Then I dragged her with me, ignoring her stricken face. A silent scream was etched on her face, trapped behind her pressed lips.
I knew.
I wanted to scream too and ask myself if I’d finally gone completely mad.
We finally reached the car park. I directed her towards the passenger seat and pressed the unlock button on my key.
“Sir—”
I yanked the door open. “Get in.”
“Zioh,” she snapped, “what the hell are you—”
“I said get. In. Now.” My voice was lower, each word bitten out between my teeth.
I guided her back into the seat, firm but gentle, until she finally relented and slid inside. Without a second thought, I circled, dropped into the driver’s seat, and fired up the engine.
Turning to her, I fastened her seatbelt when she sat in silence, and the tyres screeched as we pulled away from the restaurant.
Neither of us spoke. Good, because the storm still raged within me, violent and chaotic, tangled with everything I couldn’t name. My hands gripped the wheel until my knuckles were white and my breath uneven.
“I said we were taking a break for lunch,” I muttered at last, my tone hardened. I glanced in her direction. “Not sneaking around on some silly date.” Her gaze fixed on the window, but she turned to me at that. And a look I hadn’t seen since we’d crossed paths again flashed in her eyes. Disbelief. Annoyance. Anger.
“Well, I was on my lunch break.” Her voice was steady, cutting. “Until you ruined it. No thanks to you, sir.”
Sarcasm. Fury.
Same. For fuck’s sake, I felt the same.
We lapsed into silence, and the drone of traffic filled the space. After a while, she turned again, her eyes raking over me as though peeling me alive. And then, she asked in a low voice. “Do you still hate me?”
The question ripped through me. My breath hitched. I gripped the wheel until it ached.Of course. She was a nightmare. She made me sick. She had ruined everything.
“Yes,” I whispered. “And maybe forever.” I shook my head, exhaling hard through my nose.
She sighed. The faint friction of fabric filled the silence, and when I looked over, she dragged her hand along her trousers. Her voice came again, quieter, trembling. “Then keep it that way, Zi. Don’t confuse me,” she whispered. “If you hate me, act like it. Don’t leave me in the gray, because that’s worse.”
That was all she said, before turning back to the window, leaving us in silence until I finally pulled into the INDTV Group Tower car park.
I didn’t know what possessed me, but I figured bringing her here and finishing what needed to be done was best, yet we sat in the car for a long moment. I turned my head, every muscle tight, and she was still staring out. The weight in my chest pressed down hard.
“We’ll head to INDTV for a bit. Afterwards, we can have lunch together.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.Shit.I’d ruined her lunch and dragged her from it.
She didn’t answer. So I pushed on, gripping my hand tight. “I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to interrupt your lunch, Tshabina.”
She glanced at me, her eyes unsteady, and then she gave me a nod before getting out first. I closed my eyes for a second, swore under my breath, then followed her.
We entered the lift, and our eyes met. My heart stumbled in its beat. A magnetic pull kept me from looking away, drawing me toward her until the space between us began to vanish.
Then, the lift chimed, and the doors opened. We immediately got out and walked through the hallway. I tried to steady my breath, even though my legs shook—fuck.
Tshabina followed my steps until we both went rigid.
Because there he was.
Zeraiah stepped out of a room ahead. At first, his face was steady as his eyes met mine. But then he noticed Tshabina at my side, and his expression shifted to shock.
Tshabina stiffened beside me, staring at him as though turned to stone. I opened my mouth to speak, but the swing of another door cut the air before I could make a sound.
