Z A R A Alejandro snakes his arms around my waist, "Mmm, it smells good. You're cooking?""Mhm," I answer."Special occasion?" He tucks his chin into the crook of my neck. I stop stirring the pasta and slightly turn my head. "It's Christmas, don't you celebrate?"I do," he says. "It's just that I haven't spent Christmas with someone in years." I raise a brow. "I can hear the lie seeping through your teeth."He raises a brow. "What makes you think I'm lying, my love?""Don't try to convince me that you didn't find someone to sleep around with every Christmas," I frown. He chuckles. "I mean, I haven't spent it with anyone important in years.""Oh?" I act amused. I cover the pot with a lid and lower the gas on the stove so I can turn around and look at him. "I'm important? Since when?""Since I met you," he answers nonchalantly.I roll my eyes. "You've also been a fabulous liar since I met you." He takes me by surprise by picking me up and sitting me down on the granite countertop so I'
Y A S M E E N Everything needs to be perfect. I have never wanted to perfect something so much in my life because I never had to impress someone as hard-headed as Marcus Wang before. In fact, I've never actually wanted to impress a boy before. I always went with the flow and as everyone knows by now, that never worked out. But something about Marcus makes me want to work harder, makes me crave his attention, and makes me pull for his approval. It is absolutely maddening and honestly, I would not want it any other way. Why? Because I thrive from the feeling of every nerve in my body pulling me towards him. So many people are afraid to fall, afraid of things not working out, and afraid they will end up torn into pieces but that doesn't bother me. Of course, I do care about being heartbroken and would prefer if I do not end up in a million pieces, but it's all part of life, no? We fall, we get hurt, and we learn. It's all part of the experience or maybe I'm just an insane masochist who
M A R C U S "At Yasmeen's? Like a date?" The shock present in Elijah's tone is irritatingly clear.I roll my eyes. "No, not a date.""That reminds me, I have to go grab something of hers from Yasmeen's apartment. I'll go grab it while you freshen up for your date," he says."it's not a date," I clarify again."Whatever you say, loverboy," he chuckles as he drives us to my apartment complex.• • •Fuck, why the hell am I so nervous? It's not a date, she just asked to cook for me and I agreed. There's nothing wrong with wanting to go somewhere for food. I changed out of three outfits already and I'm still trying to convince myself that this isn't a date. It isn't. It's nothing like that. Yasmeen isn't for me and I am not for her. We don't belong together and I should always remember that; I should always remember my place. Yet, the thought of her with someone else... Fuck this, whether she's happy with someone else or not is none of my problems.She had to go on and choose my birthdate
Z A R A "Elijah? What are you doing here?" The shock in my voice is apparent. No one is allowed up to our apartment without permission from Alejandro, except for Alejandro himself and Charlotte."Why?" He asks."Didn't you leave for Italy a couple of days ago?" I furrow my brows. That's what Yasmeen told me the other day. She told me that Elijah had left a couple of days ago to visit family."No, I leave tonight," he clarifies."And?" There's a hint of attitude in my tone because I'm still holding a grudge for how he almost had me killed by Alejandro by being reckless "What are you doing here? If Alejandro finds out—""You're not going to invite me in?" He interrupts my sentence. I'm silent, slowly pushing the door forward to not allow him to enter any further."Come with me," he says."W-What?" I blink, trying to wonder why he would try this again when it didn't work the first time."Come with me to Italy. Let's run away," he pauses before saying, "Together.""Are you insane?" I'm s
Y A S M E E N I couldn't sit still. I keep walking back and forth in Alejandro's office. Marcus left the second he dropped me off, so I had to ask the receptionist to ring me up at Alejandro's office. I can feel the adrenaline in my veins rushing at the horrible thought of what could've happened to Zara. My thoughts are interrupted when the door opens, hitting the wall hard. I jump at the loud sound, seeing Alejandro walk in. I can safely say he has probably slept less than me in the past three days. There are dark shadows under his eyes, he has a rough, unkempt stubble, and his lips are dry and cracked. The only thing that's put together are his clothes but even his tie is not on properly. But seeing him only made my uneasiness worst, whatever news he has can't be any better than all the possibilities that have been going through my head."Shut the fuck up! I want a location by tonight or I'll send your fucking limbs to your wife!" He yells into the phone, making me flinch."Alejand
Y A S M E E N A group of men come in and drag the women's bodies away, leaving us alone together."It hurts... It hurts everywhere, Marcus," I cough up blood as I speak."Shh, I know. I know." He leans down to press his forehead against mine, the tip of our noses brushing slightly. "It's going to be okay; you're going to be okay."I raise my hand to softly to touch his face. He looks so disheveled, poor Marcus. "Your hair's so fluffy," I say as my hand slowly trails to his hair, running my fingers through them. He grabs my hand and places it against his lips, leaving a soft kiss. Then, he rests his cheek against that hand. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you,""I would say it's alright but it's not. Look where it got me," I pout teasingly. His expression turns grim, and I quickly inform him that I'm kidding. "It's okay, really. I couldn't believe myself when the woman showed up."I can feel my consciousness slipping away as my arm limps in his grasp."Just hold on just a little longer. D
Y A S M E E N The light reaches my eyes as I squint them, groaning. Not wanting to wake up, I snuggle further into the blanket until I feel a slight stinging slither across my arm. All the memories of my violent night come flooding through my mind as I notice I'm patched up. Though there isn't much pain in my body as there was before, the subtle aching left behind is still present as I try to sit up. I don't recognize the room or any part of my surroundings.Another part of that day pops up uninvited into my mind: If you keep this up, Ms. Yasmeen Yasin, the next time I see you, I'll have you pinned against the wall fucking you senseless. A blush creeps up my cheeks, heating up my whole entire body. If this man doesn't marry me after this, I might just die from heartbreak.The door opens softly, and I jump out of fear of another attack or something."Sorry, Ms. Yasin, I didn't mean to frighten you," the woman has a stethoscope around her neck and my body relaxes a bit. "I'm your docto
Z A R A"Take me home?" My voice is instantly quiet. I wrap my arms around my stomach in a firmer manner, afraid of what may happen.In minutes, Frank explains his task to infiltrate Philip's hideout but at that time, Frank wasn't informed of all the details."You're saying Alejandro knew that there would be an attempt on my life?" Frank nods. "Yet he let it happen." He nods again."I was just a pawn in his sick game?"Frank pauses, picking his next words very carefully. "Again, I was not informed of all the details—just enough to gather information and put Boss' plan into action. The knowledge of whether you were a pawn or not is not under my understanding."I don't have time to think hard about any of this. I will take Frank's help and escape this place. "Since when did your speech get so formal?"He looks at me in confusion."You sound formal, instead of rude.""I've always talked like this," he states."Right..." I give him a small smile. "How are we leaving this place?"He gives