Their conversation did not take place very far away from where Zayn was, which meant every line they uttered was within earshot. He heard everything as clear as a bell.He could not stop his lips from curling into a pleased smile. Ruby had disparaged and griped about him at every opportunity she had over the years that when it finally transformed into gushing awe, Zayn could not help but feel very gratified.Faye bit her lips and sniped a glance at Zayn before striding out of the door.If she were being honest, Faye knew she was being crass. Her personal conflicts aside, she admitted that Zayn had helped them out. And the fact that she left without saying thanks… Well, she seemed like a thankless boor.Problem was, she could not possibly regard Zayn as though they were just two people having a normal interaction anymore—not when Zayn had become so exceptional!The only thing she could do now was to leave his physical vicinity as quickly as she could to salvage her fast-fleeing cal
Faye was infuriated. “What nonsense are you prattling about again?! You know the two of us have been sleeping in separate beds this whole time! He’s never even laid a finger on me before, let alone sleep with me. Honestly, the two of us were never a functional couple. He didn’t have an ounce due to pay!”Her seething retort managed to render Ruby speechless for a while, but her bitterness over what she lost in Zayn quickly reloaded the words back into her mouth. “Honestly? You’re also one to blame here. I can’t believe that after so many years, you’ve never consummated your marriage until it’s over! You were a terrible wife, you know that?”Her words poured so much fuel to Faye’s rage that she actually laughed. “Oh, now it’s my fault for keeping myself clean, huh? Since the very first night he’s joined the family, you’ve been nagging and demanding and belting out this ceaseless litany about keeping Zayn at bay from me. And now you’re complaining about us not consummating our marriage
Zayn smiled briefly without a word. After wiping away his sweat and stopping his training, he walked to the balcony with Mr. Hyde in tow, allowing the breeze to cool him off. “I managed to defeat Zidane while I was with the Larsons. My revenge has been exacted.”“Heard of it, yes,” Mr. Hyde replied with a nod, his voice laced with admiration and awe.When the news of it had gotten to him, it took My. Hyde like a jolt. He knew how powerful the family was; he might be the King of the Underworld, but next to the family, he meant as much as a common goon. The family would have easily crushed him under their boot. Zidane, especially, was the crown jewel out of a pile of dirty rubble, yet Zayn threw himself right into the giant’s maw, all alone and without help. In spite of it all, he beat them into submission. He gave all of them a lesson like it was nothing!Honestly, Mr. Hyde had found it almost impossible to believe when he heard it.Zayn paused in mid-conversation and looked far int
Mr. Hyde admitted to it, though it did puzzle him: how did Zayn know? He might have been Hayley King’s inferior, but he had always managed to conceal his real identity. The secret was so airtight, not a single member of the Larson family had known about it—not even the late Connor Larson.Until now, when Zayn found out about it somehow. It really brought questions of whether Mr. Hyde had become a little sloppy in preventing little slip-ups.Zayn gave a drawn-out sigh. “I can’t believe you really are one of my mother’s people. Honestly, this is a bolt out of the blue. So… I guess my mom’s marriage into the Larson family was never innocent?”Mr. Hyde read Zayn’s expression and realized that the young man never found any evidence of his connection with the latter’s mother—he was merely accusing out of suspicion. Had Mr. Hyde clenched his teeth and denied Zayn’s allegation, the young man would probably discard his hunch altogether. Mr. Hyde’s admission basically sold himself out.“You
“Answer me, goddamn it!” Zayn snarled, enunciating every word as if his voice was a pounding hammer as he drilled his eyes through Mr. Hyde. Rage was starting to redden his face, and the bloody capillaries crawling at the periphery of his eyes were pulsating dangerously.Mr. Hyde could feel the inferno in the young man’s heart, roaring and threatening to burn everything around him like an active volcano close to eruption. As important a figure as he was, even Mr. Hyde felt fear burbling under his skin as he faced the threat of Zayn’s rage.Still, he answered through clenched teeth, “I don’t know—”That was all it took for Zayn to hurl a punch straight towards Mr. Hyde’s guts.The force was so strong that the poor older man thought he had been hit by a car. He was thrown back, flying through the air backwards in a downward arc, until finally, the floor mercilessly broke his fall.Mr. Hyde had always been good at taking hits, but Zayn’s attack was so crushing that a pained yelp esca
Mr. Hyde stopped himself.The uncanny silence enveloped the spacious gym eagerly at the void Mr. Hyde left behind. Everyone else had left; there were only the two of them.There was no trace of emotion on Zayn’s face. His eyelids shut quietly, his body motionless. He was as unmoving as a man fallen asleep; Mr. Hyde was standing right before him, and still he could not detect any kind of emotional turbulence from Zayn.Time stretched between them. Seconds turned to minutes, and yet Zayn remained in his odd suspension of motions. Had it not been his breathing, Mr. Hyde would have wondered if the man was already asleep.It was only when two faint trails of tears trickled from the corner of his eyes when the older man realized he had been awake. Opening his eyes, Zayn asked, “How… How is she doing now?”Mr. Hyde nodded. “She’s stripped off her freedom, I suppose, but she’s fine otherwise.”There was another drawn-out pause between them before Zayn spoke again. “Is she happy?”Mr. Hy
Prior to this sky-shattering revelation, Zayn would have never thought the truth would be something like this.Sicut In Caelum…Zayn could not help but to roll the name of his tongue once more. Right now, there was nothing he wanted more than to find this organization!He did exactly that, calling all information brokers he currently knew to ask about the organization. To his dismay though, nothing came up. No one knew a single thing about it—no inkling, nothing.It was as he had predicted, though. Lil Hyde would not have been so forthcoming in his answers if his search would be this easy. Besides, Zayn had a hunch that he was going to face this organization very soon in the future—if they managed to locate his mother, then they must already know about him.In fact, Sicut In Caelum might have already begun watching his every move and action. Everything might already be in their line of sight!And if he was being honest—God, the feeling of being watched was pissing him off.At th
“The chairman’s here. Perk up, all of you! If you manage to sweet-talk him, you’ll have it made for the rest of your years. You’d be the talk of the town with your name on everyone’s lips. You could be living the high life, do you understand?!” Peter spurred them on.The starlets’ eyes sparkled and their hearts raced with excitement. They were eager to throw themselves at Zayn and pull out all the tricks they had to win him over.Annabelle was one of them as well. Anxious and excited, she recalled Zayn’s face. She was one of the golden girls in show business who was not involved in any scandals. It did not mean she was uninterested in men or that she did not want someone to depend on. She had worked in the industry for years and knew how complicated it was. If not for her talent, she would have faced the casting couch countless times!Annabelle was well aware that this did not mean she could protect herself forever. When her popularity declined, there would be people waiting to take