2. Oh, Oh! Looks like someone is in love.

Growing up, Zoya's father had always told her never to talk to strangers and she had just defiled that, heck, she had even done more than talking to a stranger, she had just kissed one and it didn't feel like she had expected it to, she loved every inch of it.

Even as she strutted back into the huge house, wet, unkept and cold, the smile and dreamy look on her face just couldn't be swept away.

"Young lady, where on earth are you coming from looking like something a cat dragged in?" Ava, her stepmother questioned, her hands akimbo.

Zoya sighed as she looked around the extravagant living room. "Not today, mom! I just had the best day of my entire life, don't ruin it, please."

"Don't even give me that. Your bodyguard said you ran away. Again. In a dangerous environment and even while the rain fell. Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? There could have been a creep wanting to kidnap, rape or worst, kill you!" Ava scolded while Zoya simply rolled her eyes at her outburst.

"Rape is worst than death, mom." She corrected.

She looked up to see her siblings, Zarah and Zion, a longtime friend of the family, Sami and then Ava staring at her like she just said pigs could fly.

"Really, Zoya? Really?" That's all you could pick?" Zarah eyed her profusely.

"What? I'm just saying. Plus it wouldn't be the first time I'd get kidnapped, would it? So what's the big deal?"

"Shouldn't that give you more reasons to be careful and obedient? And you left Sami waiting for you for hours!" Ava said.

"Oh please! It's not like I have any business with him, why should I even care? Look mom, I feel and look so filthy right now, I have to go take a shower before I catch a cold." Zoya said dismissively as she left for her room.

Zoya's room was like a wonderland for different kinds of books, quotes, poetry, art and photos. She loved taking photos a lot and had two cameras which made this quite easy for her. Her wall was plastered with different colors of photos and aesthetic poetry that gives the room a very vibrant feel. It was large and very bright. This was also her favourite part of the house because she gets to do whatever she wanted in there without being criticized or called a nerd except on some occasions.

Her room wasn't really like a typical female room, it was more like a library. With the very tall shelves inhabiting hundreds of novels and books, her furnitures and interiors were quite captivating as it was all white, the curtains, the walls, the king-sized bed frame and all.

Senses are all over when it comes to her room. It smelled like fresh vanilla because of the bowl of dried petals and shells that have been smothered with air freshener. It always felt warm in the morning because of the natural light that comes streaming in and in the afternoon it felt cold caused by the sun moving to the other side of the house.

Zoya took a pen and paper and began to do what she loved the most. Writing.

She smiled as she wrote, "His eyes... they are most unforgettable as I have never looked upon another human being who possessed eyes of his color. To say they are brown is to say the sky is simply colorful at sunset, accurate by not giving true description to their uniqueness. At first glance, you certainly see the beauty they behold, but once you gaze into them... you see everything differently... the coffee color is just the beginning as the etching of black and gold seem to intertwine around the edge of his iris. The colors mingle together cascading an array of different shades throughout his gaze. One look into them and you're lost- doomed for all eternity because no other eyes will ever compare..."

The paper was snatched from her grasp unexpectedly as she looked up to see her stepsister.

"Give that back!" She screamed as she jumped on her feet to tackle her sister who just kept running around the room and at the same time reading through the paper. After a while, she stopped and looked at Zoya with a teasing but confusing expression; "Oh oh! Looks like someone is in love. Wait, but, Sami has green eyes not brown?"

Zoya rolled her eyes as she mumbled, "Sami my foot" under her breath and tried to reach for the paper in her hands once again but only failed as Zarah stood on tiptoes and made it even more difficult for her to get it.

Zarah was a good one inch taller than her elder sister and she made sure to remind her sister of it at any given chance such as now.

Zoya groaned in frustration, "Ugh! You're such an annoying one, Zarah!"

"If I don't annoy you, who will?" Zarah joked.

"Well, there's Sami, Zion, mom and then there's dad too! What are you saying? I have a freaking list." Zoya retorted.

"Whatever. Mom told me to call you for dinner, Sami is still waiting if you care to know. You kept a very busy man waiting for hours just for you. You don't even know how lucky you are, dear sis."

Zoya scoffed, "Kindly define luck, Zarah. I think our definitions will definitely differ."

Zoya was about to draw out a chair to sit with her family at the dining table when Sami intervened and helped pull out the chair with a proud grin on his face like he had just done the most amazing thing ever. Zoya whispered a thank you before she sat down.

"A romantic and caring man right there. And to top it off, he's got it all going financially. You're such a blessed one, Zoya." Ava broke the silence on the table while Zoya threw a very harsh glare at her mom. She just couldn't understand what their obsessions were with matchmaking she and Sami, she didn't feel a tiny little thing for him and they weren't even close friends, she wasn't even sure that she could categorize him as a friend either.

"So how was the ghetto you went to? You've always been so attracted to anything peasant. You need to start watching out for yourself, you know. You're grown up now." Sami said and Zoya sighed.

She was once again reminded of why she never really liked the guy. To her, he was a pompous spoilt brat who thinks everyone lower than him were simply animals to be controlled. How she was the only one seeing this was what she couldn't understand. The man was clearly a disrespectful one. She decided to ignore him as she stood up from her chair, "Thank you for the meal, Aunt Maria. It was amazing as usual." She said to their long time maid and then to her parents, she said, "Mom, dad, I'd like to retire to my room." And then she left.

She hadn't spent up to forty minutes in her room when she started to hear her parents loud voices. She decided to go check out what was going on with them and then stopped in her tracks when she heard her name.

"Stop shouting, Ava! Do you want Zoya to hear about this?" Her father scolded.

"I don't care, William. You know how much we need their favors, we are almost bankrupt and they're the ones helping to keep this damn company standing, what's the big deal with getting him married to our daughter as he wants. I'm sure Zoya even looks forwards to this, what's not to like about Sami?" Ava whispered very loudly.

"I won't give up my daughter just to save the company. And I can't give Sami eighty percent rights to the company either. I do not trust both him and his father, you know how they're very involved in illegal businesses!" He countered adamantly.

"You talk like you have a choice here. When it all collapses and you loose the only opportunity you have to win this whole thing while you can, you'd see your children suffer than you can even take. That's all I can say."

Zoya covered her mouth to stop herself from making any noise as she tiptoed back into her room.

"Bankrupt? Marriage? What was happening?"