AUDREY POV

I opened my eyes as I stared at the wall. Yesterday's events hit me like a ton of bricks.

I had this sudden ache in my chest and I felt like crying all over again. 

I could feel Xavier's arms around me. I quickly moved away, not wanting him anywhere near me.

That intense anger and sadness I felt the day before came back. No, maybe it had never left.

I headed to the bathroom to shower. That always helped me think better.

Of course I cried. I let it all out. Once I was able to calm down I headed out.

I dried my hair and then I wrapped my body with a towel.

Xavier had work today so I was positive he was no longer in the room.

I hadn't brought my clothes into the bathroom so I really hoped he would be gone.

To my surprise, he hadn't left yet. There were two trays with food.

I guess he wanted to have breakfast together before he left for work.

What was he thinking? That I would forget about what happened yesterday and that I would just casually have breakfast with him!

He had his suit on and hair styled. He was ready for work and looked very handsome. I couldn't deny that.

But I was still upset. Still hurt.

He was sitting on the bed, but as soon as our eyes met, he got up.

"I thought we could have breakfast together." He looked so innocent, so kind.

To others, he probably appeared to be a kind and gentle husband. 

I looked away and proceeded to grab my clothes from the drawers. 

I heard Xavier's steps coming closer toward me. I felt his presence and before I knew it, his arms were around my waist as he hugged me from behind. 

He then kissed my shoulder.

I tried to move away but this only made him hold me tighter.

"Don't touch me!" I said in an assertive voice.

He quickly let go of me.

I turned to look at him. 

"From now on I don't want you to touch me." It hurt too much having him so near me.

I longed for his touch, his gentle embrace, and sweet kisses. 

But what he was doing was wrong. This wasn't a relationship. He wasn't treating me like his wife, but as an item. Like a doll he wanted to control.

He seemed hurt by my rejection.

But it quickly changed to a serious face. The type he always showed to his employees.

"Very well then. I see you're still very upset. I guess you need more time alone. I'll leave you your breakfast here. I asked the maid to bring you some books to keep you occupied." 

He was about to leave but I grabbed his arm to stop him.

"You're really going to keep me locked in this room again?"

He couldn't possibly be thinking of doing that to me again.

"It's apparent that you still haven't learned your lesson. You're very stubborn princesses and you just don't understand that I'm simply concerned for your well being. You will get to work at some point but for now I think you need more time to heal and gain back all of your memories. I'm doing this for you." 

Did he really think he was helping me? I couldn't believe what he was doing. 

"Are you kidding me Xavier? Do you even hear yourself? Keeping me locked up in this room and isolating me from the world is not going to help me. You're hurting me more by keeping me here all day." 

I hoped he would listen, but it was of no use. He didn't say a word and simply left.

I felt frustrated and sad.

I didn’t know what to do. 

I put on some clothes and ate breakfast. I couldn't just starve myself. I needed to think of a plan.

Either I figured out a way to make Xavier realize he's in the wrong and solve this issue once and for all. Or I would have to do something extreme, run away and escape from Xavier.

I really hoped I wouldn't have to do something so extreme as to run away from Xavier. 

More than anything, I just wanted to fix my marriage with Xavier.

I had initially worried whether Xavier really was who he claimed to be. But throughout these past months I had remembered things about our past when we were dating. Meaning he wasn't lying about us being married.

My plan was to talk to him and get him to really listen to me. We needed to make a compromise. 

I understood why he didn't want me to work. However, what I couldn’t understand was why he wouldn't let me leave this house on my own.

I couldn't think the worst. I needed to calm down and figure out a way to fix this fast before things got worse.

Xavier wasn't a bad man. I knew that.

However I worried about what he would turn into and how our relationship would be in the future if he continued to behave this way.

After much thought I decided I would try to talk to Xavier once he was home and truly try to fix this issue.

This problem had to end today.

I heard a maid walk in with several books, as well as my favorite tea and some snacks. She then left. 

After reading for a couple of hours I called my granny.

I did my best to act normal and hide the sadness I felt. Luckily she didn't say anything and I assumed I was able to lie to her.

After our talk, I began to read again. The time passed by pretty fast and Xavier was finally home.

I waited for Xavier to walk to the room and in a matter of minutes he was here.

He closed the door and observed me.

"I think we really need to sit down and talk about this."

Every time we tried to talk we only ended up fighting. 

He sat on the bed and I did the same.

"I think that's an excellent idea."

This problem had to be solved now. We couldn't keep doing this.

"I understand why you don't want me to work. I get that you're worried about my health." 

I grabbed his hands and kissed them.

"I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you when I got into an accident and then ended up in a coma. To make matters worse, once I woke up I had no idea who you were. I'm sure your life changed as much as it did for me." 

Dorothy had talked to me about how much Xavier suffered when I was in a coma. How scared he was for my life after the accident. 

Caroline has also talked to me about how hard it was on Xavier when I came back home and told him I didn't recognize him. I had pushed him away, my husband.

To just imagine Xavier getting into an accident and then coming home with amnesia and wanting nothing to do with me, it would hurt too much. 

I could see where he was coming from. But this was way too extreme.

"I can't keep doing this anymore. I don't want to keep pushing you away. I don't want to stay in this room all day like a prisoner. I just want to get a job, be your wife, and live my life like any normal person." 

Xavier grabbed my hands now and kissed them. 

He then caressed the side of my face.

"I love you princess and I would do anything for you. Everything I do is for you. I understand you disagree with my decision, but I still feel it's the best choice. I'm not saying you can't work forever, just wait a year and we can see. For now just stay at home like you've been doing so far. If you accept my decision then you can go anywhere you want in the house and we can continue to go on dates together and be a real couple again like before. Trust me this is for the best." 

He leaned closer to me, attempting to kiss me. But I moved away.

"I can see you completely ignored what I told you. Will you really not change your mind? I'm not asking you for anything impossible. Just the freedom to live my life. Is that really too much to ask?" 

I felt something wet on my cheek and before I knew it, I started to cry.

I got up and headed to the bathroom.

I didn’t want to cry in front of Xavier. I didn’t want him to see me this vulnerable.

But he didn't seem to agree with the idea and he pulled me back and embraced me.

"Please don't cry, princess. I hate seeing you this way." 

I could hear the concern in his voice. But I didn’t want him near me.

It was clear I wasn't going to change his mind. 

"I love you princess. It really pains me to see you suffer like this. Just do as I say and everything will go back to the way it was."

"How can you say you love me when you want to keep me locked away in this house! At first I thought you didn't want me to go out on my own out of concern for me, but now it seems you want to keep me here for yourself."

This was becoming toxic. I didn’t want this Xavier.

I pushed him away and headed to the door to escape. I couldn't be here any longer. 

I ran out as fast as I could. I managed to go downstairs and reach the front door but I was pulled back. 

Xavier had finally caught up to me. 

He grabbed me and effortlessly picked me up. He carried me on his shoulder and held me tightly so I couldn’t move.

"Let me go!" I screamed.

The entire staff looked surprised.

"Please Xavier just let me go." I began to cry.

I didn’t want this.

Xavier took me to our bedroom and put me on the bed.

"You are not leaving me Audrey, I won't let you run away from me! I thought you would come to understand and see my point of view, but I was very mistaken! You've brought this upon yourself! I guess you'll have to stay in this room for a lot longer until you learn to behave!" 

Xavier was furious.

"Make sure you do your jobs properly and make sure she doesn't leave this room!" Xavier talked to the guards loud enough for me to hear.

He wanted me to know I wasn't going to be able to run away from him no matter how hard I tried.

The door closed and I heard Xavier lock the door.

I began to cry once again.

Where had the loving and kind Xavier gone?  I desperately missed that man. 

I hugged my legs, needing comfort.

I was afraid of Xavier. I no longer felt safe around him and that hurt the most.

But I hated that I still loved him. I still cared for this man who was hurting me.

END OF CHAPTER 13

(I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, although it was a bit dramatic.😅 I'm working on the next chapter. I'll update as soon as possible.😁Thank you all so much for reading.😆💓 Don't forget to VOTE if you enjoyed it. Until next time!😁)