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The conviction in his voice is so absolute that, for one fleeting second, everything I thought I knew begins to unravel.

“Zayn…”

“At the club, that girl came over and asked me to spend the night with her. I turned her down politely.” He raises one finger, mirroring my gesture from moments earlier. “At the gala, I walked out first. She insisted on following me, but the moment I reached the parking lot, I got into my car and left alone.”

He closes what little distance was left between us until every breath brushes across my lips.

“As for the races, I have no idea who I was photographed with. But I swear to you, that entire night you were the only woman I could picture touching… the only one I wanted in any way. Your presence alone drives me insane, and you’re the only person who could’ve pulled me out of the trance I was trapped in.”

“Zayn…”

Have you ever reached a point where someone tells you words you desperately want to believe because accepting them means you won’t lose everything the way you know it? Where a part of you insists it’s a lie, yet another part clings to every word anyway?

I’ve lived through too many moments like that not to recognize the feeling.

But this… this isn’t one of them.

Looking at Zayn’s eyes, I don’t see deception.

I see raw honesty, unguarded and painfully vulnerable, as if he’s placing every truth he has at my feet and leaving the decision entirely in my hands.

“And that car had been used by my driver the night before,” he continues, his voice gentle. “He parked it there before heading up to his hotel room.”

I try to hold the tears from falling, but a few escape anyway, tracing warm paths down my cheeks. He notices immediately, brushing his tongue over the damp tracks they leave behind.

“I haven’t been with anyone else, Selene,” he whispers again. “I want you. Please, give me a chance to prove that the age difference you’re so hung up on means absolutely nothing.”

I search his eyes, utterly lost, barely able to process everything he’s saying.

“If you keep bringing it up,” I whisper back, “you’re making it impossible for me to forget about it.”

He laughs quietly, each breath carrying his lips over mine.

“I’ve wanted you for a long time, Selene,” he admits. “I never expected you to break up with him, but I was fucking thrilled when you told me you were single.”

“What?”

“I never made a move because I thought you were happy. That you wanted that relationship, that you were in love.” The last words are so quiet I almost miss them, even with barely an inch separating us.

Both my hands rise to cradle his face, and I kiss him softly, lingering over every slow brush of our lips.

“Are you sure it doesn’t bother you to be with a woman who’s…”

“I dare you to say older,” he interrupts. “I fucking dare you.”

His fingers disappear into my hair, tightening enough to tip my head back.

He wastes no time. Lowering his head, he kisses my neck, his lips lingering before his tongue follows, teasing and tasting, his teeth grazing my skin, sending heat racing through me.

“That’s reality, Zayn.”

“The reality is you could’ve been ten years younger or fifteen years older…” His words fade into another kiss as his tongue glides from my shoulder to my ear. He catches my earlobe gently between his teeth, and every muscle in my body softens beneath his touch. “…and I’d still want you just as badly, pixie.”

“What’s with that nickname?” I ask, letting a soft chuckle break free.

My arms slide around his neck, and this time I’m the one pressing kisses along his throat, savoring the warmth of his skin beneath my lips.

“You look like a fairy, Selene,” he murmurs into my ear, sending another shiver dancing down my spine. “My fairy,” he adds, gathering me even closer.