Love Undefeated (Unexpected #5) Read Online Free

the car vent on my face. He was eerily quiet. When he was in this state of silence, which was seldom, I knew he was thinking heavily.
    I left him to his thoughts, because by the end of tonight, my ties with him would be severed, broken, completely gone. It should feel like weight would be lifted off my shoulders, but how come it felt like I just drenched myself in cement and it’s hard for me to even breathe out of a hole?
    I watched as we passed by the familiar bridge well lit by the star-abundant night sky, the fully awake business district of San Francisco, and when the security gates opened to the house that had been my home for a year, a rush of memories came flooding back to me.
    After he turned off the engine, we sat in silence, taking in the view of the stately home he’d bought a month before he’d asked me to move in with him.
    I was the first to break the frost. “This is it, Xavier. I need you to let me go. Let me move on.”
    From my peripheral vision, I saw him grip the steering wheel and slowly his right hand sought my hand. The cool, steady hands I’d missed so much covered my left hand. When he brought our entwined hands to his lips, I turned my face to the right, away from him, away from the house in front of us, away from the remaining footprints, all memories of our love.
    “I love you, Nales.” I’d heard his proclamation hundreds of times. Some in the light of fun. Others in the throes of passion. A few times after our major fights. Tonight his words sounded like a confession.
    “I know,” I affirmed, keeping my eyes on the apple tree I’d potted, planted, and pruned. I chose my next words wisely. “I just don’t love you anymore.”
    “You’re lying.” The strength of his grip, his unyielding hold on my hand intensified. “Look at me, Nales. Look me in the eye when you say that.”
    Inhaling a deep breath, I turned towards him, and even in the dim lights of the front patio I couldn’t deny that he would always be one of the most attractive guys I’d ever met and he never had to try. Earlier in the restaurant, Xavier exuded confidence and superior calm. Now his eyes belied the truth – he was challenging me to retract my statement even when he himself was unsure of my answer.
    Staring directly into those darkened, almost black orbs, I repeated, “I don’t love you anymore.” The words came out strong, solid, and so convincing that even I started to believe it myself.
    His face fell into a shadow of sadness, his shoulders slumped forward, and the hand that held my heart slackened its grasp.
    “When?” he asked, his gaze never leaving mine.
    “When what?”
    “When…” The rasp in his broken voice was almost unbearable for me to listen to. “When did you stop loving me?”
    Pressing my lips tight, it took me a beat before I replied, “I don’t know.”
    “Out of all the qualities I love about you, Nales,” Was that relief in his voice? “The one I really love is that you could never lie to me. Or to anyone.”
    Clasping my hand tighter and bringing it to his chest, he explained, “I deal with transactions worth millions for hundreds of businesses everyday. I thrive on everyone’s strengths and improve my team’s weaknesses. I know why, how, and where to make changes, determine the costs and never underestimate the cons. And you know why I’m able to make sound and reliable decisions?”
    I was astounded that right at that moment he would choose to explain accounting principles to me. Xavier’s passion was not accounting, but he was thinking of working towards getting a graduate degree on Accounting because he knew that knowledge was power and he needed it once his father stepped down. He was carefree Xavier, but when it came to family responsibilities, he didn’t mess around.
    “I’m very good with details, Nales. I observe and notice every little thing.” Leaning forward, his mouth less than an inch from my own, he asked, “When is Hello Kitty’s