Chapter 166 The Comfort Zone

Chapter 166 The Comfort Zone
ZARA

My heart didn't break with a dramatic explosion, it just felt like a freezing, hollow void had opened up in my chest the moment Damon walked away.

I couldn't even cry. I sat at my desk at the firm, staring blankly at my computer screen with my fingers frozen over the keyboard. For sixteen hours, I had been completely numb, unable to eat a single bite or sleep for more than twenty minutes. Yesterday, Damon had walked out of that restaurant, effectively ending our relationship, and my brain was still violently refusing to accept it. My parents had done their best to comfort me last night, holding me in the living room while I stared into the dark, but coming to work meant putting on a mask. I had to look strong. I couldn't let anyone see the cracks.

"Hey, Zee, did you finish checking the page numbers for the line-up?" Chloe Evans asked, rolling her office chair into my pod with her usual high energy before she suddenly froze. Her cheerful face dropped as she noticed my eyes. "Oh my god, Zara. You look terrible. Did something happen? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Chloe," I muttered, forcing my voice to stay flat and professional. "I just stayed up late editing data. I didn't sleep well."

"Don't lie to me, Zara." Chloe whispered, leaning over the desk partition, her face full of genuine worry. "Your hands are literally shaking against the keyboard. Talk to me. Is it your boyfriend?"

"I don't want to talk about it at work, Chloe. Please," I rasped, the knot in my throat tightening until I could barely breathe.

I pushed myself out of my chair, standing up quickly to escape her questioning look before I broke down. I needed a hiding spot away from the clicking keyboards and ringing phones. I walked down the hall and pushed open the heavy door to the breakroom. Luckily, the small room was completely empty. The quiet hit me all at once, and my remaining strength evaporated. I leaned against the counter in the corner, covered my face with my hands, and started crying silently, my shoulders shaking with every sob. The tears flooded past my walls, streaming down my fingers as Damon's final words played on an endless, agonizing loop in my head. I'm done, Zara. It felt like a knife twisting in my chest over and over again.

"Zara?"

A deep, familiar voice broke the silence, making me flinch. I snapped my head up, my heart hammering against my ribs as I saw Kai Ryder standing by the door. He was holding an empty mug, his dark eyes wide with shock.
I turned around instantly, aggressively wiping the tears from my face with the back of my hand, trying to force my mask back on. "It's nothing, Kai. I'm fine. Just a bad headache from the computer screen. I'll be out in a second."

"C'mon, it's obvious something is wrong," Kai said quietly. He set the mug down on the table and stepped directly into the room, coming to stand right in front of me. He looked completely concerned. "I just want you to feel better, Zara. I have your best interest at heart."

I opened my mouth to tell another lie, but looking at him, the one person who used to know everything about me before we fell apart, the words died in my throat. I couldn't hold it back anymore. A loud, broken sob escaped my lips, and my knees felt like they were going to give out.
Kai didn't hesitate. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms securely around my waist, pulling me firmly against his chest. I didn't push him away. I didn't have the energy to fight him or maintain a distance. I buried my face into his shoulder, gripping his sleeve as the full weight of the breakup crashed over me.

He didn't say anything mean about Damon. He just held me and listened, his large hand gently resting on the back of my head while I cried into his jacket.

"This shit hurts so much, Kai." I choked out, completely falling apart, the tears soaking right through his shirt. "I love him a lot. I love him so much, and I don't know why he simply walked away when we could have just sorted this out."

Kai stayed completely quiet, letting out a heavy, sad breath against my hair as his grip tightened to keep me steady. He looked deeply pained to see me like this, as if my crying was breaking his own heart too.

"I'm not sure I can live without him," I whispered desperately, my breathing ragged as I clutched the fabric of his blazer.

"You can live, Zara," Kai murmured near my ear, his voice low, steady, and full of a warm, protective sincerity. "You are the strongest person I know. Look at everything you survived so far. Damon is an idiot for walking out, but you don't need him to be whole."

He slowly pulled back just enough to look down into my eyes, his thumb gently reaching up to wipe a stray tear from my cheekbone. The soft touch sent a sudden wave of comfort through me. He offered a small, quiet smile, looking at my messy hair before letting out a soft, light laugh. "Besides, if the boss catches us slacking off in the breakroom, he’ll make us redo the entire layout before noon. Your typing is already slow today, Corven."

A small, breathless laugh broke through my tears, a real smile finally cracking through my misery as I looked up at him. "In your dreams, Ryder. My typing is perfect."

"There she is," Kai whispered softly, his dark eyes locking onto mine with a clear, gentle warmth that finally made the heavy pressure in my chest loosen up.

I took a long, steady breath and stepped back to re-establish the boundary between us. The empty, hollow feeling in my chest wasn't completely gone, but it had been replaced by a fragile sense of peace. I felt better, the sharp sting of the breakup fading slightly, all thanks to the quiet comfort he had given me in the corner of the office.