Lily's Point of View
Lily stares at the text on her phone screen.
Xavier is still standing in front of her with his hand still touching her face. His thumb traces her cheekbone like he's memorizing the shape of her. Like he's been waiting three years to touch her and now that he finally can, he's not going to stop.
She should pull away.
She doesn't.
"There's something else you need to see," Xavier says quietly.
He pulls out his second phone before she can respond. A different phone. Newer. More expensive. Like he keeps separate devices for separate parts of his life.
He shows her the screen.
An email. From the hospital where her mother is staying.
Her hands start shaking before she even reads the full text.
From: St. Catherine Medical Center Billing Department
To: Xavier Thorne
Re: Patient Account Sophie Chen - Surgery Authorization
Dear Mr. Thorne,
We are writing to confirm receipt of your deposit in the amount of $40,000.00 for the surgical procedure scheduled for Patient Sophie Chen on March 15th. The full surgical cost has been covered. The patient is approved to proceed with the procedure.
"No," Lily whispers.
"Yes," Xavier says.
He swipes to another email. Then another. Documentation of payments. Surgery authorization forms. Pre-operative appointment confirmations. Everything her mother needs to save her life is already arranged.
"I didn't ask you to do this," Lily's voice cracks on the words.
She pulls away from him and moves to the other side of her studio. Puts her design table between them like it's a barrier that matters. Like anything can stop him now.
"I know," Xavier says simply. He doesn't move. He just watches her fall apart. "That's what makes it perfect. You would have died before asking anyone for help. You would have let your mother suffer. You would have destroyed yourself trying to find forty thousand dollars instead of just accepting that someone wants to save you."
Lily sinks into her work chair.
The chair she sits in sixteen hours a day. The chair that holds her up when everything else is falling apart.
"You can't do this," she says. "You can't just pay for my mother's surgery without asking me. That's not love. That's control. That's using my mother's life to make me do what you want."
"You're right," Xavier says. "It is control. It's using your mother to make you accept my help. And I don't care. Because the alternative is watching her die while you work yourself to death trying to save her. I refuse to watch that happen."
He moves around the table toward her.
Lily doesn't move this time. She's too exhausted to run. Too broken to fight.
"Your mother will be healthy in six months," Xavier says. "She'll be able to work again if she wants to. She'll be able to enjoy her life instead of suffering through it. That happens now because I decided it happens. Not because you asked. Not because you deserve it. But because I decided you mattered enough to save."
Lily looks up at him.
"Don't you understand what you've done," she says. "You've made it so I can never refuse you. You've given me my mother's life and now I'm supposed to what. Be grateful. Be loyal. Be yours."
"Yes," Xavier says. He stands in front of her chair looking down at her like she's already his. "That's exactly what happens next."
He reaches down and takes her hand.
Lily should pull away.
She doesn't.
"I know you're terrified of me," Xavier continues. "I know this feels like a trap. Because it is. I've been building this trap for three years and you just walked into it. But here's the thing about my trap, Lily. It's designed to save you. Not destroy you."
He pulls her up from the chair.
She stands facing him and she realizes with terrible clarity how completely she's been inside his world without knowing it.
He's paid for her designs.
He's protected her neighborhood.
He's secured her studio.
He's paid her mother's medical bills.
He's been everywhere she goes and she never even knew it.
"How long," she whispers.
"How long what."
"How long have you been watching me. Actually watching me. Not just buying my work. Actually watching where I go. Who I see. What I do."
Xavier doesn't answer immediately. He just holds her hand and looks at her like he's deciding how honest to be.
"About eighteen months," he finally says. "I hired someone to follow you. To document where you go. Who you spend time with. What time you leave your studio at night. I needed to know you were safe."
Lily pulls her hand away but he tightens his grip.
"That's insane."
"Yes. It is. I've never pretended to be sane about you."
He moves closer and she realizes he's going to kiss her.
She should stop him.
She doesn't.
He kisses her like he's been waiting three years to do it. Like she's his and he's finally claiming what belongs to him. His hand moves to the back of her neck and his kiss is possessive and desperate and terrifying.
When he pulls away, Lily realizes she's crying.
"This is wrong," she says but the words are empty. They don't have any power anymore. She's already made her choice the moment she looked at that email about her mother's surgery.
Her pride versus her mother's life.
There was never actually a choice.
"Wrong according to who," Xavier says. "According to people who don't understand what it takes to save someone. I'm not wrong, Lily. I'm just honest about what I'm willing to do to keep you alive."
He releases her and steps back.
"Your mother will have her surgery next week. She'll recover. She'll be fine. And you're going to spend time with me while that happens. You're going to let me know you. You're going to let me in. And by the time your mother is healthy enough to go home, you're going to understand that I'm the best thing that ever happened to you."
Lily shakes her head.
"I'm not going to fall in love with you because you paid for my mother's surgery."
"No," Xavier agrees. "You're going to fall in love with me because I'm the only person in your entire life who's ever actually seen you. Who's ever valued you for exactly who you are. And once you accept that, everything else becomes easy."
He walks toward her studio door.
"I'm taking you to dinner tonight," he says. "We're going to a restaurant where I've already reserved the best table. You're going to wear something beautiful. And we're going to start this the right way."
"And what way is that," Lily says.
Xavier turns back to look at her.
"The way where you finally stop fighting and start accepting that you don't have to be strong anymore. That you don't have to carry everything alone. That someone is willing to carry it with you."
He opens her studio door.
"I'll pick you up at seven," he says. "Dress like you're worth three hundred thousand dollars. Because you are."
He leaves.
Lily stands alone in her studio with the folder of her preserved designs on her table and the email about her mother's surgery burned into her brain.
Her phone buzzes.
A message from her mother.
"The hospital just called. They said everything is paid for. The surgery is approved for next week. Baby, how did you manage this. I'm so happy I could cry."
Lily reads the message five times.
Her mother will live.
Because of Xavier.
Because of a man who's been inside her life for three years without permission.
Because of a trap she can't escape anymore.
She looks in the mirror hanging on her studio wall and doesn't recognize the girl looking back.
Then her phone buzzes again.
This time it's from an unknown number.
"I've arranged for a stylist to come to your apartment at 5:30 PM. She'll help you choose a dress. My driver will pick you up at 6:45. Don't be late. I don't like waiting for what's mine. X"
Lily realizes with absolute horror that Xavier wasn't asking about dinner.
He was telling her.
And she was already accepting.