Kiara:
"Kiara, please," Zane says in a low voice as I walk away, then I pause, walking back to him.
"I am done with your explanations, Zane! You say you want me, then spend an entire day with your ex, who is supposedly bad for you. I am no fool, Zane, and if you want to be with Mindy, then go be with her!" My breath comes out in gasps as I speak. "Min! Her name is fucking Min on your phone, for fuck's sake, Zane."
I turn around at once and make my way to the car. At that moment, Rufus gets out of the car with a random man who I do not care about.
"Take me home, Rufus!" I yell, yanking the back door open, but Rufus stands there.
I sigh, then slam the door shut, walking away from the parking lot and towards the street.
"Don't just stand there! Fucking get her!" Zane's voice shoots through the cool night air.
I try to run, but my sandals aren't very fit for it, and before I can take a good number of steps, Rufus firmly grips my wrists.
"Let me go!" I yell as I watch Zane speaking to the man who gets on his bike shortly and rides away.
Zane makes his way towards us with his brows wrinkled. Rufus lets go of me, and Zane pulls me towards him, gripping me firmly by the waist with my hands locked on his chest, leaving no room for me to escape. He looks down at me with a straight face.
"Are you going to fucking listen or not?" he asks, and I pound hard on his chest, wanting to free myself. "I'll take that as a no."
The moment he says this, he lets go of me, then grabs my entire body, swinging me onto his shoulder and walking to the car. Rufus opens the door, and he tosses me into the back seat, slamming the door shut. For the first time, he doesn't sit with me. He gets into the front seat with Rufus.
"Drive," he says, and Rufus obeys him at once.
For a moment, I feel my life flash before my eyes, and the feeling that he is turning into the old Zane clouds my mind.
Zane:
Sometimes I wish I were a woman, because then it would be easier to convey my feelings without being seen as a weakling. Anyone from my past would be shocked to know that I am keeping a woman this long, and I have thoughts of settling down. My friends used to joke that a camel would pass through the eye of a needle before I'd want anything serious with a woman. But here I am.
Some days I ask myself the true meaning of love, and I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that this woman controls my every action. I have lost myself. But that isn't the problem. I love the feeling of being in love with her, but the fact she will never truly love me scares me. It is selfish of me to take her away from her home and force her to love me, but I have never felt this way before.
"Take a left," I say to Rufus, trying to uphold an icy tone, but beneath the surface, I am not much different from broken glass.
While we are on the road, I try to blur out Kiara's faint cries, because it does nothing but open more wounds, and I have come to realize that no matter how much I prove my love to her, she will always assume the worst in any situation that I find myself in. She did it with Gia, and now Mindy.
I try to steady my breath as we move through the streets, then suddenly we come to a halt in front of the gate. The gates open up for us, and Rufus drives inside.
Once the car stops, I get out of it, then I turn to Rufus.
"Let her out."
With this, I make my way towards Theo, who is standing by the front door.
"Are you done?" I ask, and he nods, then hands me key cards and the rest of the documents.
"The locks are reset, and you can change the fingerprints and face IDs."
"Thank you," I say to him before turning to face Kiara, whose face is stained with tears. "You may go, Mr. Theo."
We exchange handshakes. Then he leaves.
I take Kiara's hands, and she follows me without saying a word, then I walk into the house with her.
"Zane, I am really tired, and I just want to-"
"Then I'll help you walk." I lift her off her feet, placing her on my shoulder as I make my way to the kitchen, then I put her down on the counter.
I put my hands by her sides, locking her in, then I stare into her eyes. My feelings are all over the place, and I am scared of what our lives will become after this night. With my thumb, I wipe the tears under her eyes, then I lean in to kiss her, but she turns her face away.
"I expected that." I inhale deeply.
"You say you do not want to hear my explanations, but I think I owe you one," I begin, then I pull away from her with my gaze still on her.
"It is true I met with Mindy, but that was the last thing I wanted to do today," I say, and she scoffs.
"So it was on your list?" she questions, and I take a deep breath, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible.
I wasn't here for a fight, and my aim was to resolve this as soon as possible.
"When I left this morning, I left to buy a house. This house. Our house. When you said I didn't want to get married to you, it hurt me, because all I can think of with you is a future." Her brows straighten as I say this. "As I was being shown around, I stood in this kitchen, picturing a beautiful home with kids, but I was scared. Scared that I would be a shitty parent who will ruin the life of my kids just because I didn't get a chance to live a good life."
"But the fear in my heart wasn't enough to stop me. Theo is a family man. He took me to a jeweler, and I got this." I slip my hand into my pocket, taking out the box with the ring, then place it on the counter. "I needed advice from a man who is happily married for fifteen years, so I took him out for a drink. He spoke to me wisely, and although I got a bit scared, I didn't let it stop me. Mindy walked into the bar."
Her face contorts when I mention Mindy.
"I already had a drink in my hand, and I only sat there until I was done with my drink. Whatever she said meant nothing to me, because I only think of you."
"Then why didn't you tell me she called when we were on a walk?"
"Because she doesn't mean anything to me, and discussing exes isn't my forte. I like to treat them like they do not exist."
"And her name on your phone?"
"We were on a walk, and I couldn't stay on my phone, so I saved her name quickly so I wouldn't take her calls when she called."
She scoffs as I say this.
"You really have an excuse for all your actions," she says, shaking her head.
"They are not excuses, Kiara, they are facts!" My voice comes out harsh, then I take a deep breath.
"How do you expect me to know that you are out trying to buy a house? And that you are not trying to get with your ex when you do not say these things to me. I want to know, Zane!"
"I go to bed after seeing calls from Mindy on your phone, then you wake up the next day and leave me until evening. I see a text from Mindy talking about having drinks with you. What on earth do you want me to think?" she yells, then places a hand on her forehead.
"You are supposed to trust me, Kiara." She looks at me when I say this.
"What?"
"You heard me, right. If I saw a text from a random guy on your phone, or your ex, I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that you want to leave me, and even if I jumped to conclusions, the conclusion would be going over to his house and beating him the fuck up, but with you... you always expect the worst from me."
"Are you fucking kidding me now, Zane?" she yells again, getting down from the counter.
"Kiara, I do not want to fight, and I hate these fights."
"Oh, so I love them?" she yells.
I stay silent for a while, then I say the words I have been holding in. "This isn't working, and I am exhausted."
Her face falls at once.
"Are you breaking up with me?"