Chapter 270: I Kissed Him

April’s eyes widened, drowning in the suffocating intensity of his stare.

Her heart was beating so hard it felt almost painful. Unlike her last life where she had been a fool, she had been stupid and naive, everything in this life had been about logic, strategy, and survival. Nothing else mattered more than her own survival and her comfort.

At least, that was what she thought. They say you can never crave what you don’t know, and they were right.

Because after the kiss, she had come to know what intimacy felt like. It was not a simple lip to lip action she had watched others do. It was more than that.

And right now, her body was practically screaming for his touch. She wanted it... And more.

The sheer realization was embarrassing, vulnerable, and completely terrifying, but she couldn’t lie to herself anymore.

Beside them, Xavier stood frozen, his knuckles white as his fists clenched at his sides. He watched April, his breath catching in his throat, silently praying she would speak up, that she would push Nat away, that she would show the world that this brute had crossed the line.

Instead, under Xavier’s wide, stunned gaze, April slowly, hesitantly nodded her head.

A sharp, hollow pang struck his chest. A wave of bitter defeat and agonizing jealousy washed over him—She wants him? She prefers Nat over me?

Nat let out a low, victorious rumble, leaning in to finally claim her lips—

"I certainly hope I’m not interrupting a private moment," a smooth, casual voice cut through the heavy atmosphere.

Alexander strolled out from behind the decorative marble pillar near the private elevator, his hands tucked loosely into his pockets, though his blue eyes burned with a sharp, possessive fire.

He didn’t look bothered by the tension in the room. Instead, his gaze swept over Nat’s arm wrapped around April’s waist, then over to Xavier’s stunned, pained expression, before finally settling directly on April’s flushed, utterly flustered face.

"You know, April," Alexander said softly, stepping directly up to the table with an easy, confident stride, "if you’re handing out permission slips for kisses today... it’s incredibly unfair to leave your knight out of the rotation."

Nat’s eyes narrowed as Alexander strolled up to the table, but he didn’t release his grip on April’s waist. His arm remained wrapped around her, holding her flushed body flush against his chest as he glared up at the intruder.

April, her face burning hotter than ever, tried to process the sight of her knight casually standing above them. "Alexander... what are you doing here?"

She didn’t sound angry—just utterly bewildered, her voice breathless and lacking its usual sharp edge.

Alexander tilted his head, a soft, dangerous amusement gleaming in his sharp blue eyes.

"There’s no way I’d sit out and let you guys ’talk’ without me, you know." He reached up, his long fingers lightly tracing his own lower lip as a thoroughly satisfied smirk broke across his handsome features. "Especially... after that kiss you gave me."

The temperature in the private dining space didn’t just drop—it shattered entirely.

Xavier’s head snapped toward Alexander, his dark eyes wide with an icy, lethal shock. "What?"

Nat’s wicked smirk completely evaporated. His eyes narrowed into razor-thin slits as he stared at Alexander, his broad chest rising sharply as his grip on April’s waist tightened just a fraction.

"You did what?" Nat growled, his voice dropping into a low, terrifying rumble that echoed off the glass walls.

April buried her face into her hands, letting out a stifled, embarrassed groan. Her heart was beating so wildly against her ribs she was certain all three men could hear it.

He just had to say it out loud in front of both of them, she thought, wanting nothing more than a spatial rift to open up and swallow her whole.

Alexander, completely unbothered by the deadly glares radiating from both men, took another step forward. He leaned one hand on the back of a leather chair, his posture relaxed, yet entirely possessive as his gaze remained locked on April’s flustered state.

"Don’t look so surprised, Collins," Alexander said smoothly, his tone laced with a cool, undeniable arrogance. "She gave me her first intentional kiss just minutes ago. No slippery floors, no forced moves. So if we’re laying cards on the table today, don’t think for a second that you two are the only ones on her mind."

"April," Xavier called, "Is that true?"

April’s breath hitched in her throat. Feeling the explosive, suffocating tension radiating between the three men, she pulled her hands away from her face and straightened her posture, though her cheeks remained flushed a bright, undeniable crimson. She owed neither of them an explanation but...

"I kissed him," April said, her voice trembling slightly before settling into a firm, grounding cadence that cut straight through the deadly silence. "It’s true,"

All three men froze, their undivided attention locking onto her.

April looked at Alexander first, whose confident smirk faltered slightly under her direct, raw gaze. Then she turned to Xavier, whose fists were still tightly clenched, and finally up at Nat, whose eyes burned with an intense, unspoken demand.

It was true she owed them no explanation but she couldn’t just stop here, right? It was time to start taking their feelings seriously.

"I kissed Alexander because I didn’t know how else to explain what happened yesterday without dying of embarrassment," April admitted, her dark eyes wide and completely stripped of her usual calculating armor.

She swallowed hard, her chest heaving as her heart hammered against her ribs. "And... it was also a kind of experiment. I wanted to know if, just like with you two, I felt the same way about Alexander."

Nat’s jaw tightened, his eyebrows shooting up in sharp disbelief. "And a kiss was the way to go?"

Xavier frowned, casting a cold, dry glare toward Nat. "Look who’s asking."

Ignoring Xavier’s jab, Alexander came closer to the table. His confident smirk faded into a deep, intense focus, his sharp blue eyes searching April’s flushed face as his posture straightened.

"So," Alexander asked softly, his tone dropping into a quiet, serious rumble, "what exactly do you feel that you were trying to confirm?"