Page 101 of Shattered Throne
"On protecting you." He met my eyes. "I'd do it again. Even knowing what I know now. I'd still choose you."
My throat tightened. "Xavier?—"
"I don't know how to fix this. Sebastian's been on calls with lawyers all day. Grandmother is furious. The entire company could collapse, and it's because I was stupid enough to trust—" He broke off, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes.
I reached out and took his damaged hand in mine. His knuckles were swollen, already bruising. I traced my fingers over them gently.
"What can I do?" I asked. "How can I help?"
He lowered his hands, looking at me with something raw and vulnerable in his expression.
"Just be with me," he said. "That's enough."
I shifted closer, pulling his head down to rest against my shoulder. His arms came around me, holding on like I was the only solid thing in a world that had just tilted sideways.
We sat there in the quiet of my tiny apartment, surrounded by the chaos of Cole's rejected gifts still scattered in the hallway, and I held him.
It wasn't much.
But it was what I had to give.
18XAVIER
The study feltlike a funeral parlor.
Grandmother sat in her usual chair by the fireplace, her posture rigid, her face carved from marble. Sebastian paced before the windows, his footsteps measured and relentless. Gerald Morrison perched on the edge of the settee, legal documents spread across the coffee table, his expression grim.
And me. I sat in the corner like a defendant waiting for sentencing, watching my family's world crumble because of my stupidity.
"I warned you." Sebastian's voice was ice. "I told you this would happen. How many times did I say that Xavier wasn't ready for this kind of responsibility? That giving him the Titan deal was a mistake?"
Grandmother pressed two fingers to her temple. "Sebastian?—"
"You should have listened to me. You should have let me handle it myself. But no, you wanted to give him a chance to prove himself." Sebastian stopped pacing, turning to face her. "And now look. We're about to lose the bloody company."
"Sebastian, calm down. You're giving me a migraine."
I should have said something. Should have defended myself, apologized, or offered some kind of solution. But what was there to say? Sebastian was right. I'd had one chance to prove I was more than the family screw-up, and I'd failed spectacularly.
How could I have been so stupid?
The question had been circling for hours. A vulture waiting for the carcass to stop twitching. Except I was both the vulture and the carcass. I'd been distracted. Worried about Kim. Eager to sign the papers so I could chase after her and make sure she was okay. And Cole had known. He'd seen my weakness and exploited it perfectly.
I wanted to be man enough to take responsibility. To stand up and say I would fix this, for Kim, for Zoe, for my family. For once in my life, to be the one who solved the problem instead of causing it.
But I didn't know where to start.
I didn't know what to do. So I just sat there, silent and useless, while my brother and grandmother debated how to salvage the wreckage I'd created.
"Gerald." Grandmother's voice cut through the tension. "What are our options? From a legal perspective, what can be done?"
Gerald shuffled through his papers, his expression not encouraging. "The contract Xavier signed is, unfortunately, legally sound. The convertible debt provision with accelerated vesting is aggressive but not unprecedented. Courts generally uphold such clauses when they're clearly written and properly executed."
"So we're trapped," Sebastian said flatly.
"There are limited avenues we could pursue." Gerald adjusted his glasses. "First, we could attempt to negotiate directly with Mr. Matthews. If he's willing to amend or void thecontract voluntarily, the matter would be resolved. However, given his apparent intentions, that seems unlikely."
"What else?" Grandmother asked.
