Billionaire And His Son Betrayed Me: Brothers Back Me Up novel Chapter 292

Chapter 292

Chapter 292

Xylia filled Josie in on the details of her meeting with Richard.

At the start of the partnership, the designers needed to come up with a plan. Xylia handed this task to Josie, asking her to discuss it with the designers and present her with a preliminary proposal.

Josie agreed.

Grace had been discharged from the hospital and planned to stay in Jupiton for a couple more days before heading back.

Joshua had been busy these past few days, so Xylia didn’t bother him much and focused on her own work.

In her spare time, she planned to design qipao and Tang suits for her mentors.

She visited Grace’s place to take their measurements and got started on some draft designs.

Since the Garcia family estate didn’t have any art supplies like sketch boards, she sketched out some initial ideas on her tablet.

The designs wouldn’t be ready anytime soon; she’d have to wait until she got back to Norhill to start working on them.

So she wasn’t in a rush.

Remembering Joshua had a lunch break on his schedule, Xylia rolled up her sleeves and whipped up a meal for him, delivering it herself.

She didn’t give him a heads–up beforehand.

‘If Joshua knew I was messing around in the kitchen, he’d just start nagging again, Xylia thought. ‘Might as well do it first and tell him later–at least that’ll cut down on the lecture.

As Xylia reached the bottom of the stairs, she bumped into Richard, who was clearly here to see Joshua too.

Richard spotted her and greeted her with a friendly smile.

“Here to see Joshua too?” he asked.

He glanced at the lunchbox in Xylia’s hands and teased, “Bringing lunch for Joshua, huh? You two sure seem close.”

Xylia smiled. “Yeah. Are you here to talk to Joshua about something?”

‘Funny, I don’t remember seeing Richard on Joshua’s schedule today,‘ Xylia wondered to herself, a little. surprised.

Richard’s smile stayed pleasant.

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Chapter 292

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“Yeah, it was kind of last minute–I just have something to discuss with him. Let’s go up together,” Richard said.

Xylia nodded.

Even though he said it was spur of the moment, Xylia guessed Richard had probably given Joshua’s secretary a heads–up before coming over.

She shrugged it off.

Xylia followed Richard into the elevator.

Xylia and Richard were the only ones in the elevator.

But after just a couple floors, something went wrong–the elevator suddenly jerked to a stop.

It screeched to a halt between the tenth and eleventh floors, and the jolt threw Xylia hard against the wall, her stomach lurching with that terrifying drop.

The lights flickered wildly, and the air felt instantly sucked out of the claustrophobic box. Just like back then… when the Ford family locked me up in that attic,‘ Xylia thought, panic surging.

Richard’s figure blurred as Xylia’s vision swam.

“Xylia? Xylia?” Richard’s voice echoed in her ears, sounding distant and fuzzy–like he was calling her from another world, she realized.

Richard slammed the emergency button, urgency in his voice as he called out to her: “Xylia!”

Xylia could vaguely hear someone calling her name, and little by little, she managed to pull herself back together.

Thankfully, the lights stayed on, so she didn’t completely freak out. ‘At least I’m not totally losing it, she told herself, taking a deep breath.

Noticing Richard looking seriously worried and holding onto her, Xylia steadied herself and offered a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. You should lean against the wall, too–it’s safer.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? You really don’t look well,” Richard asked, worry etched all over his face.

Xylia’s lips were almost white, and tiny beads of cold sweat dotted her forehead–she looked like she’d just been through a nightmare.

Xylia shook her head. “Really, I’m fine,” she insisted, trying to keep herself together.

Richard still seemed uneasy. Instead of pressing against the wall like she’d suggested, he reached out hesitantly with a tissue, gently dabbing at the sweat on her brow.

“I… I can do it myself, thanks,” Xylia said quickly, pulling back, a little embarrassed.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Xylia hesitated before reaching out to take the tissue from Richard, her

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Chapter 292

movements slightly timid.

But Richard deftly avoided her hand, not letting her take it just yet.

“Your hands are ice cold. Are you claustrophobic or something? If it gets bad, it could really be dangerous. Seriously, you can’t just ignore it,” he said, voice gentle but obviously worried.

No matter how softly he spoke, Richard’s concern was written all over his face.

Just as he was about to wipe her forehead again, Xylia reacted fast and snatched the tissue from him herself. “I’m honestly feeling a lot better now–really,” she insisted. “You should stand against the wall and wait for help. It’s safer.”

Richard abruptly seized her hand.

“Xylia, are you dodging me?” he asked, voice low and direct.

He suddenly leaned in so close that Xylia’s brows knit together in discomfort. ‘Why is he getting all up in my space?‘ she wondered.

The sound of metal groaning suddenly echoed from the elevator doors.

Someone was forcing the doors apart, but since the elevator was wedged between the tenth and eleventh floors, only a narrow gap at the very top was open–just big enough for one person to climb through at a time.

Firefighters and Joshua were crouched outside, watching the scene inside with anxious eyes.

“Don’t be scared, we’ll get you out, just one at a time,” a firefighter called, his voice steady and reassuring.

He reached in, arm outstretched, ready to help them up to safety.

Richard told Xylia to go first.

Xylia didn’t protest. As the firefighter pulled her out, Richard made sure her legs were protected, gently guiding her

up and out of the elevator.

Joshua reached out and took Xylia’s hand, his gaze darkening as he saw how pale she looked. He didn’t hesitate he was ready to drag her straight to the hospital.

“Seriously, I’m okay. Just got spooked, that’s all. No need for a hospital run,” Xylia protested, trying to hold him back.

When she tried to grab Joshua’s sleeve with her free hand, she only then realized she was still clutching the food she’d brought him like her life depended on it.

Joshua caught sight of it too, and his frown only got deeper.

Once Richard was out, he immediately came over, giving Xylia a quick once–over to check if she was really okay.

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Chapter 292

“Xylia, are you alright?” Richard asked, his tone gentle and full of worry.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Really,” Xylia answered, forcing a casual note into her voice even though she still felt rattled inside.

For some reason, she couldn’t help but feel that Richard was purposely getting a bit too close–like he was trying to close the distance between them.

But glancing into his eyes, Xylia saw nothing but sincere concern–he wasn’t faking it, not even a little.

‘Guess I was reading too much into it and judging him unfairly, Xylia thought, feeling a little embarrassed for doubting his intentions.

Xylia nervously tightened her grip on Joshua’s hand, the uneasy feeling lingering inside her.

Joshua glanced down at Xylia, then over at Richard.

Joshua couldn’t get the image of Richard grabbing Xylia’s wrist out of his head–it kept replaying over and

over.

Joshua motioned for Xylia to head upstairs with his secretary and wait for him in his office, making it clear he wanted a private word with Richard.

Xylia felt a huge weight lift from her shoulders as she left–finally, she could breathe easy again.

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