Zendaya froze as the weight of Jayden’s words sank in. Her chest tightened, and her breath hitched, coming in short gasps as she stared at him.No, it couldn’t be, she said to herself in denial as she shook her head.“The police were… at the mansion?” she managed to whisper, her voice trembling.Jayden nodded, his expression calm, as though it wasn’t a matter of his life on the line. “Yes, Lan said they were asking about Daniel’s death and looking for me. I’m guessing they found out about the fact that I went to see Daniel that night.”Zabelle's mind began to race. Images of officers storming the property, asking questions, and digging into their lives flashed through her head. The walls of the room seemed to close in around her, and her knees felt weak. She stumbled back a step, but Jayden held her firmly and she clutched onto his shirt for support.“Zendaya.” Jayden called out to her, but she barely heard him.Her breaths became faster, shallower, her chest heaving as panic gripp
Jayden arrived at his family’s mansion, the weight of the situation settling over him as he drove past the gates. This was foolish, he thought to himself. He was an adult yet the thought of what the old man wanted to say to him made him nervous. His thoughts were muddled as he parked and approached the grand front door, his jaw tightening in as he prepared himself for what lay ahead.As soon as he stepped inside, a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.“Well, look who finally decided to show up,” Juliette sneered as she came to stand in front of him.Jayden sighed, dramatically as he rolled his eyes at his younger sister.“Not now, Dimwit.”“Oh, I think now is the perfect time,” Juliette humped. Her tone was dripping with mockery as she stepped closer, her eyes narrowing. “Tell me, Jayden, how does it feel knowing the police might come for you? I mean, you’ve always been the golden boy, haven’t you? Untouchable.”He rolled his eyes once again, stepping past her. “Move, Juliett
The grand Valencia mansion came into view and Zendaya felt a familiar mix of nostalgia and apprehension as she drove through the gates.She parked her car near the fountain in the driveway, and she stepped out immediately, making her way to the front door.The housekeeper opened the door just as Zendaya knocked, and she offered her a polite smile. “Miss Zendaya, welcome. Your mother is up in her room,” she informed her and Zendaya nodded. “Thank you. What about my father and Levi? Aren't they home?”“No, ma’am. They left for the office in the morning, and they haven't come back.”Zendaya nodded and she heaved a sigh of relief. Somehow, the absence of her father made it easier to be there as she didn't want to accidentally spill why she was there. Her father was smart and would quickly catch on to the fact that something was wrong. Between Lucas’ unrelenting questions and his suspicious expression, it would be a recipe of disaster for her. Without wasting time, she headed to her mo
Kiandra and Zendaya’s conversation gradually shifted to lighter topics, and the tension in the air dissolved. They laughed about memories from Zendaya’s childhood, including the time she had tried to bake a cake for her mother and ended up causing a small fire in the kitchen. Kiandra teased her about her cooking skill and how terrible it was, while Zendaya rolled her eyes, blaming her mother for it.She reminded Kiandra that she had been a terrible cook, that was until she gave birth to her which forced her to learn as she couldn’t eat takeouts without falling sick all thanks to her condition.As they chatted, time went by quickly, and Zendaya felt more calm than she did when she arrived at the mansion. She smiled as Jayden knew what he had been doing when he told her to go to her family mansion. If she had been alone in his mansion, she would have killed herself with worry and might have spiraled into having a second panic attack.For a little while, she forgot about the chaos tha
Zendaya smiled as she typed her response to Jayden.Zendaya: It’s called being dramatic. You saw me this afternoon, not years ago.Jayden: You wound me. I’m going to pretend you didn’t just disregard my suffering.Zendaya: I’ll make it up to you. Maybe.Jayden: You’re lucky I'm a nice person and I accept your peace offering. All night sounds nice.She laughed softly as her cheeks turned red and she shook her head. No matter how frustrating Jayden could be, he always knew how to bring a smile to her face. She was about to respond when the door creaked open, and Lucas walked in, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw her lying on his bed."Zendaya?" he asked, his voice filled with surprise. His gaze darted from her to the room, as if confirming he wasn’t seeing things. "What are you doing here? In the mansion. And in my room, of all places?"Zendaya’s heart skipped a beat as she turned off her phone, but she quickly recovered, flashing a sheepish smile. "Surprise!" she said, throwi
"...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
Zendaya smiled as she typed her response to Jayden.Zendaya: It’s called being dramatic. You saw me this afternoon, not years ago.Jayden: You wound me. I’m going to pretend you didn’t just disregard my suffering.Zendaya: I’ll make it up to you. Maybe.Jayden: You’re lucky I'm a nice person and I accept your peace offering. All night sounds nice.She laughed softly as her cheeks turned red and she shook her head. No matter how frustrating Jayden could be, he always knew how to bring a smile to her face. She was about to respond when the door creaked open, and Lucas walked in, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw her lying on his bed."Zendaya?" he asked, his voice filled with surprise. His gaze darted from her to the room, as if confirming he wasn’t seeing things. "What are you doing here? In the mansion. And in my room, of all places?"Zendaya’s heart skipped a beat as she turned off her phone, but she quickly recovered, flashing a sheepish smile. "Surprise!" she said, throwi
Kiandra and Zendaya’s conversation gradually shifted to lighter topics, and the tension in the air dissolved. They laughed about memories from Zendaya’s childhood, including the time she had tried to bake a cake for her mother and ended up causing a small fire in the kitchen. Kiandra teased her about her cooking skill and how terrible it was, while Zendaya rolled her eyes, blaming her mother for it.She reminded Kiandra that she had been a terrible cook, that was until she gave birth to her which forced her to learn as she couldn’t eat takeouts without falling sick all thanks to her condition.As they chatted, time went by quickly, and Zendaya felt more calm than she did when she arrived at the mansion. She smiled as Jayden knew what he had been doing when he told her to go to her family mansion. If she had been alone in his mansion, she would have killed herself with worry and might have spiraled into having a second panic attack.For a little while, she forgot about the chaos tha
The grand Valencia mansion came into view and Zendaya felt a familiar mix of nostalgia and apprehension as she drove through the gates.She parked her car near the fountain in the driveway, and she stepped out immediately, making her way to the front door.The housekeeper opened the door just as Zendaya knocked, and she offered her a polite smile. “Miss Zendaya, welcome. Your mother is up in her room,” she informed her and Zendaya nodded. “Thank you. What about my father and Levi? Aren't they home?”“No, ma’am. They left for the office in the morning, and they haven't come back.”Zendaya nodded and she heaved a sigh of relief. Somehow, the absence of her father made it easier to be there as she didn't want to accidentally spill why she was there. Her father was smart and would quickly catch on to the fact that something was wrong. Between Lucas’ unrelenting questions and his suspicious expression, it would be a recipe of disaster for her. Without wasting time, she headed to her mo
Jayden arrived at his family’s mansion, the weight of the situation settling over him as he drove past the gates. This was foolish, he thought to himself. He was an adult yet the thought of what the old man wanted to say to him made him nervous. His thoughts were muddled as he parked and approached the grand front door, his jaw tightening in as he prepared himself for what lay ahead.As soon as he stepped inside, a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.“Well, look who finally decided to show up,” Juliette sneered as she came to stand in front of him.Jayden sighed, dramatically as he rolled his eyes at his younger sister.“Not now, Dimwit.”“Oh, I think now is the perfect time,” Juliette humped. Her tone was dripping with mockery as she stepped closer, her eyes narrowing. “Tell me, Jayden, how does it feel knowing the police might come for you? I mean, you’ve always been the golden boy, haven’t you? Untouchable.”He rolled his eyes once again, stepping past her. “Move, Juliett
Zendaya froze as the weight of Jayden’s words sank in. Her chest tightened, and her breath hitched, coming in short gasps as she stared at him.No, it couldn’t be, she said to herself in denial as she shook her head.“The police were… at the mansion?” she managed to whisper, her voice trembling.Jayden nodded, his expression calm, as though it wasn’t a matter of his life on the line. “Yes, Lan said they were asking about Daniel’s death and looking for me. I’m guessing they found out about the fact that I went to see Daniel that night.”Zabelle's mind began to race. Images of officers storming the property, asking questions, and digging into their lives flashed through her head. The walls of the room seemed to close in around her, and her knees felt weak. She stumbled back a step, but Jayden held her firmly and she clutched onto his shirt for support.“Zendaya.” Jayden called out to her, but she barely heard him.Her breaths became faster, shallower, her chest heaving as panic gripp
Zendaya stepped out of her car after she had parked it and she began to make her way towards the mansion. Despite her initial irritation at Jayden's threats, seeing the place bustling with workers was a small relief at least he had allowed them into the mansion. Several vans were parked near the entrance, their logos reading "Zane Interior Designs." Inside, a group of designers and decorators moved around, inspecting walls, taking measurements, and unloading boxes of materials.She spared them only a passing glance despite their shock at seeing her there. However they quickly got over it as they continued to work. She wasn't worried about them spilling to the public as the contracts they’d signed included strict non-disclosure agreements so she was rest assured.Taking a deep breath, she began to make her way to Jayden’s room.Her heart pounded in her chest and there was a part of her which was excited that she was going to see him but the other part of her was still angry at him
The Next DayZendaya sat at a desk, staring blankly at the open script in front of her. It was the script for the new movie she was starring in and she was trying to rehearse for it.However, the words on the page blurred together, stubbornly refusing to make sense and it annoyed her as she usually had no problem in memorizing her linesHer phone sat face-up beside her laptop, silent, as it had been all morning.She hadn’t slept well. Between replaying their argument in her head and checking her phone more times than she cared to admit, she was running on two hours of restless sleep and a lot of caffeine.“Zendaya?” Anaya’s voice cut through the thoughts, and Zendaya looked up to find her friend leaning against her study doorway, her brow raised. “You okay? You look…” Anaya paused as though she was trying to find the right word to use.“Tired?” Zendaya offered dryly, trying to force a small smile.“Exhausted,” Anaya decided to settle for that. “What happened? I've never seen you lik
The lights in the bar were dim, the faint glow of a single bulb shining while Jayden sat a glass of scotch in his hand.Outside, the abandoned mansion lay silent.This place had always been his sanctuary, a reflection of the chaos he often kept buried inside. The fact that it was away from people always gave him peace.However, tonight was different, as the silence wasn’t enough to give him the peace it always gave him.Jayden’s phone buzzed against the wooden counter. He stared at it for a moment before picking it up. A message from Lan lit the screen.“Zendaya’s safe. She’s at Anaya’s place. All clear,” was what the text read.Jayden exhaled, his shoulders easing. He hadn’t realized how he had worried he’d been until now. Zendaya was safe. That was all that mattered.Even though he was mad at her, it didn't mean he would stop protecting her, which was why he had asked his men to keep an eye on her to make sure she was safe.Speaking of Zendaya, he opened their chat and his thumb ho
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