Chapter 150: The Beasts’ Spat
April stared back at Xavier, her eyes completely blank. She didn’t know whether to interpret his words as a casual observation of her time allocation or a complaint about her time management.
Ultimately, she decided to just let it go, so she remained silent.
Xavier watched her deadpan expression for a long moment, waiting for a defense, an explanation, or even a small gesture of reassurance. When none came, a cold, dry smile touched his lips.
"It’s not a problem," he said, pushing his chair back and standing up from the table. "You can carry on with what you planned to do. I’ll be on my way."
Without another word, he turned and walked out of the dining room, his footsteps echoing sharply against the polished marble floor.
April watched his retreating back, entirely oblivious to the cold fury radiating from his rigid shoulders. She simply assumed he was being his usual, practical self—understanding of her schedule and busy with his own corporate duties.
But she did feel a certain pang in her chest. She couldn’t act like she felt nothing about dismissing his will to give her a gift.
It was due to Nat’s morality warning that she couldn’t go to see her gift the previous day and she already made plans with Alexander to practice driving every two days. So it was out of her hand.
Then, she wondered, What is this gift that he can’t just bring over to the estate?
Was it a vehicle like the one Alexander got her? It couldn’t be a gun like the one Nat got her, right? She tried to ponder on it, but she couldn’t come up with a logical answer, so, like always, she let it go.
With her breakfast finished, April headed out to the main courtyard to wait. And while she was waiting, she played with Rufus and Lily who, as always, couldn’t get along with each other.
Rufus was ready to make a compromise since they had the same master now, but Lily was just too prideful for her own good. She screeched, she hissed, and she made April’s head her resting place while she looked down on Rufus with a wicked grin of absolute sovereignty.
It was more like, My place is up here where I can look down on the whole world, and your place is down there where you belong. In the dirt, mutt.
These two beasts seemed to be communicating somehow, because Rufus got pissed and nearly toppled April over with his massive weight just to get a bite out of that white furball.
Jeez, this is a lot of work, April thought as she balanced herself on her feet, holding the wriggling, arrogant kitten steady on her head while pushing the giant dog back.
Right then, Alexander arrived, driving a sleek, silver sports car that immediately reminded April of the very silver sports car she had destroyed with a metal bat the previous night.
Of all things, why did it have to be silver?
Alexander pulled up the long driveway, stopping right in front of the villa’s glass entrance. The door opened, and he stepped out, a casual, charming smile instantly breaking across his handsome face as his eyes landed on hers.
"Ready for our second lesson, Miss April?" Alexander asked, tossing his keys lightly in his hand.
April did not respond. Her eyes were locked onto the polished, metallic silver hood of his vehicle. And then she asked, "Is that car trending these days?"
Alexander paused, looking back at his own vehicle, a bit surprised by her sudden interest. "Yeah. It’s the latest model. There are only five in the world."
And she happened to have destroyed one of those five in the world last night. Still, she held absolutely no regret.
"Why?" Alexander asked, his smile widening with an amused curiosity as he leaned against the door frame. "Do you want it?"
"No," she immediately declined, turning away without a second thought, heading toward the garage where her Jeep was parked. "Let’s get started. I want to be able to drive on my own by the end of the day."
"Careful," Alexander called out, chuckling as he caught up with her long, purposeful strides. "If you push yourself too hard with the driving, you’ll end up with a sore bum, an aching back, and a strained neck."
"I can handle it," she said flatly.
After all, all of that physical wear and tear could be instantly taken care of with a simple sip of her revitalization spring water.
They walked into the side garage, where the matte-black Jeep Alexander had gifted her sat waiting like a slumbering beast.
"We’ll practice right here on the estate grounds," Alexander said, gesturing toward the sprawling, paved courtyards and the twisting, private estate roads that wrapped around the Reed property. "Xavier’s yard has plenty of winding pathways, roundabouts, and narrow turns. It’s the perfect terrain to get you comfortable with navigation and handling tight corners without worrying about public traffic."
"An optimal sandbox environment," April approved.
She climbed into the high driver’s seat, her sneakers pressing against the textured floorboards.
Alexander smoothly slipped into the passenger side, adjusting his long legs in the spacious cabin. He turned down the air conditioning slightly and relaxed against the leather, though his sharp eyes remained locked on her hands.
He saw that she had already put on her seatbelt and was trying to position herself the way he had asked her to. Is she seriously planning to drive the whole day? He wondered. She seemed serious so he just had to go along with it. That is, until the beast ran out of gas.
"Alright, Miss April," Alexander murmured, a warm, patient tone in his voice. "Adjust your mirrors, get your seat aligned, and let’s see how much you retained from our first lesson."
April closed her eyes for a second, her brain instantly pulling up the motor-memory sequences from two days prior.
Starting the ignition, shifting the gear, balancing the foot pressure between the gas and the brake. She executed the startup sequence with a series of clean movements as if she was watching it all happen right before her eyes.
The massive engine of the Jeep rumbled to life, vibrating through the steering wheel.
"I’ll start now," she stated.
She shifted into gear and slowly pressed down on the gas. The heavy vehicle rolled smoothly out of the dark garage and into the brilliant morning sunlight.