50 Chapter 49: Visitors

The other Lockhart arrived at the mansion after an hour. They bought meat and drinks for their barbecue party later that night

Elliott also came while Chris and Rupert joined them.

As soon as Cole saw Hope, the young man greeted her, "Hello, Hope. It's been a while."

Hope greeted him back casually and said, "Hi, Cole."

Hope then shifted her attention to Xander while Hope was doing something inside her room.

Dylan on the other hand was flabbergasted to see two beautiful angels sitting on the couch.

"Xavier, who are they?" He whispered to his cousin.

"They are Zarah's best friends," Xavier answered.

"Oh! I see." Dylan expressed meaningfully.

"Don't ever think about it. They know what kind of person you are. They're even wary that I am pursuing Zarah."

Dylan suddenly became down-spirited after he heard Xavier's remarks.

Just then, Zarah came out of her room.

"Hello, Miss Jansen."

"Hi, Mr. Lockhart."

"Call me Dylan, please."

"Then, you can call me Zarah," she said.

"By the way, these are my best friends, the one on the right is Trixie. She has a mole on her neck. The one on the left is Olivia."

Olivia had shorter hair compared to Trixie who liked to maintain her long hair.

"Oh. Hello ladies." Dylan tried to be a good boy and introduced himself.

They accepted his handshake but they ignored him right after.

The twins didn't want to get involved with someone like him.

"I think you already know Hope?"

"Of course. I know Miss Fisher so well."

As Zarah heard that family name, she immediately looked at Dylan and then at Hope.

She seemed to recall something.

"Fisher? Aren't you a Thompson, Hope?" Trixie asked Hope immediately.

Hope on the other hand looked at Dylan with anger.

"I'm using my mother's name. If it does make sense. I didn't mean to deceive you girls." Hope explained. Zarah and the twins understood her and didn't hesitate to reassure Hope that they understood her.

"It's okay. We understand you. You don't have to explain if you're not ready." Zarah told Hope although she was very curious to know more.

Her curiosity was picked up by Xavier and he glanced at Hope. He thought that it was time for Hope to properly introduce herself to Zarah.

"I hope you meant no harm, Mr. Lockhart. If we found out that you did it with malice, Trixie and I won't sit still and watch how you bully, Hope." Olivia warned Dylan and he finally understood what Xavier meant by the twins' overprotective nature.

He somehow regretted picking on Hope because it put him on their bad side. He wanted to impress them but what he did made them unsatisfied.

Well, he should start thinking about his actions from now on, then.

Just then, Mr. Henderson entered the drawing room and told him that Jackson Wagner was outside. He came to talk to Xavier about something.

"Let him in."

"Why is the Commissioner here?" Zarah asked Xavier and he only shrugged.

Jackson entered the room and was surprised to see everyone.

"Hello everyone. I didn't know that you have visitors. I think I'll come back next time." Jackson said.

"No. It's fine. Come and join us." Xavier said which surprised everyone.

Since when did Xavier become accommodating like this?

"Are you sure?"

Xavier looked at Zarah and she understood what he meant.

"Yes. It's fine. I haven't thanked you for helping last time. And please take a seat," Zarah said which caused Jackson to chuckle.

He found an empty seat and settled down.

"You do not have to thank me. I'm just repaying the favors I owe to Master Xavier. And besides, you helped us pin down those corrupt officers and officials in the system." He added.

"Well, I'm glad I helped. What will happen to Detective McGuire?" She didn't get the chance to visit him at the hospital because she was preoccupied with her grief.

He should be discharged by now. However, Zarah learned from Xavier's update that even though he was discharged from the hospital, Detective McGuire's life would never be the same.

"Well, since he lost his arm, he could no longer do fieldwork. Therefore, I reassigned him to a clerical post once he got better. He was also given a promotion and an award for his dedication and loyalty to the service."

Zarah had also paid his hospital bills and anonymously transferred money to their bank account.

She knew that Detective McGuire would reject this right away.

"Thank you, Commissioner." She sincerely said and Jackson just smiled. "Jackson. Call me Jackson. And if you're in trouble, don't hesitate to call me. I'll be willing to help."

"Then, call me Zarah."

Xander who became uncomfortable having a lot of people gathered in one room jumped out of Hope's lap and went to Zarah's lap.

"It's okay, baby. Mama's here." She comforted lovingly.

Dylan found this scene cute and looked at his cousin's face for his reaction.

"I bet you wanted to be a cat now, cousin." Dylan teased and everyone heard it.

However, instead of being angry, Xavier snatched Xander from Zarah and carefully carried him.

Much to everyone's surprise, Xander didn't show hostility toward Xavier. He let Xavier carry him and even snuggled in his arm.

"Wait, why is Xander not scratching you?" Zarah asked Xavier in surprise.

She knew Xander's attitude. He was hostile and easily got uncomfortable with people, especially with men other than Isaiah.

He would often hiss at Josh and was always on guard around him. So why was he so friendly with Xavier?

"It's because he remembers my scent," Xavier answered her.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Did these two meet in the past? She thought that it was impossible.

Xavier then recalled the time he met a severely injured kitten one morning at the park. He went for a walk that time.

He picked it up and saw that it was close to death.

He only had a bottle of water with him and so he decided to go back to his hotel room to get some first-aid supplies. He did promise the kitten that he would come back to save him.

He hid it behind the bushes and asked for it to stay still as he would be quick.

The kitten seemed to understand what he was trying to say.

"When I came back, I saw that you were already holding him. I knew right then that this guy was saved. He found a home and that is on you."

Xavier told everyone and Zarah was surprised to hear this story.

No wonder Xavier allowed her to bring Xander to the mansion.

Julie once told her that Xander would stay at Xavier's study yet they heard no complaints from him.

These two seemed to get along really well.

And this surprised even the servants because Xander would often give them headaches and would act like the boss in the mansion.

"I see." Zarah sighed in relief.

"Yes. And I'm glad he makes you happy. He's doing his job well."

"Yeah."

"Now I see why Xander hates my brother," Olivia said meaningfully.

"Maybe. I'm sorry for my bluntness but your brother was never worthy of Zarah."

"Xavier!" Zarah reprimanded Xavier not because she cared about Josh but because she cared about the twins' feelings.

She didn't want them to lose face.

"It's fine, Zaza. Our brother is such a jerk. We're sorry on his behalf." Olivia said.

What was he up to now anyways?

Well, Josh was convinced by Mr. Irving to treat Natalie since Zarah broke up with him.

Even though Natalie didn't get much money from Isaiah's will, she was still an heiress.

Before their conversation went serious, Jackson remembered his purpose of coming over.

He pulled out a card from his inner pocket and gave it to Xavier.

Xavier read the card and found out that it was an invitation card for a birthday party.

"It's my grandfather's 80th birthday on Friday. And I hope you'll come. You guys can also come if you're available this Friday evening."

Since other people were present, he decided to include them in the invitation.

The two Lockhart were unsure if they'd still be in Oakridge City this Friday.

Meanwhile, the twins were available. However, they hesitated as they knew little information about this family other than they were from the military.

"Carla Kent was also invited to the party," Jackson added which got Xavier's attention.

Other than Hope, the rest knew who this woman was. And so they concluded that a huge drama might happen during the party.

"How is she related to the Wagner family?"

"Well, Carla Kent is my grandfather's first-degree cousin."

"Oh! That's interesting. Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"

"I have no idea." He said in defense.

"Okay. We will attend." Xavier announced and Jackson was happy to hear it.

"Why are you inviting me anyways? I'm sure there's a catch to this." Xavier didn't forget to ask Jackson. Jackson who felt guilty immediately answered Xavier's question.

"I just want support, Master. You see, my family belittled the profession I chose. Being a commissioner is nothing to them compared to their high military ranks."

Jackson gulped and continued explaining.

"Thanks to you, my position of being the youngest commissioner became stable. No one dared to question my capabilities to supervise the entire department despite my age."

"I understand." Xavier stopped him from explaining further as there were other people around.

Zarah and the twins might get suspicious of him.

However, he still wanted to know the full details. He could tell that there was something bigger than this.

After the conversation, the girls left the boys and went to the patio to start setting it up with the help of Julie and the servants.

Julie and the butlers placed tables and chairs on the patio while pushing the couches to the side.

They also set up the grill and started lighting it up. They were using the traditional coal grill so they had to start a fire first.

The ladies finished setting up the table and the lights on the patio and so it was the men's turn to start grilling the steak and the barbecue.

The servants brought the marinated meat in skewers and the steak so they could start their task.

The ladies on the other hand waited at the table and started gossiping about something.

Zarah and the twins realized that Cole had been looking in Hope's direction ever since the young man arrived at the mansion.

Zarah thought that it was only her who saw this. It turned out, they saw it, too.

Being on the hot spot, Hope could not stop from blushing.

"Stop it, girls. Cole and I are just friends."

"Friends? Are you sure?"

"Yes. I've known him since I was little. My family and the Lockhart are friends."

Even though Hope would develop feelings for Cole, she felt that they were incompatible.

It was hard to explain since their family dynamics were not ordinary.

"I see. But you both looked visually compatible, though." Trixie teased.

"I have never heard of him getting involved in a scandal with women, unlike his brother and cousin," Olivia added.

"Oh?" Zarah raised her brow as she felt a little uncomfortable when Olivia reminded her about this.

The twins did not fail to remind her that the cousins were known and rumored to be womanizers respectively. However, she was unaffected by this unlike now.

"I know Xavier's pursuing you. That's why we're reminding you again to be careful and think about it, Zaza." Olivia seriously said.

"We don't want you to get hurt."

Hope who knew better about this issue than anyone decided to defend Xavier.

"I might be a little biased here but...", she paused and leaned forward to whisper the rest to the girls, "Xavier did it to rebel against his grandfather's arrangement. He intentionally made his image dirty so my father would have second thoughts about this arrangement."

"Your father? What do you mean?"

"Xavier is arranged to marry my sister. However, he was opposed to this idea from the very beginning because he already love someone." She then looked at Zarah and said, "And that woman is you, Zarah."

Hope looked up and saw that Xavier was looking toward them.

She waved a peace sign to Xavier. She only wanted to help. However, it seemed that she got carried away.

Xavier walked toward Zarah and snatched her away.

"Excuse us for a while ladies."

Zarah reassured them that she would be fine and let Xavier take her away where no one could interrupt them.

"I can explain." Xavier started speaking. Zarah was surprised to know that Xavier took her away so he could explain.

He had nothing to explain to her. She completely understood if there were things he hid from her.

Xavier did give some hints. Like their families were close and he treated Hope as sisters.

He did tell her off the bat that his grandfather wanted him to marry the woman he had arranged for him should he lose the bet.

"How much time do you have before the bet is over?" She asked him instead.

"December."

It was the end of September and a couple of days from now would be October first.

She hoped that she could sort out her feelings for him before December came.

Since Zarah reassured him that she was cool with it, she convinced Xavier that they should go back or they would be suspicious.

Of course, Xavier did not waste this opportunity to tease her. He walked closer to her and grabbed her waist toward him.

"Why? What do you think they would be thinking by now?"

Right. What would they be thinking about right now?

She didn't expect that Xavier would ask her that.

"That we're doing something?" She made a guess.

"Hmmm. Isn't it fun to make their suspicion true?" Xavier teased.

"Zarah...can I kiss you?" Xavier suddenly asked which caught Zarah off-guard.

"Are you serious?" She asked.

"I am. A peck will do."

***