Chapter 43 The Heart Wants What It Wants

Chapter 43 The Heart Wants What It Wants

Sloane’s POV

Gemma was gone as quickly as she came, vanishing through the Beverly Hills crowd like a woman on a mission.

I, on the other hand, was terrified. I sat in the cafe, looking like a fool.

All through our academic journey, she had tried to sabotage my research not once, not twice, but thrice. This was the third time.

One during our undergrad days, another during the days of our Masters and the third one being this current one.

Inhaling sharply, I ordered for a ride very quickly and as soon as the Uber got there, I hopped in.

He dropped me right in front of the mansion and I rushed in like something was missing and I had to go find it.

I shut the massive front door to the living room, pressing my back against the door.

My hands began to tremble like crazy and my whole body began to spasm. My heart was beating fast and for the life of me, I could not figure out what the fuck was going on.

Shivers wracked up my spine and in no time, tears started to fall down my eyes.

It seemed like a safe space for me to cry the way I wanted to. The whole house was quiet. Maybe Malik went to see this person that he and she went way back.

Anita.

He was literally customizing a whole car for her.

God, I did not even want to think about it, but sadly, it kept happening and the tears just kept falling down my eyes.

Lately, I had become damn too sensitive for my own liking. I knew that at some point in this arrangement, I was going to break down, but it was just a matter of when.

Right now, I was caught up in a crossfire.

Ten minutes after sobbing like a literal baby, I pulled myself together and got up.

Now what?

End this fake relationship with Malik because Gemma was out to sabotage this deal?

This was all I had ever wanted.

I had spent ten years working for this. Two months to the end of it, I was supposed to call it off?

Never.

Maybe it was time to actually ask for help instead of bottling it all up.

Getting up, I took three steps into the grand foyer.

“Jesus Christ!” I screamed out loudly, stopping in my tracks at the sight that greeted me.

“What is it?” Malik asked curtly, a smile playing on his lips.

“I-I-I….” Fuck me! “I did not expect to see you here. I thought you were…”

“You thought I was where?”

“I thought you were with her.” I confessed. Jealously reeked from my voice even though there was no reason for me to be.

He wasn’t mine.

He was sitting on the low edge of the dark wooden billiard table, his healing leg extended straight out. His crutches were resting beside him and he had a glass of liquid balanced on his thigh.

“Are you drinking again?”

He rolled his eyes.

“Oh please, mum. It’s literally fruit wine. Do you want to taste it?” He asked.

“No, I just wanted to make sure.”

“What’s up? I did not expect you to return so quickly? You dressed up like you were going to have so much fun. What changed?” He asked me and I could not hide the look of shock on my face.

Now, he was watching me.

“I need your help.” I confessed.

I hated asking for help. Worse of all, I hated asking for help from him.

He would rub it in my face for the rest of our time together.

“Wow.” He smiled, shaking his head in disbelief as though he could not believe those words were coming from my mouth.

“It’s now Dr. Sloane needs my help and not the other way around? I never thought that this day would come.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes this time around.

“Oh please.” I muttered.

“Go ahead and tell me what the matter is.”

“There’s someone trying to jeopardize this research.”

“What research?”

“My dissertation. That’s the whole fucking point of all of this. She wants me to end this fake relationship and return back to England or she will expose the secret to the ethics board. That cannot happen, Malik.” I explained, my voice shaking.

“Calm down.” He said.

“No, you don’t get it. For as long as I have been alive, I have wanted this. I am almost at the finish line and someone is trying to sabotage the whole thing and I’m supposed to be relaxed?”

“That’s not what I mean. You know that freaking out wouldn’t do shit, yeah? You’re only riling yourself up all the more.”

He wasn’t wrong and I hated it.

“What is her name?”

“Gemma Princewill. PhD candidate from the department of psychology, Oxford.” I said, giving him all the details about her.

“I’ll contact my team about her and they’ll issue a strong warning.”

“Thank you.”

“Is that all you needed my help for?”

I stood there, frozen.

What did he expect me to say?

“Do you want to help me with something else?” I stupidly asked.

He didn’t respond.

He simply grabbed his crutches, got up from where he was seated and made his way to where I stood.

He leaned over until his breath was fanning against my face.

“You know you’re not a very good liar, Doctor?”

My brows quirked in shock because what the fuck?

“What did I do?”

“I know you didn’t go to see no Noona the other day. I heard you say on the phone that you were going to come up with a lie to get away from me. I don’t know why you came back, but I can’t trust you anymore.”

My jaw literally hit the ground.

Who was he to talk about trust?

“But it’s not a bad thing. You went to go and see the one you love. I guess the heart truly wants what it wants.”