hughes!” she shrieked. “I believe I’ve made myself clear! Perhaps you got the wrong idea, after that incident with the car?! Let’s get this straight: I didn’t do it for your sake; I did it at Samantha’s request! Anyway, there were two lives in danger! I’d have done exactly the same for a complete stranger—and that’s why I was willing to do that for you!”
Willow was distraught, overwrought. Her eyes, clear as a mountain spring in a secluded valley, caught the light and sparkled beautifully, as she gazed up at him.
What she needed to do was get him to give up on her. Jasper had been explicit on that point.
What happened that night, five years ago, had irreparably severed the relationship between Willow and Xavier: Xavier had cheated on her with Samantha, while Jasper had forcefully stolen away Willow’s virginity.
From that day onwards, Willow and Xavier could only go through life as two parallel lines, never to intersect again.
Willow sincerely wished for Xavier to get over her, so that he could get on with his own life. He’d fall in love with another girl, who would return his feelings with all her heart. They’d get married, have kids, and live happily ever after together.
Every moment he spent mooning over her like this, was a moment wasted.
Therefore, Willow had to be firm and decisive about rejecting him. There was some frustration and dread in the mix, as well. She feared that talking about the past like this might bring some long-forgotten sentiment bubbling to the surface, and encourage Xavier to keep on thinking that he might still have a chance with her.
Xavier’s heart was deeply wounded by Willow’s cold words.
Indeed, that day, when he saw Willow selflessly risking herself to ram his car with her own, in order to save his life… he’d seen it as proof that she still had lingering feelings for him.
If it was true—that he still held a genuine place in her heart—then Xavier was prepared to take on the whole world, if that was what it took for them to be together.
There was nothing he feared more than the idea that she really felt nothing for him anymore. Nothing could possibly hurt him more than that.
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