Chapter 45 Admitting to the Fact

Chapter 45 Admitting to the Fact
Amrah:

The screen lit up between us, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe until I felt Daphy holding my hand and giving it a squeeze.

It was me in that silk slip I had worn on the rooftop last month, straddling Zayd’s lap, his hand fisted in my hair as I kissed him like the world had already ended and this was the only thing left worth doing. The thirty-second video felt longer.

Whoever filmed it had angled it perfectly, with our faces clear and unmistakable. There was nothing to argue about.

“Oh my God,” I whispered, but it might as well have been screamed for how many heads turned.

Chris leaned in closer, peering at the screen like he needed a second look to believe it, and when he straightened, his face had arranged itself into something wounded and pitiful, like a betrayed man.

“How could you do that?” he said to Zayd, his voice cracking just enough to sound sincere. “You knew we had a thing going on. You knew it was genuine because I told you about it so many times.”

Zayd didn’t even blink.

“Do you believe your own words right now?”

Something ugly flickered across Chris’s face before he smoothed it back into hurt. But nobody else seemed to catch it.

They were all too busy leaning toward Jack, who had already turned his phone toward someone else, replaying the clip for a fresh audience like he was handing out favours.

“Show us too!”

Jack didn’t need to be asked twice. The video played again and again, my soft gasps carrying faintly from the video each time, and I wanted to disappear into the water below us.

The whispers started almost immediately.

“She was playing both of them.”

“No way, Zayd did that to his own friend.”

“Okay, but did you see that kiss? They looked insane together.”

“They actually make more sense than her and Chris ever did.”

Heat crawled up my neck, my ears, and my whole face as I couldn’t tell if I wanted to cry or scream or simply climb over the railing and probably drown myself in shame.

“Say something,” Chris said, turning back to me. “Tell them it’s not what it looks like.”

That pretence on his face made me feel so irritated. He thought he could just manipulate everyone against Zayd and me?

Well, I would play the villain then.

My mouth just opened, and everything spilled out before my brain could catch up.

“It was me,” I blurted without thinking any further.

“Amy!” Daphy realised what I was trying to do, but there was no stopping at this point.

“I kissed him on purpose to spite you, Chris.”

The whispering died down as everyone grew curious.

“You would ignore me for weeks at a time,” I said, and my voice wavered, but I forced it steady.

“Then you would disappear for your shoots, as you said, and come back like nothing happened, stringing me along whenever it suited you. Zayd was there. He showed up and listened. And somewhere in that, I…” My throat tightened.

“I started catching feelings for him. But it started because of you. Because I wanted you to notice and feel something.”

It wasn’t a lie, not entirely. It just wasn’t the whole truth either, and saying half of it out loud, in front of this many people, felt like handing over a piece of myself I hadn’t agreed to give.

The girl who had said Zayd and I looked good together tilted her head as if considering the whole thing.

“Honestly? I don’t blame her. If someone strung me along in secret and never made me a priority, I would probably do something drastic to get out too.”

“Excuse me?” Chris said, rounding on her.

“Yeah, Sandy, that is not enough of an excuse to do this,” Sally reprimanded, clearly siding with Chris, but Sandy ignored her.

“I’m serious. If someone made me feel like a backup option in my own relationship, I would probably go looking for an exit too. That’s not a crime; that’s just… human.”

A murmur of agreement caused Chris’s face to stiffen, and for once, he didn’t have a rehearsed answer ready.

That’s when Bruno pushed through, raising his hands.

“Alright, show is over, everyone. We have docked. Let’s go get some rest in the cabin.”

He caught my eye for half a second, something gentle and apologetic in it, before he turned back to the crowd and started herding people toward the gangplank like nothing had happened at all.

I was so grateful for that as I pulled Daphy towards the gangplank. I needed to leave as soon as I could.

“Amy, are you okay?”

“I’m—”

That was a lie.

“Zayd is behind us.”

I knew that because I could hear his footsteps the whole way down the corridor to our room in the cabin, and I didn’t stop him or tell him to go away because I didn’t trust my voice not to crack the second I opened my mouth again.

“Can I have a moment with her?” he said as soon as we arrived at the door.

Daphy didn’t think twice before letting go of my hand, leaving me in shock.

“Daphy…”

“You two need to sort it out. I’ll be with Sandy.”

The second the door shut behind her, he moved.

My back hit the wood, his palms flat against the door on either side of my head, caging me in completely, and the air between us grew heavy.

I was feeling different emotions at once, from the mortification of what had just happened still burning under my skin to the anger at Chris and at myself.

But underneath all of it, something in me badly wanted to reach up and pull Zayd down by the collar. My hand actually twitched at my side, caught between the urge to shove him back and the urge to grab fistfuls of his shirt, bury myself in his arms, and never let go.

“Did you really mean it?” Zayd said quietly, his lips barely an inch from mine. “That you got close to me to spite Chris?”

My heart was slamming so hard I was sure he could feel it through the small space between us.

“I…” My voice came out thinner than I wanted. “I don’t know why you’re asking me that right now.”

“Because I need to hear it from you. Not for them out there.” His eyes searched mine, and there was something raw in them, not that composed steadiness. It was just him, waiting for my answer.

“Was that it? Was I just a way to hurt Chris?”

“Zayd, I… Yes.”

The door handle rattled behind us.

Author’s little desk:

Hi my lovely readers, I just hit a milestone in Amrah and Zayd’s journey and I think it is a perfect time to ask about your thoughts about the book so far. I would really love to see your feedback ;)