Chapter 112 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE: THE CAGE
ZARA
“Hello?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but the sound of my heart beating filled my ear. I couldn't stop the scenes of me being dead in cold blood from popping into my mind.
“Zara?” This time, his voice was worried and breathless.
I heard the movement in his background, and my head swayed gently.
“Help, please," I managed to squeeze out.
“What is going on, Zara? Don't worry, I'll be there in three hours," he said.
I wanted to ask how, but I couldn't. The journey from New York to London was at least seven hours with all the board arrangements and all, but I wanted to hold onto the last bit of hope, so I nodded.
“My men would be stationed all around; stay in the room."
He sounded nothing like the sweet Michael I had fallen in love with. He was now all action, the commanding CEO who got things done without any stress.
When the call went off, I was alone in the room, still clutching the rose and note in one hand while my phone's cold case was pressing into my palm.
“Zara?” Ethan’s voice startled me back to reality from the door.
I slowly walked to the door, knowing I was not supposed to open it for him, but unable to stop myself. I hated the feeling of being alone, and maybe some company wouldn't hurt.
I pulled my robe over my body and opened the door. His eyes ran over my body and then back to my face.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“How did you know that something happened?” I asked because we had separate rooms in the hotel, and the walls were soundproof.
“The security doubled; I knew it could only be your husband’s doing, so I figured," he explained.
I had no reason to doubt Ethan, and his explanation checked out. I sighed and stepped out of the way, allowing him to come in.
“Are you okay? I am worried."
“No need," I dismissed and shook my head. I showed him the rose and the note.
“Zara, let's go to the police…”
‘And blow this out of control?'
“And you think Aiden is going to be able to do something about this?” He asked, his voice getting agitated.
“I don't know what Aiden can do; all I know is that I can't."
Going to the station felt like the logical thing to do, but somewhere in my mind, I had to wait because Aiden asked me to. I wanted to meet him here when he got here.
Etahn let out a shaky breath and took out his phone, tapping furiously on it. “I have my men canvassing the area; we might find something," he said, making himself at home on the couch.
“If you don't mind, I want to change," I said, going to the closet.
Instead of my nightdress, as I originally planned, I slipped into a flowy dress that was breezy enough to run in in case anything happened.
“You can sleep; I will be here."
I shook my head, knowing that sleeping was not an option. My mind would keep on creating scenarios that never happened if I dared close my eyes.
“We should work instead," I proposed just so I could keep my mind busy. He garnered it, probably seeing how much I needed the distraction.
My eyes kept going to the clock at intervals because I was checking to see if he would be on time as he predicted.
Five hours after his first call, a knock and his frantic voice cut through the silence of the hallway.
“Zara?”
I got off the couch where we had sat all night working. Ethan shot me a confused look, but I walked to the door, almost sprinting, and pulled it open.
He pushed into the room, hands on my shoulders, inspecting every part of me like a crazed man. While muttering questions, I barely had the time to understand, much less answer.
“I am fine," I finally said, stopping his frantic search.
When our eyes met, I did the only thing my brain told me to do, which was walk into his hands and wrap my hand around him.
I had thought the next time I saw him, I was going to slap him across the face; I didn't know I would be craving his comfort this much.
“You are safe now," he said, rubbing my hair gently. “I got you."
"This hug doesn't mean that I have forgiven you," I murmured into his chest, stopping myself from breaking down in tears with him.
“I know Zara. I know that every well," he replied, and we both fell into comfortable silence.
I had no idea how long we stood there, but we finally pulled away when Ethan cleared his throat behind us.
“You came," he said with his nose up in the air.
“I had to; my wife was in danger."
I had pulled away, but Aiden didn't let me take a step away from him. His hands are still on my shoulders in the most protective stance.
“If you had put your affairs in order in the first place, this wouldn't have happened," Ethan accused.
Aiden scoffed, ready to charge at him, but I managed to stop him with my body.
“Thank you so much for taking care of her, but your assistance here is no longer needed," Aiden threw in angrily. The way his jaw clenched made my stomach twirl and at the same time sent shivers down my spine.
"The Knight group would be taking over permanently."
Ethan wanted to argue, but it was like a silent rule. We all knew arguing now was useless because Aiden was obviously speaking from a place of anger. I was going to let this blow over, and then we could discuss it later.
“Please leave."
Ethan looked to me for permission, and when I didn't refuse, he picked up his jacket and walked toward the door. He stopped and turned to me.
“Zara, I am just a phone call away. Call me if you need anything." His emphasis on the "anything" managed to piss Aiden off more.
When the door closed, I finally pulled away from Aiden as well. “You can leave; I can manage on my own."
“Leave?” he scoffed like I was crazy to have suggested that he do such a thing. “And allow Rylan to come back in here and hurt you? Of course not.
“I will stay on the couch, and you can take the bed," he said, moving to the couch, taking off his jacket and setting it down beside him.
It was in that moment that I noticed how tired he looked. The edges of his beard were overgrown, and eye bags took over the under of his eyes. It was almost as if he had been pushing himself.
"Aiden…"
“I am not compromising," he said, not looking at me once.
I moved to the bed and lay down, knowing it was useless to argue with him. We both lay down in the silence of the room, and the moonlight was already turning somehow to dawn.
“Zara, I'm sorry," he murmured when I was already falling into sleep mode.
“This is my fault; I should have been more careful," he added.
“Did you come because you thought this was your fault?” I asked my trait, feeling hot from the words.
“Of course not, Zara. I don't mind if you hate me for the rest of our lives, but I would be terrified if I ever lost you."
As I dozed off, I heard him whisper gently. “Zara, I love you."
And though it felt like I was back in the cage, I was realising that I’ve never been more terrified of how much I still want him to stay.