"Sophie, you were married. Oh I thought you and Oliver would make such a nice couple. Your children would have been so cute."

What me and Oliver? I almost gagged at that. Oliver was more like my brother. What was she even thinking? Right besides me Xander was shaking with rage. His body was vibrating so intensely that he could have been standing on washing machine with damaged shock absorbers. I held his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze and when he looked at me like a child who had been denied a candy, I burst out laughing.

"Oh my god. You look so happy child. This is the first time I have seen you laugh. You must have really missed your husband."

Yes, I did miss him a lot.

"Sophie before leaving you will complete your tenure as the village head, right? There is just a month remaining now."

I wanted to say that I am not leaving ever but decided against it.

"Yes ma. I am not going anywhere."

I settled for the most vague response which satisfied ma and conveyed a message to Xander too.

"Yes ma. She is going to complete her tenure. I am staying with her."

What? What is he even saying? Is he even hearing himself? He is going to stay here for a month! I passed him my deadliest glare but smiled at ma.

"Both of you look so much in love."

Before I could stop myself the words came out of my mouth.

"Yeah, right. We are so much in love."

I muttered under my breath but I think Xander heard me.

As we headed back I turned towards Xander.

"Xander, you don't have to stay here. My quarter certainly will not fit the type of lifestyle you are used to and there is no reason for you to stay here. I am sure you have a lot of work to do and you definitely can't afford to miss your meetings. About the residents I will let them no that you had an urgent commitment. I know they will umderstand."

I blurted out every possible reason I could think of to cut short his stay here. I waited for a few minutes but he didn't reply. He was determined.

So letting out a sigh I gave the driver my address.

As we reached I saw Xander looking around my home with love and adoration. He liked it and that made me happy.

"Its beautiful."

And I gave him a small smile. His opinion still mattered to me.

Only his opinion matters to me.

He sat on the couch and I saw him wince a little. Was he in too much pain? Did I hurt him that bad? I headed to my room and came out with first aid box. I started to unbutton his shirt. I respect things like personal space but with him it felt normal. Though we were not together but it still wasn't awkward.

"Sophie,.."

"Shhhh"

Placing my finger on his lips I looked him in the eye. I could feel the sexual tension growing. But ignoring it I removed his shirt and looked at his back. There was a scratch and dried BLOOD there. What was I even thinking? It must have hurt him so much.

Near his abdomen there was a purplish black spot. How could I do this to him? If I even got as much as a scratch he would go berserk. And here I had hurt him intentionally and he was still looking at me with so much love. I hated myself. I wanted to cry.

"I am sorry, Xander. I really am. I don't know what came over me. I never meant to hurt you."

And that was true. How could I hurt him when all he ever did was take care of me? Things weren't the same between us but I can't disregard everything he had done for me all these years.

"Hey, hey. Its okay Sophie. It doesn't even hurt. You know I am much stronger than you."

He was trying to lighten up the mood but I couldn't even react. I simply disinfected the bruise, placed a bandage on it and went to the fridge to collect the ice pack. Taking out his shoes I looked at his toe. It was heavily bruised but fortunately not broken.

How could I hurt him? What was I even thinking?

I quietly went to the kitchen and started preparing our coffee. I knew he must be craving it. When I returned he was already watching a football match. I never liked watching games but I always sat down with him to keep him company. While he watched the game I would just relax in his arms.

"Here you go."

I handed him the coffee and sat down next to him. In that moment I wanted nothing more than sitting in his lap and sleeping with my head on his chest. I tried to stifle a yawn but failed miserably.

"Go take a nap Sophie."

I just shook my head but when I yawned again I just smiled sheepishly and headed to my room.

I couldn't sleep. My head kept replaying all the events of the day. There was no awkwardness between us. It was all natural. We didn't even have to put any effort. I had no clue about what to do next so I decided to just go with the flow. When does life even go as we plan!

I came out and headed directly to the kitchen. I decided put my culinary skills to test today which I had so desperately tried to improve in past two years. I saw him settle down on a chair near the kitchen. At first I got a little conscious but then relaxed. Afterall, it was just Xander. After I completed and was satisfied with my work, I looked up to see Xander looking at the food in awe. I had prepared steak, scalloped potatoes, baked french fries, onion rings and brussel sprouts with bacon.

"When did you learn this?"

"The first thing I learned after our divorce was how to cook. I know my food was barely tolerable. I am not a master now but I can guarantee that it is better than before."

He simply got up from his seat and helped me set the plate.