Apocalypse Rebirth: Making Billions With My Fortune-Telling Skill

April let out a slow breath, resting her back against the comfortable leather of the chair.

​As she looked at Xavier, she began to put the pieces together. She had never had to navigate this kind of emotional territory before, and honestly, if her instincts about his intentions were correct, the last thing she wanted to do was open the door to a full, complicated confession.

She wanted to be alone, with her dog and kitten, and dealing with a confession from her primary benefactor would only make their partnership incredibly complex and uncomfortable.

She appreciated that he cared enough to think of her this way, but she needed to address the situation practically, keeping the boundaries intact without making things worse.

​”I didn’t realize I made you feel left out,” April said, her voice quiet but remarkably steady. ”But I didn’t do it on purpose.”

​Xavier slowly lowered his hand, his dark eyes locked on her face, waiting in the heavy silence.

​”But if you haven’t seen a single curve of my lips when I speak to you—whether it is a devious smile, a manic one, an angry one, or a happy one—it is simply because you haven’t done anything to warrant it,” she stated bluntly.

​The words cut through the quiet of the study with an unvarnished honesty. It sounded harsh, but to April, it was just the truth of how she functioned. She didn’t force fake smiles to make people comfortable.

When she was around Nat, the constant threat of chaos naturally pulled out a sharp, manic reaction. With Alexander earlier, it was the lightweight excitement of sharing Winecraft strategies.

​”I am transparent,” April continued, her unblinking gaze holding his. ”If something is boring, I have no reason to smile. It is as simple as that.”

​Xavier stared at her, completely quiet. Then, a slow, weary smile touched his lips—one of bitter, self-deprecating amusement.

​”So, at the end of the day,” Xavier murmured, his voice dropping into a quiet, resigned tone, ”it really is just because I am a boring man.”

April looked at the dejected, pained expression in his eyes. She thought of his quiet, constant support in the background, the way he had been trying to compete for her attention, and his cold, distant behavior since the morning.

For all her focus on the present and her survival preparation, she couldn’t ignore the very real, aching human being sitting right in front of her. And so, she pushed a little further.

​”Xavier,” April called softly, leaning slightly forward. ”Are you jealous?”

​The question hung in the quiet space between them, quiet but incredibly direct.

​Xavier froze. His dark eyes snapped up to meet hers. The sheer honesty of her question—asked without any mockery or games—struck him directly. He didn’t answer right away. He slowly let out a breath, his shoulders shifting as he leaned back into his heavy leather chair. A faint, self-deprecating crease appeared between his brows.

​”Jealous?” Xavier repeated the word, his voice low as if trying to see how absurd it sounded coming from him. A quiet, bitter humor flickered in his eyes. ”Is that what you think this is, April?”

​”You’re upset because of how I allocate my attention,” April said, her voice soft but sure. ”You feel left in the background because you don’t get those same reactions out of me. You see me laughing or reacting with the others, and you feel forgotten.”

​She laid it out simply. No clinical jargon, just the raw truth of what she had observed.

​Xavier stared at her, completely stripped of his usual corporate armor. He had spent his entire life keeping a perfect grip on his emotions, running a financial empire with a straight face. Yet here, he was entirely exposed.

​”And if I am?” Xavier asked quietly, his gaze holding hers with a sudden, intense gravity. ”If the head of the Reed family is reduced to wanting nothing more than a genuine smile from you... what do you make of that?”

​April looked at him, her fingers lightly tapping against her knee. She had never had anyone look at her with so much raw, quiet vulnerability. This—this quiet, aching sincerity—was entirely new.

​”I think it’s unnecessary,” April said softly, her eyes still holding his. ”But I don’t think you’re boring, Xavier. If I’m quiet around you, it’s just... comfortable.”

​Xavier’s lips curved into another short, genuine smile—this one completely softened by her words. ”Comfortable. I suppose I’ll take that over boring.”

​”The gift,” April said, smoothly changing the subject, though her tone remained gentle. ”We’re going to see it tomorrow morning. Before I start running around with Samuel.”

​Xavier blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift, before a warm light returned to his eyes. ”You don’t have to force yourself. Don’t you have your driving lessons?”

​”That’s every two days,” April said, standing up from her chair. ”Tomorrow is free. And besides, I want to see what you’ve prepared. Show me what you’ve been aching to hand over to me.”

​She turned and walked toward the door, her movements light. But as she reached the threshold, she paused, her hand resting on the brass handle. She didn’t turn around, but her voice carried clearly back to him.

​”And Xavier?”

​”Yes?”

​”Don’t let your dinner get cold.” She said, ”It’s a bad habit to waste food.”

​​With that, she opened the door and stepped out into the quiet hallway, leaving him alone in the warm glow of the lamp.

Behind the desk, Xavier sat in silence for a long moment, a genuine, relaxed smile finally settling on his face as he let out a quiet, thoroughly relieved laugh.

April shut the door behind her.

​She stood there for a beat, letting out a soft exhale. She had handled the issue to the absolute best of her ability. She hadn’t made any fake promises, she hadn’t let things complicate into an uncomfortable confession, and she had successfully managed to protect the practical boundaries of their partnership. Most importantly, she had secured a truce without having to alter who she was.

​With the heavy knot of discomfort completely dissolved from her chest, a sudden wave of hunger hit her.

​She turned and made her way back downstairs, her footsteps light against the marble. Returning to the grand dining room, she walked over to the long mahogany table where her dinner sat, still covered and waiting exactly as she had left it before heading up to Xavier’s study.

​Pulling back her chair, she uncovered the plates. The rich aroma of the freshly prepared meal bloomed into the quiet air. Strangely enough, the dining room no longer felt quite so vast, and the portion of food no longer looked too large for her to finish.

​April picked up her utensils and began to eat, genuinely enjoying every bite of the meal.