Chapter 31 The Reciprocation
Zephyra stares at Caleb's texts.
Felix desires to meet. Says he has facts about the person who actually orchestrated the whole thing.
"No." Kairo's voice is stern. "Definitely not now."
"He violated the non-touch order." She reads the message once more. "Sent flowers. A letter. He is desperate."
"He is manipulating you. again."
"Perhaps." She sets down the telephone. "Or perhaps he's telling the truth. Robert stated there has been someone else. Someone pulling strings."
Kairo stands. Paces. "You do not owe him anything. Not your time. Not your attention. Not anything."
"I know." She does understand. "But what if there is someone else available? Someone who helped Felix ruin me? Don't I deserve to know?"
He stops pacing. Look at her. "You're going to meet him."
"I have to."
"Then I am coming with you."
"Kairo—"
"Non-negotiable." His jaw is set. Stubborn. "In case you're taking walks into that snake's den, I am right beside you."
She stands. Crosses to him. Takes his face in her arms.
"Thank you." She whispers. "For continually showing up. For protecting me. For being here."
His eyes melt. "Always."
Then something shifts in his expression. Something susceptible. Uncooked.
"Say it again." His voice breaks.
"What?"
"What you said before. On the sofa." His eyes fill with tears. "Please."
Her heart clenches. "I really love you."
The tears spill over. "You haven't any idea how long I've waited to listen to that."
"How long?"
"He laughs wetly. "When you stood there defending your work. So fierce. So brilliant. I knew then."
"Knew what?"
"That I was absolutely in love with you." He wipes his eyes. "And that I would wait for the time it will take for you to love me back."
She kisses him. Pours the entirety into it.
He lifts her. Carries her to the bedroom.
This time is unique.
No performance. Not proving something. No ghosts between them.
His arms shake as he undresses her. Like she's something valuable.
"I love you." He whispers against her skin. "I love you. I love you."
When they move together, it's not rushed. It's certain. Inevitable. Right.
She cries. He cries. They snort through the tears.
In a while, they lie tangled together.
"Felix represented the fable." She says into the darkness. "The concept of affection. Beautiful however untouchable."
Kairo's palms trace patterns on her back.
"You are reality." She continues. "Messy. Complex. Difficult sometimes. But real.”
"And you picked reality?"
"Every single day." She lifts her head. "Felix was easy to love when it was perfect. You're hard to love because it's real. And I choose the hard, real thing every time."
He kisses her. "I pick you out too. Each day. For all time."
They speak for hours. About everything .About nothing.
By dawn, they finally go to sleep.
The first morning as jointly confessed lovers.
Zephyra wakes to daylight and tender kisses.
"Good morning." His voice is tough with sleep.
"Good morning." She turns to face him.
"What?" He smiles.
"Just memorizing this moment." She touches his jaw. "The first morning of the rest of our lives."
"Dramatic."
"You adore it."
"I love you."
They make breakfast together. Kairo cooks. Zephyra steals bites.
They eat in bed. Feeding each moment. giggling.
"So this is what it's like." She says.
"What?"
"Being actually happy."
He sets down his fork. Cups her face.
"Get used to it." He kisses her deeply. "Because I am going to make you happy every day for the rest of your existence."
They spend the whole day inside the penthouse.
No work. No duties. Simply them.
They dance without music. Take a bathtub together. Prepare dinner and make a mess.
Night unearths them at the balcony. Wrapped in a blanket.
"I want this all the time." Zephyra whispers.
"You have got it." Kairo pulls her closer. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise?"
"Promise. You are caught with me now."
She laughs. "true."
Her cellphone buzzes inside.
A couple of messages from Percy.
"Felix has been banned from the fashion industry. Completely blacklisted. His popularity is destroyed."
She needs to experience something positive. As an alternative, she feels nothing.
Some other text: "Also, Isabelle Castellane desires to meet with you. The next day. Paris."
Zephyra's blood runs bloodless.
Isabelle Castellane. The most effective woman in fashion. Editor-in-leader of vogue Paris.
The girl who makes and breaks careers with one word.
She calls Percy right away.
"Why does Isabelle want to meet?"
"She failed to say." Percy sounds excited. Fearful. "But people do not get conferences with Isabelle unless she desires something. And while she needs something, careers change all the time."
After hanging up, Zephyra stares at nothing.
"What is it?" Kairo asks.
"Isabelle Castellane wants to meet me. In Paris. The next day."
His expression darkens. "That is no longer a coincidence."
"No." Her stomach twists. "It is not."
"You suspect she's linked to all this?"
"I do not know." Zephyra remembers Robert's testimony. Laurent's journals. The unnamed individual. "However, the timing is simply too ideal. Felix gets destroyed. And abruptly the most effective female in fashion desires to meet?"
"What if she's the one?" Kairo's voice is low. "The person that clearly orchestrated the whole lot?"
The thought makes her sick.
"Then I need to understand." She stands. "I want to face her."
"We." He corrects. "We want to stand her."
She nods. Thank you. Terrified.
Her phone buzzes again. Unknown number.
She shouldn't answer. Knows she shouldn't.
Answers anyway.
"Zephyra." Felix's voice. Weak. Desperate. "Please. Don't visit Paris. Don't meet with Isabelle."
"How do you know about it—"
"She's risky." He cuts her off. "More risky than Laurent ever became. She's the one who created the whole plan. I used to be just a pawn. Please. Do not cross."
The line goes dead.
Zephyra's arms shake.
Kairo takes the smartphone. "What did he say?"
"Isabelle orchestrated everything. That she's dangerous." Her voice is whole. "He begged me not to go."
Silence fills the penthouse.
"Do you consider him?" Kairo asks carefully.
"I don't know what to believe anymore." She looks at him. "However, I need to go. I need to know the truth."
"Then we go together."
She nods.
The following day they fly to Paris.
The next day she meets Isabelle Castellane.
Tomorrow she learns who definitely destroyed her lifestyle.
But if Felix is telling the truth, and Isabelle is the mastermind behind everything, what does the most powerful woman in fashion want with her now?