The Billionaire Ex-Wife and the Beggar He Became novel Chapter 193

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Winona turned her head and found herself face-to-face with Xander's gentle, earnest smile. There was something so humble and sincere in the way he beamed at her that it left her uneasy.

Now she was caught in a dilemma.

Should she take the bottle of water he was offering? If she did, she'd be accepting a favor from Xander—something she'd much rather avoid. But if she didn't, her throat would keep burning with thirst, and she really did need to rinse her mouth.

Xander seemed to pick up on her hesitation. He let out a soft laugh. "You can take my water and still ignore me, you know. After this, you never have to speak to me again if you don't want to. But don't be so hard on yourself. You need to clean your mouth, and you're dehydrated. Is it really worth punishing yourself just to spite me? That'd be pretty silly, wouldn't it?"

His tone was warm and brotherly.

Winona suddenly felt a pang in her chest.

Her eyes stung with tears.

"So you mean… I… I can be like Felicity? I can… have a little bit of that feeling of being cared for by everyone?" She could hardly believe what was happening.

Yves Prescott had helped her. Wesley had helped her. Mr. Shaw had helped her. And now even Xander seemed to be reaching out to her.

Was this what it felt like to be cared for by a group?

Xander's heart ached at her words.

He felt even guiltier for how he'd treated her in the past.

"This is what you deserve," he said quietly. "You've worked hard for it, Winona. None of this fell out of the sky. The care you're getting—you earned every bit of it, and it means even more because of everything you've been through."

A tearful laugh burst from Winona's lips.

She was smiling, but the tears still fell.

She took the bottle of spring water from Xander, rinsed her mouth, and then drank down half the bottle in one long gulp. Only then did she turn to look at Xander, her eyes downcast and voice soft with lingering hurt. "Fine, I forgive you. But I still don't want to be friends with you."

A weight seemed to lift from Xander's shoulders.

"Being forgiven by you is more than I could've hoped for," he said, grinning. "You don't have to be my friend. I'll just have to see if I can earn that right. If I mess up, you never have to talk to me again. And hey, even if I do everything right, you can still ignore me. Your call!"

Winona nodded. "Alright."