He leaned closer, our lips nearly brushing, before murmuring against me. “What a nuisance, that bloke.” His eyes followed mine with an intensity that made me swallow hard. “Bad company, I see...”
I bit my lip. The weight of his gaze pinned me in place.
He whispered. “That blind date you went on… it was his idea, wasn’t it?”
My whole body flushed. I held my breath as his lips were hovering just inches from mine, as if the breath I drew in were the breath escaping his lips.
I licked my lips, scrambling for words. But Zioh leaned in and softly kissed my cheek before I could speak. “Good job for today,” he said, tilting my chin so I had no choice but to look up at him. “See you later.”
He caught my lips in a slow, tender kiss, nibbling at them before pulling away with another smile.
I let out a shaky breath.
And then he was gone.
But before the door closed behind him, Zioh spoke into his AirPods. Andi was right; they were that busy.
A few steps later, I saw Natasha running up to him. She never appeared while Zioh was with me; she only emerged once he finished work.
My hands rose to my face, trying to cool the heat on my cheeks after he left. But then it struck me, I’d forgotten to tell him.
Zeraiah had rung me last night, inviting me to dinner at their place this evening. I had waited for Zioh to bring it up for a moment, but he hadn’t, and something about it felt strange.
When I told Tsabinu, he looked genuinely shocked. Apparently, Mas Zaeem had invited him, too.
Both of us were going to the dinner.
Was there something going on? As far as I knew, there wasn’t any special occasion today. Yet since last night, Tsabinu had been acting odd, almost forcefully insisting that I shouldn’t go.
Even after I begged him because Zeraiah himself had invited me, Tsabinu only relented with great reluctance. Even this morning, he still didn’t look pleased about it.
44
Zioh
I stepped back into this residence.
The place I’d once called home.
The place I used to return to.
But every time I set foot here now, I stepped straight into my own hell.
Simply walking down the street already made my heart pound like hammers, driving nails deeper with every step I took closer. Once I entered, my body and throat felt as though they were being strangled by something unseen.
I couldn’t stop myself from darting glances left and right, like a hunted animal. When Dad was near, it was even worse. All the shadows inside me broke loose, leaving me sick as a wave churned my stomach, turning my body limp and boneless.
All I wanted was to run and never look back. But my siblings were here. And I knew… I knew Dad had plans for them, too.He always had.
The light shone bright, yet only darkness remained. There was no peace left for me in this house, not even in sleep. Whenever I slept here, I would wake up drenched in sweat.
That was why Mas Zaeem gave me the keys to his penthouse, though he shut many other doors to me. I knew he did it intentionally to make me feel somewhat safe. But even so, my brother insisted that I ‘come home,’ because he didn’t trust me to be away too long without supervision.
He didn’t know.He didn’t know that I never truly came home anymore. This was not a home for me. And the only place that word still applied to, the only home left to me now, I was fighting with all my sanity to keep it safe and far,faraway from him.
Iwouldn’t let him take Tshabina away from me.
Dad wouldn’t rob me again.I would make damn sure of that.
