Chapter 3-The Encounter

(Xavier's Pov)

“Get me the car keys!”

Xavier's calm but commanding tone got the chief guard into tremendous fear of obedience, as he fumbled towards his boss, rushing with his car keys.

Xavier took the keys from him.

His tone wasn’t raised, it didn't have to be as authority dripped from it, the kind that made people move faster without understanding why.

The doors of the mansion swung open as he strode out, tall and broad-shouldered, tailored to perfection. His black suit clung to him perfectly, the faint scent of his expensive cologne trailing the aur

His black Mercedes Maybach purred awake as he slipped inside it, his one hand gripping the wheel with his custom Vacheron wristwatch, the other on the gear shift.

“I will drive myself today. Get yourself busy with other things” He ordered, as his driver stepped backward with his head bowed. He dared not look at him.

Xavier Blackwood doesn't chase schedules, schedules obey him. He is a billionaire, an Innovator. The man who could break or build empires.

The engine growled low, music humming through hidden speakers as he drove into the highway.

He was already late for the meeting with the global investors, so he had to rush.

Immediately he entered the highway, his phone buzzed.

He looked at the screen and sighed. “Not now Mother ” . His jaw clicking, he shouldn’t answer, but he always did.

“Hello, Mom.”

“Xavier!” her voice came through from the caller's response, she might be a desperate mother, but still care for her son.

“I heard about the gala. Another night, just another deal bagged Xavier... and still no woman by your side?”

He smirked, his eyes on the road. “Good morning to you too, Mother.”

“Shut it, you brat! Don't act clever with me and don't be like you don't know what I'm talking about”.

“You’re thirty-two, Xavier, you are not getting any younger, neither am I.”

Xavier groaned inwardly, his fingers flexed on the wheel, the words stinging him.

“Mother please,can we talk about this later”

“No son, I need your answers, because speaking right now, I have arranged for a night with you and Ivonne, the daughter of Eldawado. She is well mannered,cultured and educated. Exactly your taste, you two will definitely make a perfect match, and don't give me that CEO nonsense! I know you will still dance with your toothbrush when nobody is watching.”

Xavier dragged one hand down his face, exhausted by his mother's constant pressure.

“Now you've got me mother.”

“Alright I've heard you.”

I’ll look ….

Then…

Shit!...His car just hit something … no someone. The steering wheel trembles under his grip. Someone just trod into the streets…from nowhere. He slammed the brakes with his two legs, but it was too late now. His phone slipped through, hitting the floor, his mother’s voice calling through the speaker. “ Xavier! What happened? Are you okay?” but he didn't answer.

He stumbled out of his car, rain pelting his face, his breath ragged. He saw her blood trailing toward the gutter.

“Holy shit.” He dropped to his knees. “No, no, no…”

His fingers hovered across her face, shaking, afraid to touch her but terrified not to. Her pulse flickered under his thumb—faint, but there.

“She’s breathing,” he whispered half to himself. “She’s breathing.”

He scooped her up immediately, her blood smearing across his shirt— he staggered to the car. “Hold on,” his voice breaking. “Please… just hold on.”

Laying her by the side,he slammed his back door… his driver’s seat slammed…his keys twisted immediately as his engine roared and tyres screeched.

He tore through intersections, blind to traffic rules, blind to everything. His Speedometer climbed from 120 - 160km/hr. Red lights bled into streaks… his horns screamed… his tires spat water. The city blurred, as the rain lashed the windshield. His vision swam. Every second he drove was the war between fear and speed.

“Please don’t die,” he muttered, his voice raw. “Not tonight. Not because of me.”

Infact, he didn't think….. he just drove.

****

Within what looks like 5minutes. The hospital loomed just a few blocks away, yet every second felt like a mile. His grip tightened on the steering wheel as if sheer could make the car go faster.

It wasn’t just any hospital waiting ahead. It was his, the Silvercrest Medical—his father’s pride and the heartbeat of their family’s legacy. And tonight, it wasn’t about reputation or power, it was about the bleeding girl gasping for life in his back seat.

He swung right in front of the emergency lane with his car. Before the security guard could know what was happening, he was already out of the car, lifting her again.

“Get Dr. Vincent! Get the emergency unit ready!” he shouted. The staff scattered into motion recognizing the fire in his tone, as he stormed through the automatic doors, his heart pounding louder than the storm outside as he carried her.

The surgeon arrived immediately, they wheeled her into the emergency room, slamming the door shut and cutting her off from him. For the first time, Xavier felt powerless. He’d driven through hell, but this time with his own hands.

He dropped into a plastic chair, the smell of antiseptic caught his lungs. His shirt is stiff with dried blood — not his, but hers.

Silence pressed in, heavy and sterile. Then his phone buzzed, this time it was his best friend.

Ryan.

Of course he answered with a hoarse,“Hey Bro!”

“Bro! Why do you sound like you fought a bus and lost?” Ryan’s laugh cracked through the line. “You’re alive or am I talking to your ghost?”

“Hey man, it's not funny,” Xavier muttered, pressing a hand to his forehead. “I hit someone. She’s in surgery right now.”

“Holy hell, man… Are you okay?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay, okay.” Ryan’s tone softened.

“Here’s what you’re gonna do. Sit your guilty butt down, breathe, and stop looking like you murdered someone. I’ll grab some clothes and head over. You’re not sitting there in blood and adrenaline stains like a tragic movie hero.”

Xavier smiled. “Dude, you always know how to ruin a dramatic moment.”

“That’s my job, brother,” Ryan said, grinning through the phone. “You’re the chaos, I’m the comic relief. I’m coming with your clothes. You look like you just lost a boxing match with destiny.”

Xavier huffed a tired breath. “You never know when to shut up, do you?”

“Never. If I did, you’d be crying into a vending machine right now.”

The call ended. Xavier stared at his reflection in the glass wall, still tense.

Down the hall, a nurse ran past. He jittered up but before he knew it, the nurse was out of sight.

He should’ve been thinking about the police, the consequences, the mess he’d made. But all he could think of now was ‘Her’ — the way her fingers had gone cold in his hands, for some reasons he couldn’t explain the feelings…. he just needed her to survive.