Jayden stepped into the abandoned mansion, his brow furrowed as he spotted Zendaya waiting in the dimly lit living room. When their eyes met, she didn't look happy to see him, and he wondered if Anil had done something to make her sad.“What’s wrong?” he asked in a calm voice.“You know exactly what’s wrong?" Zendaya snapped, as she stood up. “Daniel. The guy you swore you wouldn’t go after while you were sleeping with me, Jayden.”Jayden froze for a moment as he processed her words. His lips pressed into a thin line before he spoke. “Zendaya, I told you I’d handle him. And I did.”“Handle him?” she repeated in disbelief, her voice rising. “You beat him up till he fell unconscious, Jayden! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? He’s in the hospital! The police are investigating this!”Jayden raised an eyebrow, and Zendaya could tell from the expression he had on his face that he was unbothered. “Let them investigate. They won’t find anything,” he said.His nonchalant tone made Zen
Zendaya stood outside Anaya’s house, hesitating before ringing the bell. She had tried to get Jayden out of her mind, but he refused to leave, and it was as though he had permanently built a house there.She needed a distraction and what better way to get one than Anaya. Shaking her head, she finally pressed it.A moment later, Anaya’s cheerful voice came through the intercom. “Who’s there?”“It’s me,” Zendaya said, trying to sound normal.“Zendaya? What are you doing here?!” she heard her friend say as she opened the door.Anaya was wearing a fluffy cardigan and pajama pants, her hair in a messy bun. “You look like you could use a drink or five,” she teased, stepping aside to let Zendaya in.This was one of the reasons why she had come there. It had barely been ten seconds, and Anaya was doing what Anaya did best.“Don’t tempt me especially after what happened the last time,” Zendaya muttered, shrugging off her coat and kicking off her shoes.“Rough day?” Anaya asked as she led Zen
"...In other news, Jayden Gerano, the heir to the Gerano empire, is back," she heard the news reporter say before turning off her tablet.The last thing she wanted was to hear about the man she hated more than anything in the world, especially when she was preoccupied with getting her fiancé to talk to her.They shouldn’t be having such a useless fight when they were days away from their wedding.Matthew Terrence, the man she loved the most in the world. He was an employee in her dad’s company, and it was love at first sight when she laid eyes on him.A lot of people, including her family, didn’t think the relationship would last due to their differences in status.However, she and Matthew had proved them all wrong as they were in their second year together.If their relationship was able to survive the scrutiny, then the fight over where their honeymoon was going to be didn’t stand a chance.“Ma’am, we have arrived,” she heard her driver say to her, breaking her line of thoughts.“Don
Life really had many ways of messing her up, and one of such ways was cleverly recreating what had happened a week after her eighteenth birthday.It was a mistake that was never supposed to happen. She had snuck out to a party. She was naive and had foolishly allowed herself to be drugged, which led to her almost getting raped.It was the man who was standing in front of her that had saved her. As she was too afraid to face her family or her friends, she begged him to cover for her, which caused her to hide in his room.One thing led to another, and the next thing she knew was that she had slept with Jayden. The fact that she was the one who pushed for it made it worse.When it was time to have a talk with him, he immediately told her his hatred for her hadn't changed, and it had only increased as he considered her cheap now that he had slept with her.The memory was one that would haunt her forever, as she hated herself for it, and the fact that he had just caught her trying to have a
Zendaya couldn’t believe that she was naked, and she desperately hoped she was having a nightmare. However, the pain that hit her in her lower region told her that it wasn’t. Seeing that Jayden was still staring at her naked body, she quickly reached out and yanked the duvet away from him so she could cover herself up. That was a big mistake as she was met with his naked body, which made her quickly turn away. “Cover yourself up!” She cried out as her cheeks turned red with embarrassment. She waited until after she heard the shuffling of clothes to look back at him. He had worn his pants, but he still hadn’t put a shirt on, and this was still distracting to her. “Why the hell are you at my house and naked?” Zendaya immediately fired at him. “Look around and tell me what you observe,” Jayden yawned in a bored tone as he sat up. Zendaya was confused as to why he was asking her to look around, but as soon as she did, she found the answer. This wasn’t her house! She yelled in her
"I'm her boyfriend and if you don't get out of here, I'll be the man who will be responsible for putting you six feet underground," Jayden responded, shocking Zendaya. She immediately turned to look at him, but he wasn't looking at her, rather his attention was focused on Matthew who looked pale. Before she could say anything, Matthew pushed her out of the way and moved to punch Jayden. However, the latter, who was already prepared for it, deflected it and landed his own punch. “That's my fucking fiancée, you asshole!” Matthew growled in anger. There was no way he was going to allow Jayden to steal what he had worked so hard for, not when he was so close to victory. “Not anymore,” it was Zendaya who spoke this time. “Get out of my house, Matthew, we’re done,” she growled in anger. She hadn’t intended for him to know that she knew about his infidelity, but since the cat was out of the bag, she could only plan her revenge plan from there. Matthew immediately tried to move closer to
Her father was very loving and spoiled her a lot but now wasn't one of such times so she followed them into the house discarding her idea of running away. It wasn't as though she would even be able to get far. As soon as they were in, her father turned to face her. “Clear to explain why there are pictures of you and Jayden Gerano plastered all over the internet?” Lucas asked his daughter. Jayden Gerano was a name he hadn't dealt with for two years. The young Gerano hadn't even spent up to five days home and he was already causing trouble for his daughter. Lucas was far from pleased. He wasn't a fool to believe that his daughter actually cheated on her fiancé, as he knew how the paparazzi liked to twist things so they could sell, but those pictures were definitely real. That was his daughter and that bastard together. “Have a seat, what I'm about to tell you is serious,” Zendaya told her parents and they did as she asked. When they sat down, they looked at her expectantly. “Ye
When Jayden got into his mansion, he found his father seated patiently in his living room sipping his expensive alcohol. “What brings you to my mansion?” He asked.“The pictures of you and Zendaya, which have been trending since this morning,” Justin responded to his son. The boy had just come back, and he was already getting into a scandal with none other than Zendaya Valencia, the woman whom Jayden hated more than anything in the world.“You know how the media is, ignore it,” Jayden brushed off, but the look on his father’s face told him he wasn’t having any of it.“I sent you away for two years because of the same woman. One would have taught you learnt your lesson,” Justin hissed in annoyance. There was nothing he and his wife hadn’t done to get rid of the enmity between his son and Zendaya, but nothing seemed to work. The last straw was what happened the last time, and he finally decided to send his son to one of their companies overseas to handle it. He had done so with the
Zendaya stood outside Anaya’s house, hesitating before ringing the bell. She had tried to get Jayden out of her mind, but he refused to leave, and it was as though he had permanently built a house there.She needed a distraction and what better way to get one than Anaya. Shaking her head, she finally pressed it.A moment later, Anaya’s cheerful voice came through the intercom. “Who’s there?”“It’s me,” Zendaya said, trying to sound normal.“Zendaya? What are you doing here?!” she heard her friend say as she opened the door.Anaya was wearing a fluffy cardigan and pajama pants, her hair in a messy bun. “You look like you could use a drink or five,” she teased, stepping aside to let Zendaya in.This was one of the reasons why she had come there. It had barely been ten seconds, and Anaya was doing what Anaya did best.“Don’t tempt me especially after what happened the last time,” Zendaya muttered, shrugging off her coat and kicking off her shoes.“Rough day?” Anaya asked as she led Zen
Jayden stepped into the abandoned mansion, his brow furrowed as he spotted Zendaya waiting in the dimly lit living room. When their eyes met, she didn't look happy to see him, and he wondered if Anil had done something to make her sad.“What’s wrong?” he asked in a calm voice.“You know exactly what’s wrong?" Zendaya snapped, as she stood up. “Daniel. The guy you swore you wouldn’t go after while you were sleeping with me, Jayden.”Jayden froze for a moment as he processed her words. His lips pressed into a thin line before he spoke. “Zendaya, I told you I’d handle him. And I did.”“Handle him?” she repeated in disbelief, her voice rising. “You beat him up till he fell unconscious, Jayden! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? He’s in the hospital! The police are investigating this!”Jayden raised an eyebrow, and Zendaya could tell from the expression he had on his face that he was unbothered. “Let them investigate. They won’t find anything,” he said.His nonchalant tone made Zen
The clinking of cups, the hiss of the espresso machine, and a low hum of conversation filled the coffee shop.Anil and Zendaya sat across from each other in a cozy corner of the shop. The sunlight shone through the large windows, casting a warm glow on the wooden table between them. Anil’s shirt had been changed and thankfully, he managed to find a shirt the exact colour.“Thanks again for waiting while I changed,” Anil said, running a hand through his hair. “I swear I’m cursed around coffee when you’re involved,” he remarked, reminding Zendaya of what had happened in the past.Zendaya chuckled as she remembered what had happened. He was right, her coffee and him didn't go well together, and it always left him at the receiving end.“I said I was sorry, didn’t I? And hey, at least I didn’t spill it on your face this time.”Anil laughed, a genuine sound that made Zendaya relax for a moment. She liked that about him—his ability to brush off awkward moments without making them feel lik
The boardroom buzzed with activity as Jayden sat at the head of the table, listening to his team give updates on the recent crisis that had happened in the company. His sharp eyes scanned the reports in front of him, his focus unbroken despite the noise around him.“—and as of this morning, we've managed to find the source of the breach.The odds have shifted slightly in our favour,” one of his executives concluded, clearly relieved. “We’ve managed to downplay most of the fallout.”Jayden nodded curtly. “Good. Keep monitoring it. I want real-time updates on any changes.”The team murmured their agreement before someone else began to present. As they spoke, Jayden leaned back in his chair, as he grabbed his pen to play with it.While his mind was partially on the briefing, a larger part of him wandered to Zendaya and what she was doing. He hadn’t texted her since they spoke in the morning, as he had been bombarded by his team and had been busy ever since.His thoughts were interrup
The lights dimmed, and the photographer called out, "That’s a wrap, everyone!" Zendaya heard him say as she sighed in relief.Without wasting time, she slipped out of her heels and stretched her sore feet. The shoot had been exhausting, but it had gone well. She grabbed her things, thanking the crew, and she immediately headed out of the studio with a coffee in hand. She was finally done for the day, and now she could focus on getting some plants and paint for the mansion. She then made a mental note to ask Jayden if she was okay with some guys coming over to redecorate the house.Stepping out of the building, she was too engrossed in her thoughts to notice the figure walking toward her. Just as she took a sip of her coffee, she collided with someone, the cup tilting dangerously. A gasp escaped her lips as the liquid spilled onto the stranger's shirt.“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” she blurted as she quickly grabbed her handkerchief to wipe the coffee off the shirt.“It's okay,” sh
Zendaya cursed in annoyance when her morning started with the annoying buzz of her alarm clock at an ungodly hour.What was she thinking when she set it so early? Moments like this were when the urge to quit her job hit her deeply. She groaned, blindly smacking the snooze button, but her phone buzzed with a notification almost immediately, forcing her to wake up. She knew herself, which was why she had set the notification on her phone when she was going to bed.The reminder of her shoot flashed on the screen, and she sighed. ‘Fuck my life.’Dragging herself out of bed, she rushed to the bathroom, and decided to have a cold shower in an effort to wash the sleep away from her eyes. After she was done, she threw on casual jeans and a fitted top. Her outfit didn't matter, as she would change out of it.She then grabbed her phone to check messages and as expected, Jayden’s text was already waiting for her.Jayden: Good morning, Sleepyhead. Did you survive the Valencia family chaos?Ze
The world tilted and blurred for Matthew as he stumbled onto the hard concrete, his knees scraping against the rough surface. “Should we drop him here or move him,” one of the guards who had thrown him onto the floor asked.“Nah, leave his sorry ass here. That was the boss’ orders. I'm not going against it for the cheater,” the guard's partner said as he pulled the other one out of there.Matthew's head pounded, and his body ached from the beating he’d received at the hands of Lucas and Levi Valencia. The car that had dropped him off sped away, its taillights vanishing into the distance, leaving him in an empty alley, surrounded by shadows and the faint stench of garbage.Gasping for breath, Matthew clutched his side, feeling the sharp sting of bruised ribs. He glanced around, disoriented, his mind racing as he didn't know how to get out of there. His keys and wallet were back at the mansion, and it was as good and gone as there was no way he was getting it back, which means he was
Zendaya flopped onto her bed, her body sinking into the familiar plush mattress of her childhood room.She groaned into the pillow before rolling onto her back, reaching for her phone. If she was going to be forced to stay here, she might as well let Jayden know,,, as he would be worried.Opening their chat, she saw that he had already sent a text. “How's it going,” was what his text read.Reading it, she began to type.“It went well. I’m not coming back tonight.She stared at the message and waited for the little dots that would indicate he was typing. When they didn’t come, she added another text.Zendaya: Before you get mad, it wasn’t my idea. My dad and Levi practically kidnapped me after everything that happened with Matthew.This time, the dots appeared almost immediately.Jayden: Please tell me you're jokingZendaya could practically hear the frustration behind his words. She rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress the small smile creeping onto her face. It was nice to see he w
The air was heavy with the aftermath of the chaos, the faint smell of blood and sweat lingering in the living room where Matthew had been taught a lesson by the two men of the Valencia family.Zendaya leaned against the wall, her arms wrapped around herself as she tried to process everything that had just happened. She hated that she felt a bit of pity for him, even after everything he’d done. But more than that, she hated how exposed and raw she felt standing there.The fact that she had cried while talking to Matthew wasn't something she was proud of because at that moment she felt hurt once again. It was puzzling as she wasn't in love with Matthew anymore and had moved on to a much better man. Meanwhile, Lucas stood a few feet away, observing her silently. They had taken care of Matthew, but she didn't look like she was happy about it, and it made him fearful, as he didn't want it to be a case of her still having feelings for that bastard.Without wasting time, he moved closer