Zayde's POVIt's been a week since I saw Ariana and since I helped her with her recent scandal which was already eating deep into her. Fighting for Ariana reminded me why I loved her. It also reminded me of how much I had lost and I didn’t know which one hurt more.I wanted to get her back. You might think I'm selfish but I just need the woman I loved the most before Isabella entered my life. But, she wasn't seeing it. She wasn't seeing her much I loved her. And the worst part? She was trying her best to make sure she did things without involving me. Yes, I'm desperate. Call me any name you want to because I can't stand her loving someone else. My heart won't be able to withstand it. I had burned every accusation against her to the ground. Every fabricated lie her rival had spread, I crushed them, leaving them no room to recover. The press conference had been brutal, but I walked out of it victorious.But Ariana?She didn’t say a word to me.There was no gratitude. No acknowledg
ArianaI hated that I felt safe with Zayde. I hated that after everything, he still had this power over me. He still had the ability to make me feel like I wasn’t completely alone in the world.But I couldn’t deny it, he did. He has that long lasting effect on me. I'm sorry, Ariana. But, I thought you have gotten over him already. What the hell is happening?Even now, after everything that had happened between us, after all the secrets he hid from me and how I was bluntly betrayed by him and his family. Here I was, standing at the edge of a business crisis, and he was the one offering his help. He was the one who made me feel like I wasn’t doomed to fail.I told myself I should push him away. I should resist. I should hate him for even offering. But instead, I couldn’t. Every time I saw him, a part of me still wanted him, still wanted his protection, his attention, his presence in my life, even though it made everything more complicated.Maybe getting a new boyfriend in my life wi
ArianaThat was fast! We rushed down the hallway and the sound of our footsteps kept slapping against my ears. I could feel Zayde’s presence beside me. He was always there, always so close and I couldn't escape again. His energy seemed to press against me in a way I couldn’t deny. It was maddening and at the same time, It was comforting. It was everything I both wanted and hated.When we reached the elevator, I noticed that Zayde was still watching me. "Are you sure you are okay? You can let me know if you need anything, sweetheart," he said and I hissed.I turned to face him, fighting the urge to take a step back. "I’m fine," I said, the words coming out a little too sharp, a little too quick. "You don’t have to keep asking me all these. If I need anything, you will know. It's making me sick already.He didn’t respond right away, but I could see the way he looked so concerned about me. I am a grown up, sorry Zayde and I know how to fend for myself. "I know you’re not fine,"
Zayde's POVJust like that? No other word came out of her lips?I acted so surprised, as if she didn’t normally do this.But I wished. I just wished that things had been the same. That she would have said goodbye at least.I wasn’t a stranger. I wasn’t the type of stranger she was trying to get rid of.Fine. I had accepted that she was not hiding the way she felt about me.Ariana walked away from me, and I was left standing there, watching her do nothing while the heat from her lips still burned mine.I didn’t know how to make sense of what had just happened, how everything had shifted so quickly from anger to desire, and then… nothing.Like nothing had happened within the last few minutes.I should have stopped it before it went too far. I should have stepped back when she said it was over when she pulled away from me.But I didn’t. Instead, I let her kiss me, I let her make me believe that maybe, just maybe, we could fix whatever we were.But I felt like I was demanding too much. Sh
Ariana pov I got to find out that Zayde was in the same country as I am!!!This was very diabolical!After walking out on him that day, the next call I expected was that he was back to work. But, that was not the case. This dude fucking followed me. I thought I had finally found some control in my life. After everything that had happened, I believed I could go through the storm without being dragged all over. A few days away on a business trip, followed by a quick vacation to clear my head was just what I needed.The first day of me being alone made me breathe in a lot of fresh air. And I thought maybe, just maybe, I could start over. I was sitting in my hotel room, scrolling through some emails and drinking some orange juice when my phone buzzed on the nightstand. It was a message from a random number but I didn’t recognize it. Lately, I have been having a lot of random numbers message me and it was not looking funny anymore. I hesitated for only a second before I opened i
Ariana“A hotel nereby,” I repeatedly said before moving to the right direction with the help of the map on my phone. I reached the hotel building in no time and my heart began to race. My palms on the other hand began to get sweaty and clammy. The elevator ride felt like so long because he was on the last floor When, the doors opened, I knocked and he ushered me in. “Zayde?” I called his name softly because of how quiet the room was. There was no answer, but I could hear the faint sounds of movement from within the room. He was the first person I had expected to see when I entered but that wasn't the case now. I held my breath as I slowly moved deeper into the apartment.Then, I saw him standing in the kitchen with his back turned to me.The moment he heard me, he turned around and his face went pale as he saw me standing there.That was so unusual. Zayde was already excited to see me. “Ariana...” He said and his voice was strained, almost apologetic, but I couldn’t find it i
Ariana“I'm sorry, Gabriel but we can't,” I answered and he I don't want to see Gabriel now and I was going to tell him that I was out of town. “What do you mean we can't, Ariana? Can you please tell me what I did wrong? Because you aren't making me feel any better,” he said to me and I almost ignored him. “I will call you back, Gabriel. Just remember that I'm not angry at you. I just have a lot I'm handling currently,” I said and hung up when I heard the bell ring out. I went outside to check who it was, especially now that I wasn't expecting any visitors. To my greatest surprise, there was a document at my doorstep in a sleek black envelope and it was unsigned. Inside, I found the purchase contract for my company which was already signed. The only name missing was mine.At first, I thought it’s from one of my rivals, Damian Cross, the businessman who has been circling around me like he didn't have any other serious business. But then I recognize the other name on the contrac
ArianaI took the next available flight back to my state and town. It was an impromptu decision but I found myself grabbing my gadgets and all my bags when I discovered that the situation I was in needed my presence. And I wanted to meet Gabriel. ***I was back to my state and work resumed immediately. I had barely enjoyed my vacation and I was beginning to regret it. I shouldn't have gone out in the first place. I would have remained here if I knew I was still going to go through a lot of trouble over there. And one good thing? I didn't inform Zayde when I was leaving. I had just come out of the boardroom when I saw him. The man I had expected to run into today. Finally! Gabriel! He was leaning against the wall and he looked pretty good compared to the last time I saw him. His eyes locked on me the second I stepped into the corridor and I began to feel a little shy around him. The tension and energy between us had been suffocating lately, and I didn't know how to deal with i
Zayde's pov "You should have stayed away, Isabella. I never had good intentions for you. Now, you are going to meet your end by coming to see me.”I said the words calmly, too calmly, considering what I was about to do. I was going to destroy her and put an end to this nonsense since she thought she could run back to me like a child running back to his mother. I was not in the mood for that. I didn't like her a bit. I hated her so I was going to eliminate her before she goes around causing trouble for me. Surprisingly, my mother has not called me. She used to be the first person who called me when there were issues between Isabella and I. But, now. I didn't receive anything like that. Maybe Isabella forgot to tell her this time around. She was such an idiot! A fool who thought she was very smart. But I was about to show her now that she was far from that. Isabella stood in front of me, completely unfazed, like she had already won everything. Like she knew no matter what, she h
Isabella After I was kicked out by Ariana, I went back to my room and cried my eyes out. I was not crying my eyes out because she sent me out of her office but because it was clear that I could no longer manipulate her to do my biddings. As if that was not enough, my conscience began to prick me hard simply because I haven't heard anything from Zayde. I knew we were done and I was trying to move on but I couldn't help myself any longer. I had to call him and hear that heartbreaking word from him one more time. “Isabella, you called? Don't expect me to ask you the reason for the call?” He asked over the phone and I wiped my tears with the back of my palm. "You don’t love me anymore, do you? I'm sorry that I'm disturbing you with my calls but my mind has not been at rest ever since we stopped talking,” I said to him and the words slipped out of my mouth very neatly. I wished I could hit my head on the wall because I already knew the answer to the questions I just asked. I just
IsabellaI was not happy for her and I could never be. Yes, my heart was still hurting from everything I had passed through because Ariana existed. I wish she didn't. It's been weeks since Zayde left me and I have been trying to move on. I have been to bars to drink my heart out and I have also had one night stands with men I knew not. Don't be too quick to judge me. I was just a young lady suffering from heartbreak who thought doing this would fix me. But, it didn't. It only made things worse for me. I had lost my looks, my spark and even the weight I had tried my best to gain. "She really thinks she’s better than me! I guess she must be laughing at me right now in her head!” I lamented and I knew I sounded so bitter. My fingers gripped the phone tighter as I stared at the breaking news on my screen.“No way! This shouldn't be happening. I had destroyed her life. I had wrecked her to the extent that she would never be able to get her feet back for a long time. How could this h
ZaydeAriana and I had been getting really along because of what happened between her and Gabriel. She promised me that she was not going to meet with him again and I told her to cut ties with him. In my presence, she blocked his number and deleted everything about him. It was a welcome development even though I knew that I might not have a chance with her. I loved her so much but yet, I couldn't remind her of that everytime. I had to make sure she sees it in my actions. We decided to go to a library to relax and read a few books since that was what she wanted. My mind was not fixed on the book we were meant to read because I wanted to talk to her about us. "Have you ever had a moment so perfect you almost think it's a setup?" I asked her, trying to strike a conversation and Ariana turned to me with her eyes narrowed and her lips curled in suspicion. “What are you talking about?" She asked and I cleared my throat. I wanted her to be able to hear me and pause to listen to all
Gabriel“The mistake you two made was calling the cops on me!” I yelled at them, not scared of what was going on. I already had a lot of things in place. I was going to outsmart them and there is nothing they can do about it. What do they take me for? A criminal? Just because a girl who I was in love with made me mad?I sat back in my chair, watching the swarm of cops flood in with their guns drawn out. They were all barking orders like wild dogs but I couldn't blame them. They were doing their job. My wrists were already cuffed, but I barely felt the metal against my skin because I wasn’t worried. Not even a little.One of the officers, an ugly square-jawed, no-nonsense man stepped forward. "Gabriel, you are under arrest for…” he tried to speak but I laughed out loud. Idiot! Who said I wanted to listen to him? "Oh, spare me the script. We both know how this goes. You slap on the cuffs on me, drag me out, parade me in front of cameras like you had caught a criminal. But the rea
Zayde’s POVI was halfway home when I checked my phone again, expecting a reply from Ariana but I got nothing from her. She hadn’t responded to my last message, and she always texts back quickly even if she is angry at me. The least she could send was a rather short reply .Something about it made me feel very concerned. I got to thinking that something was off somewhere. Her silence for over an hour was something I could question. I frowned, pulling over to the side of the road. My fingers moved quickly, opening our shared location app.The location showed that she was at Gabriel's office but that was not what she told me earlier when we spoke briefly. She had mentioned that she would be at her office for a short while if it was too late for her to still be working. Then, why on earth was the location map showing that she was at Gabriel's office?Something was not adding up. A bad feeling curled in my gut even though I didn't want to think about it too much. None of this was
Ariana’s POV I had no idea how I got into this small dark room but I knew that Gabriel was also with me in here "You really thought you could outsmart me, didn’t you?" He asked and he sounded so dangerous. His voice made my skin crawl and I struggled against the ropes tied around my wrists. The ropes were too tight and I wish I could get them out by pushing too hard. My heart pounded as I scanned the room. There were no windows. There was also no easy way out. It was just me and him. "I swear to God, Gabriel, if you don’t untie me right now…" I blurted out. My eyes were almost falling out of my socket as I tried hard to push my body against the wall. "You will what? Tell me, what the hell are you going to do?” He asked with a smirk on his face. I wished he was as tense as I was but no, he looked too calm and was at ease, like he hadn’t just kidnapped me and shoved me into some dark, empty office space. "You’re insane. Heaven helps you if I don't get out of this place a
Ariana’s POV"You have no choice, Ariana. You either come back to me, or your mother pays the price."Gabriel’s words still kept echoing in my head like a death sentence and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I knew that he was not joking after he said such a thing to me.I had now convinced myself that Gabriel was a psycho who wasn't capable of loving. My hands trembled as I gripped my phone, rereading the message over and over. The evidence he claimed to have, the threat he had so casually thrown at me was all real and I could feel it.He couldn't possibly be joking about something like this. I stood in my apartment, resting my head on the wall. My mother had her faults, but she didn’t deserve to have her name dragged through the mud. And the child... my child.His damn child too…no, no. Gabriel was heartless. I pressed a hand against my stomach, and my tongue tasted so bitter. How had I let it come to this? How had I become so trapped here?I couldn’t go to Zayde. No, I ca
Gabriel’s POVI was guilty as charged. I was not just a man who was in love. I was a stalker and I made sure I monitored wherever Zayde and Ariana where going. It had become a daily routine for me. I had not seen myself taking my eyes off my phone. After the last encounter with the both of them, I was very humiliated. Zayde punched me so hard and I couldn't fight back. When I got home, I slapped myself countless times for allowing myself to get beaten up by Zayde in front of Ariana. Why couldn't I fight or defend myself? I thought I had taken taekwondo classes the other year. Yet, he keeps beating me anytime we fight. I think I might have forgotten why wee were rivals. Zayde seemed to be ahead of me in most areas and I didn't want that. You think you have won, Zayde? You have no idea what is coming. I'm preparing something that will come to you as a shocker. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, rolling my jaw. The bastard got a good hit in, I had give him that. But