Chapter 309: Dinner By The Bay

A few minutes later, the sedan pulled up to a secluded, high-end restaurant tucked away along the coastline. The exterior was understated, but the moment the chauffeur opened their doors and Xavier led her inside, the atmosphere shifted to pure, refined elegance.

The host, recognizing Xavier instantly, bowed deeply and led them past the main dining hall up a private set of stairs to a glass-enclosed balcony table overlooking the dark, shimmering ocean.

As soon as Xavier pulled out her chair and she sat down, April slipped her feet out of the stilettos beneath the table with a soft, audible sigh of relief as her bare feet rested on the ground.

Xavier sat across from her, shedding his long winter coat to reveal a crisp, dark tailored suit that fitted his broad shoulders impeccably. His eyes finally settled on her, soft and attentive as the faint candlelight flickered between them.

"Better?" he asked softly, a small, genuine smile tugging at his lips as he noticed the subtle relaxation in her posture.

"Much better," April admitted, resting her forearms on the tablecloth and leaning her chin in her hand. "Now, tell me. What made you pick this place?"

"What? You don’t like it?"

"Don’t get me wrong, I do. I just sort of already expected it," She looked over the bay. "You’re the kind of guy who likes to set the mood after all. And this setting fits just right with you,"

Xavier reached across the small table, his warm fingers gently covering her hand. The touch was light, reverent, and devoid of the frantic desperation from earlier, replaced instead by a deep, steadying warmth.

"I picked this place because out there, the world is moving too fast," Xavier murmured, his gaze locking onto hers with absolute clarity. "With everything happening—the competition, the changes, the apocalypse coming—I wanted a few hours where none of that mattered. Just you, and me."

April looked down at his hand covering hers, feeling the steady thrum of his pulse. She looked into Xavier’s devoted eyes, and allowed herself to sink into the quiet comfort of the present moment.

"Just you and me," April echoed softly, her dark eyes softening as her fingers stroked the back of his hand. "It sounds so cliché, but... it doesn’t sound bad."

April raised her glass, the fine crystal catching the warm, flickering candlelight as she gently clinked it against Xavier’s.

"To us?" Xavier dared to say, his voice rich with quiet devotion as he took a sip, his eyes never leaving hers.

"To us," April repeated softly.

She leaned back in her chair, letting the wine settle on her tongue as she looked out over the dark, shimmering bay. Beneath the table, her bare feet rested comfortably against the floor, stripped of the painful stilettos. Beside her sat a man who looked at her as if she held the stars in her palms, ready to bend the world to his knees just to see her smile.

Her mind, ever analytical, drifted to the unseen timer ticking down in the dark. Two weeks.

They had exactly two weeks before the world as they knew it collapsed into bloody, chaotic ruin—before the zombies swarmed, and the apocalypse claimed the earth.

When she had first embarked on this path after her rebirth, April had never intended to develop feelings for anyone. She never viewed men in that light, maybe because they had never looked at her that way to begin with.

Regardless, she had looked at these men strictly through the lens of survival. She hadn’t planned on falling for them, nor had she anticipated the complex, intoxicating web of devotion they would spin around her.

Yet, as she looked at Xavier’s soft, eager expression across the candlelit table, April realized fate was never in her palms.

She may have been a fortune teller, but what was a fortune teller who couldn’t even read her own fortune?

She had brushed them off over and over, convinced she would not fall, but here she was, chained by fate. Yet, she didn’t hate it. In fact, she loved it.

She loved the unpredictability of it all. She loved the feeling of being touched so reverently, of being meticulously taken care of, and of being intensely, unapologetically adored.

It wasn’t a burden; it was a profound, grounding comfort amidst the storm brewing on the horizon.

Her heart raced by then it stilled, an inward sigh echoing in her mind.

Still, her resolve remained unbroken. Falling for them wouldn’t alter her fundamental plans.

When the apocalypse hit, she and Emily would already be in the hillside fortress she had prepared. Once inside, the luxury of quiet dates and intimate evenings would vanish.

The world outside would descend into absolute madness, and she would only be able to see Xavier, Nat, and the others once in a while when they chose to barge in through the helipad.

She couldn’t afford to let emotional attachment become a fatal distraction when blood began to spill.

Regardless of what comes, April thought, a faint, genuine smile gracing her lips as she met Xavier’s adoring gaze, I will enjoy every single second of this peace.

She would savor the touch, the warmth, the food, and the desperate, tender affection while the quiet days lasted.

At least this time, she wouldn’t be a virgin when the world ended.

"The food here is exceptional, by the way," Xavier noted softly, breaking her quiet reverie as he gestured to the exquisite dishes the waiter had silently laid out. "I took the liberty of ordering their specialty for you."

April picked up her fork, her eyes glittering with a subtle, playful warmth as she stared at the food. "Then I suggest we make the most of it, Master Reed."

Xavier chuckled deeply. "They say a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but I believe that saying strongly describes you, April,"

"What? It’s not my fault I value food this much. I will never tolerate a single waste."

Xavier’s eyes softened with profound affection as he watched her. "And that is precisely why you’re able to judge a world-class cooking competition despite having no culinary skill," he teased, his voice rich and tender. "Though I suppose if Renzo or Philippe knew how high your standards truly were, they’d be sweating even more than they already are."

​April took a neat, deliberate bite of the seared fish, savoring the rich flavor before setting her fork down. "Renzo understands the weight of a good meal. Philippe is still playing catch-up. But as long as neither of them wastes good ingredients, I won’t hold it against them."

Good food was good food. She could eat anything, but if she just wanted regular meals, she could batch order them from restaurants—that idea was pending—but what she was currently after was the mecilian dishes made by renowned chefs. Not just any dish.

Simple dishes could be replicated and made whenever. But that of a star chef was just on another level.

​"I’ll make sure to pass that advice along," Xavier replied with a quiet laugh. He reached across the small space once more, his thumb brushing over the back of her wrist, right where her pulse thrummed steady and warm. "Eat as much as you like, April. Tonight, everything is yours."

​April looked down at his hand, then back up into his gleaming eyes.

​"Everything?" April repeated, a faint, dangerous spark of amusement dancing in her dark eyes. "Careful, Xavier. You might find out just how expensive my tastes really are."

​"Try me," Xavier murmured, his smile turning crooked, dark, and helplessly smitten. "I have yet to find a price tag I wouldn’t pay for you. And I am certain that paying for your food would be far cheaper than paying to get my fortune read," he added smoothly.

​She shrugged, a subtle smirk touching her lips. "Well, true."