XY XX

CHOP FOR CHANGE

"Chop it off."

"Xenia, are you crazy? You have been growing your hair like forever."

"I said, chop it."

Xenia needed a change. Her hair was tangled like her thoughts and knotted like her heart. Louise shrugged and began to cut, knowing nothing would stop her sister's resolve.

Gregory hurt Xenia; it stung. The man didn't make her suffer like Mark, but the pain was tremendous, far worse because she gave her all only to be betrayed once more.

The man finished her off, but she didn't hate him, and this angered Xenia. Frustrated by her indecision, Xenia only found one solution, a haircut for a rebirth.

Without her hair, she would be someone new. Xenia's past would find itself swept away; at least, that's how she imagined it.

Now Mark reimbursed Xenia's money. She could find a new place to live, start again. Strangely enough, despite the heartache, Xenia's hate towards men diminished.

Not all men were bastards, but most were fools. Gregory cured Xenia in a twisted kind of way. His harsh words, his warm embrace, somehow they did that, Gregory appeased her.

Xenia learned to be patient, to observe, and finally to reflect. Whereas with Mark, the anger was intense. The woman was unable to analyze, and she just pressed the hate button.

Back then, self-hatred mingled with the other emotions created a spiteful woman. Mark made her a monster, and Gregory gave her an equation to solve:

Who are you? Xenia became the X factor.

Xenia desired to discover her profound nature; it was the only way to know where she would go from there.

Fifteen minutes later, Xenia had her big chop. The woman liked the reflection she saw in the mirror.

"So, how do I look?" Xenia asked Sia, who ran in her arms.

"Tu es belle, maman [you are beautiful mom]."

This sentence was all Xenia needed. This tiny voice saying she was beautiful was enough.

XY XX

On Monday morning, it was holding her daughter's hand with her chopped hair that Xenia walked into Astoria to give her resignation.

Never in a thousand years, Xenia imagined leaving Astoria, but the company was his. Gregory's aura haunted the lift, the halls, and everything else.

Xenia loved him too hard and too fast. On a scale from zero to ten, her feelings for Gregory were beyond comparison.

A part of Xenia regretted, Gregory didn't leave her. Xenia chose to end the relationship, though the man asked her to stay.

What went through her mind?

Xenia loved Gregory and desired to be with him, but at that moment, knowing Ashton&Ashton, Astoria, and twelve other branches in France were his, Xenia felt small and unworthy.

Could a man that rich and powerful love a woman like her?

Xenia doubted.

If he did, how long would the love spell last?

Xenia felt that Meghan Markle whipped up the remaining fairy sugar when she said I do to Prince Harry. A miracle like that wouldn't happen twice in one century.

There was no way the Prince of the financial world would sincerely want to pursue a relationship with a woman who had neither money nor influence. Xenia belittled and reduced their relationship to the size of a speck, which would find itself blown away with the next rising sun.

Xenia had nothing to offer in exchange; she wasn't enough.

People would see it and whisper about how unworthy she was of him. One day Gregory, like all the detractors, would realize the fact and leave. This scenario was the movie that played in Xenia's mind when she pushed him away in Wendon's office.

"God Xenia, wow," Priscilla yelled when she saw her.

"And who is this little one?" Mariam asked, seeing Sia hiding behind her mother's leg.

"It's Sia, my daughter."

"Xenia," Priscilla exclaimed in shock. No one suspected Xenia to be a mother. Never did she bring up her daughter, bring up excuses to leave early, or ask for exceptional leaves to care for Sia.

It wasn't easy to believe the woman who seemed to give her whole to Astoria was a mom.

"I know, I never told you guys."

No one was angry; they all tried to make Sia laugh, and Xenia felt stupid to have kept Sia a secret. There too, Xenia realized she wanted to protect herself. She didn't wish Sia to become a reason for her shortcomings at work. Or for her daughter to weigh like an obstacle to an eventual promotion.

The reality was different; Sia was what made her want to climb the social ladder. Xenia hoped to show that a woman could do anything she put her mind to, even without a lover or friends to encourage her.

"What's all the noise about," Cassie said as she entered the office.

"Oh, I know this face. I can't believe there's a mini toi [you]. The world has a lot to worry about," Cassie pinched Sia's cheek making the toddler cock her brow at her.

"Ugh, she already has an attitude."

"Well, she is mine," Xenia replied to Cassie with a cynical smile.

Everyone laughed, even Cassie, before Xenia spoke when the sound died out. "Can you guys stay with Sia for a few minutes? I'm going to Mr. Everett's office Sia, sois sage d'accord [Sia behave, okay]."

"Oui, maman."