XY XX

ENTANGLED

Gregory left without feeling an ounce of shame but a lot of regrets. Whether it was seeing Xenia cry or seeing her afraid, both options affected the man who hated to hurt the woman in any way.

Xenia held Andrew's face to check the bruises," Andrew, let's get back inside."

They walked back to Xenia's office.

Luckily for Andrew, Richard Xenia's new boss was a friend who knew how to observe discretion. Also, his team was not the same busybodies Xenia had in Astoria.

"Gregory isn't going to leave you alone, is he? What exactly happened between the two of you?" Andrew asked as he took a seat.

"I'm sorry, Andrew. I'll go and get something to cleanㅡ."

Yes, Xenia dodged the question, which she knew would make things much worse.

As Xenia spoke, there was a knock on the door, which was about to prove the woman needn't say a word for the disaster to strike.

"Sabine, what it?"

"You forgot your ring in the conference room."

"Ring, what ring, no, I haveㅡ," Xenia's eyes widened as she stared at her finger. Her engagement ring was gone; she made even bigger eyes at Sabine, who pursued to take the measurements of Xenia's coffin with her words.

"It's yours, look, it's embossed: To my love Xenia."

"Thanks, Sabine," Xenia said through gritted teeth.

"Why haven't you got your ring on, Xenia?" Andrew turned his gaze away from Sabine to focus on Xenia, who felt the drops of sweat sprout from her forehead.

Xenia swiped her thumb and forefinger on her forehead and gave a nervous smile, "It must have slipped off."

Andrew glared at her as he emphasized, "this ring can't slip off, Xenia, unless you pull it off."

"Well, it did, Andrew," Xenia replied as she put her ring back on her finger. Xenia didn't want to talk. She was in the type of situation were to survive; one replied whatever nonsense the mind mustered for the sake of getting away.

"Why, Xenia?"

"I don't know; it must have been whenㅡ."

Okay, someone passe me the shovel to dig a hole to bury me, Xenia thought.

"When what?"

Xenia lowered her gaze, "nothing."

"Xenia, please," Andrew's pleading eyes got the best of her, letting the bull ooze out like hot lava.

"Gregorygrabbedmyhandforafewseconds," Xenia imagined she broke a world record of speed with the sentence.

Andrew got up in a spontaneous reaction to what he heard and walked to the door.

"Andrew, please, please, don't leave. I don't know how he did," Xenia pleaded while holding the arm which gripped her office's door handle.

"You're telling me you didn't feel the man taking off your engagement ring?"

"Andrew, I swear, Iㅡ."

"But why was Gregory holding your hand in the first place?" The man asked, shaking his head as if to chase a horrible thought from running loose in his mind.

"Andrew," Xenia began, but she didn't know what to say, what could she say?

How was she to explain her Ex dispossessed of the ring, and she didn't notice?

No, matter what Xenia replied, all Andrew would retain was Gregory managed to absorb her attention enough to do it.

The man lifted his head to the ceiling before saying, "let go, Xenia."