***

~~DANTE~~

***

Adrian confessed his love to Zara right in front of us, and I knew it was complete bullshit.

My brother could act sweet and emotional and even cry if he had to. He did it all before. None of it was ever real.

What he wanted was to sleep with her. That's what it's always been about.

The fact that Zara had been his friend since we were kids made this whole thing even more disgusting. She trusted him and believed in him. And here he was, using that against her.

I didn't say anything, though. She has to see it herself. If I say it now, she'd think I'm jealous.

Mrs Williams stood near her side, watching Adrian like she already knew what type of guy he was. Smart woman.

I felt bad for Zara. If there were other ways to help her family without this marriage, I'd do it. But my trust fund's locked till I get married-family rules.

Adrian was still holding her hand when Dad's voice came from behind.

"Adrian, enough."

Everyone turned to look at him. Dad stood near the entrance with Mom beside him, both looking pissed.

Adrian dropped her hand.

"Dad, please. You all are forcing her."

"Enough, Adrian. Let her go," Dad said.

Mom crossed her arms. "Stop arguing with your father."

Adrian ignored her. "You know she likes me, not Dante. Why can't you just let us be together?"

Zara's face went pale. Her mum looked uncomfortable but didn't speak.

Dad shouted, "The decision is final. Stop making a scene."

Adrian's jaw clenched. "You can't do this to me."

"Enough," Dad said again.

Zara stood frozen the entire time, tears streaming down her face. Then she shook her head and took off running toward the gate.

"Zara!" her mother called after her, but she was already gone.

"Adrian, she's marrying Dante. End of discussion." My father said to Adrian.

Adrian glared at all of us, said nothing, and walked off inside.

Mom went to Mrs Williams and held her arm gently. "Emily, please come inside. Let's talk."

As everyone headed toward the house, I stayed behind for a second, watching the gate where Zara had ran, then went in too.

***

Inside, we gathered in the sitting room. Nanny Valentina poured tea for Mrs Williams, while my father sat across from her.

Everyone sat down except me.

Mom forced a small smile. "Emily, don't stress about what just happened. She'll be fine."

Mrs Williams nodded. "She's just emotional. There's too much happening at once."

Dad leaned back. "She'll be fine. We'll handle everything."

"I'm sorry about Adrian's behaviour," Mom added.

Mrs Williams waved it off. "Zara came here to discuss the wedding timeline. She'd made up her mind to go through with it.  She's overwhelmed right now. Give her some time."

"Of course," my father said. "Take all the time she needs."

They talked for a bit about Zara's school and the situation with the bank.

When Mrs Williams mentioned that the bank had already taken their cars. Dad said I'd drive Zara to school and back from tomorrow. I didn't argue. I just nodded.

"That's really kind of you, Richard," Mrs Williams said.

After a while, Mom stood up. "Emily, come with me to the garden. We need to talk properly."

They both left. Dad looked at me. "You're quiet. What's on your mind?"

"Why marriage, Dad? You could've just helped them," I said.

He sighed. "It was your mother's idea. She believes it helps both families."

"It's about business."

"Partly," he said. "Merging the companies makes sense. And she believes Zara will be good for you. It's not a bad idea."

"Still feels forced," I said.

He nodded. "Maybe. But sometimes things work out later. Give it time."

I didn't answer.

He looked at me. "Zara's going through a lot. Try to make it easy for her. Can you do that?"

"Dad, I will do my best," I said.

He smiled and patted my shoulder. "Good."

We talked about business for a bit, but I wasn't focused. When I got up to leave, I heard voices in the foyer.

"Thank you for everything," Mrs Williams said to my Mom. "I should get going."

I walked over. "Goodnight, Mrs Williams."

She smiled. "Goodnight, Dante."

Mom walked her out. Dad told the driver to take her home.

Then he went upstairs, leaving me alone in the living room.

A few seconds later, Adrian came down. "We need to talk," he said.

"About what?" I asked.

"Zara. You need to back off."

I raised an eyebrow. "Back off? I'm marrying her."

"You don't even want her," he said. "You're just doing this to get back at me."

"Get back at you for what?"

"For Dahlia," he said. "You're dragging Zara into our old mess."

I scoffed. "Dahlia? That was years ago. You're still on that?"

"You haven't forgiven me," he said.

"I have. I just don't trust you."

He glared. "You're lying. Zara means something to me. Leave her out of your game."

"You don't control me," I said.

He took a step closer. "You hurt her, I'll hurt you."

I looked him dead in the eye. "You already did. You messed her up long before I came in."

He froze.

"You want to talk about hurting Zara? Adrian, you've kept her trapped for years. She follows you around like a puppy, and you love it. You know she's in love with you, but you did nothing about it. Because she's the only one loyal enough to put up with you. She's trapped, and you like it that way."

His jaw clenched.

"Yo, you're the one messing up. Once she realises what you've been doing, she's done with you." I leaned in. "When I take her from you, I'll be doing her a favour. And we'll finally be even."

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not scared of you. Zara will never fall for someone like you."

"Oh really? But she fell for you, didn't she?"

"Stay the hell away from her," he said through gritted teeth. "Or you won't like what happens."

"Enjoy her while it's still a thing. I said with a smirk. "Won't be like that for long."

He shot me one last glare before heading upstairs.

I watched him leave, feeling that quiet win inside. I knew he doesn't like it when things don't go his way.

But now it's not about getting back at him anymore. It's about Zara.

She's got too much spark to be wasting time on someone who doesn't even see it.

She wants something real. Something she can actually feel.

The way her body reacted to me earlier said everything.

She wasn't the calm, nice girl Adrian kept saying she was, and once the real her showed, there was no going back.

She would choose me, not him. And if Adrian got hurt, it wouldn't bother me, just like he hurt me years ago.

***

***

~~ZARA~~

***

I ran all the way home from the Wright mansion and didn't stop until I reached the gate to my family home.

When I got into the house, I slammed my door shut, locked it behind me, and then sank onto my bed.

I stared at the wall, trying to calm my mind, but all I could hear was Adrian's voice telling me he loved me.

I didn't know whether to scream or cry.

He had all the time in the world to say those words. We spent every damn day together, and he waited till now.

It felt like he only wanted me once he realised I was slipping away from him. It hurt in a way I didn't even expect.

If he had told me earlier, maybe things would be different. Perhaps it would've made me happy. But now it just felt painful and confusing.

Everything he said just messed me up completely, because I went into that house ready to marry Dante and to move on from Adrian, but hearing him say those words sent my brain into full chaos mode.

I cried until my eyes hurt. I just lay there staring at the wide white space above me until I eventually fell asleep.

*****

When I woke up, it was already eight in the morning, and I didn't feel like going to school, so I just sat on my bed with my mind replaying everything that happened yesterday over and over again.

I didn't even notice how long I'd been sitting there until someone knocked on my door.

Knock!! Knock!!

I groaned and covered my ears with a pillow.

"Go away," I yelled, but the knocking got louder.

I got up, tossed the pillow aside, and walked to the door, opening it with an attitude. But I froze when I saw Dante standing there.

He looked perfect in a three-piece suit, while I looked rough with my messy hair and swollen eyes from crying all night. I tried to shut the door again, but he blocked it with his hand.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"You," he said without hesitation. "And also to make sure you don't show up to school late looking like this."

I blinked at him. "Excuse me?"

"I said you're late," he said as he stepped in and closed the door behind him. "And I'm here to fix that because I can't have my future wife running the streets in pyjamas, can I?"

I stared at him in disbelief. "I don't feel like going."

He leaned casually against the doorframe and crossed his arms. "Not an option, chef girl."

"Don't call me that," I snapped.

"Oh my god, your face is literally turning red right now. Hahaha," he laughed, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Watch me. I'm staying home," I said and crossed my arms.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "You have twenty minutes to get ready, or I'm carrying you to the car by myself. And trust me, you'll hate that."

I narrowed my eyes on him. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," he said with a grin that made my heart stupidly skip a beat.

We stared at each other for a long moment, and I could tell from his expression that he wasn't joking.

"Fine," I muttered while folding my arms tighter. "Thirty minutes."

"Twenty," he corrected as he tossed my school bag onto the bed. I hadn't even noticed he had it with him. "The clock starts now. You want me to stay and make sure you get ready, don't you?"

"Stay out! You're insane."

"And you're too tempting for me to act normal," he smirked, then winked and stepped out, closing the door.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and saw three missed calls from Dahlia and ten from Adrian. I sighed heavily and went to the bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror.

Dante had seen me like this, and I would never want anyone to see me in a rough state, especially him.

Oh my gosh.

I showered fast, got dressed, fixed my hair, and grabbed my bag before heading downstairs.

Dante was in the living room talking with my mom, and they were laughing like they had known each other for years, which was strange to see.

"I made you breakfast, baby," Mom said with a grin when she saw me.

"Oh Mom, you shouldn't have," I said as I walked to the dining table.

I sat down and ate anyway. I was starving since I cried myself to sleep.

When I finished, I walked back to the living room, where Dante and my mom were still chatting.

"What's going on? Why are you here this early?" I asked Dante.

"I'm taking you to school and picking you up from now on," Dante said, like it was no big deal. I stared at him, trying not to roll my eyes. He had to act like this was normal.

Mom smiled at me. "It's normal, Zara. He's your husband-to-be."

"Fine. Just don't annoy me," I said and walked outside without waiting for a response.

We headed to his Bugatti, and he unlocked it. We both got in.

He started the engine and drove out of our mansion gate right away.

We didn't say a word the whole ride, and I just stared out the window. I didn't mind that we weren't talking.

****

When we pulled up to campus, I saw the school bus dropping students off at the same time.

Great. Everyone was going to see me step out of Dante's car, and I already knew what kind of gossip that would start.

I got out fast and walked ahead, trying to put some distance between us.

I turned and saw Dante walking beside me with sunglasses on.

"What are you doing?" I asked while forcing a smile.

"Doing what a husband should do," he said.

I rolled my eyes and turned. That's when I saw Dahlia and Adrian near the entrance. Dahlia looked confused, while Adrian looked really angry.

I stopped a few steps away from them because I didn't want a scene-not here with everyone watching.

"Take care," Dante said as he touched my shoulder for a second before giving me a peck on the cheek.

The gasps around us were instant, and I could feel everyone's eyes on us.

My face went red with embarrassment. "I'm going to kill you."

"I know, Zazzz," he said with a grin, and then he brushed his thumb across my cheek before walking back to his car.

Stop it, Zara. Get it together.

I pushed down the weird feeling that came with his touch and tried to act normal.

I turned to Dahlia and Adrian. Adrian's face was tight with anger.

"Oh gosh," I whispered under my breath as I walked toward them.

"Hey guys," I said. Dahlia gave me a small smile, but Adrian cut in before she could speak.

"Really? Yesterday happened, and you're already acting all cute with him? Unbelievable," he said, then walked away without letting me explain.

"Don't mind him," Dahlia said softly.

Before I could reply, I heard my name behind me, and the voice was dripping with mockery.

"Broke ass, Zara."