She spent the next few minutes in my arms, telling me how she would placate her team by explaining that she’d wanted to surprise them with another one-month vacation to explore all of Mexico while staying in this penthouse she had supposedly rented from personal savings—at some point, she completely relaxed, and then, she stopped talking, and her breathing deepened.
I checked and saw she was already asleep.
Lying there for a while, just watching her, unable to find sleep as usual, I pressed a kiss to her hair, detached myself from her, left the bed, and put on my shoes.
I quietly left before she woke up.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Zahra
In the vague dream I was having, something was buzzing. Continuously, urgently, and distant. It maintained a sequence that just stretched on—nonstop.
The sound slowly dragged me out of my sleep daze and back to reality, my eyes opening up, heavy and tired. I groaned into the pillow and angrily fussed above the sheet, as the buzzing continued.
With a frown that I was almost positive would burn the device, I raised myself a little, searching for my phone, and finding it on the nightstand at the other side of the bed that was quite cold, very neat—I’d woken up alone—my annoyance sank immediately. I dragged my body to the other side of the bed and picked up my phone.
Vitale.
“What the hell does this fucker want?” I groaned, dropping back on the bed as I closed my eyes, answered the call, and pressed the phone to my ear. “What is it?” I snapped.
“Where did you keep your phone? I’ve been calling all morning; do you think this is fucking funny?” The anger in his voice held a seething tone that had my eyes snapping open and my senses on alert. I brought my phone to my view and caught that the time was one in the afternoon.
Placing the phone back to my ear, I rubbed my eyes. “I was asleep; I had a rough night. What’s going on?”
“Oh no, sorry to disturb your beauty sleep; nothing really is going on, just my fucking life being ruined, that’s all!”Something shattered on his end, telling me he had flung a fragile object to the wall or ground.
Frowning, I sat up. “What happened?”
A strangled sound left him. “Everything is ruined, Faizan, every fucking thing—everything I’ve worked my whole life for is gone.”
“Slow down—slow down, what do you mean?”
“The seat, Faizan—” He sounded broken, his breathing ragged. “Eight years, I’ve worked tirelessly for eight fucking years, and now it’s gone, slipped out of my hands… everything.”
Oh God.
I got off the bed, unable to stay still, sudden sweat beading on my skin inside the hoodie I wore. “I thought you said they didn’t take a vote until the middle of next year? You had all the Society members in your corner; we made sure of that.”
“We did,” he practically growled. “But guess what?”
The menace in his tone ignited goose bumps on my skin. “What?”
“Somebody suddenly decided to be generous… fifteen fucking million pounds went in support of my drunkard brother. They got him in… they’re yet to make a final decision, which they informed me they would make next week, but we both know who is getting it.” He laughed humorlessly. “You wanna take a wild guess at who donated that money?”
“Marino? That’s crazy, he can’t influence the decisions of the Society unless he previously had ties with them.”
“Well, apparently years ago, his father did.”
I closed my eyes, gritting hard. “Fuck.”
“Fuck indeed! What the hell did I even do to your fucking boy toy—”
“Vit—”
“He ruined my whole life, and for what!” Something shattered again. “Because I spoke to you? Does he know how hard I’ve had to work to take my father’s place in the Society? Doeshe know what is on the line and what happens if my fucking brother takes that seat? My mother—everyone, everyone who has put their trust in me, Faizan… I’m finished.”
“No, no, you’re not. There’s still time, we can still—”
