King of My Heart

37. "Did you kill him? Is he dead?"

(883 words)

"Ana, what the hell are you saying?" Zayn spoke up after a few minutes of silence where he had been staring at me like I'd grown another head, with his mouth open.

"Where is my husband?" I calmly asked, taking a deep breath afterwards to keep my cool.

"Ana, I understand that you're grieving, but—"

"What did you do to him?" I cut him off abruptly.

"Ana, for God's sake, in case you're forgetting, he's my cousin. He's like a brother to me. He's my best friend." He stated calmly.

"Exactly!" I raised my voice, glowering at him. "He considered you as his brother and best friend. How could you stab him in the back like that?"

"Ana, will you ple—"

"WHERE IS ETHAN?!" I screeched, slamming my palms on his table with full force. His mouth hung agape slightly, taken aback.

My chest heaved with every sharp and quick intake of breath as my eyes glowered at him, spewing hatred.

"Ana, I think you should go home." He simply stated, averting his gaze from me.

"You envied him, didn't you? You co-owned this company with him, but people always associated the corporation with him as if he was the sole owner. Your presence was always overshadowed by his. His accomplishments were greater than yours, his acknowledgment was greater than—"

"YES!" He shouted. I flinched slightly, taking a step back at his sudden outburst, my mouth hanging open at his confession. "Fuck." He muttered under his breath.

We both stood in silence, breathing heavily and staring intently at each other. My eyes were wide because of the astonishment of the confession, and his because of having been exposed.

A loud knock at his door interrupted our staring. "Get lost!" I yelled angrily at whoever was on the other side of the door. Instead, the door pushed open.

"What's going o— Ana?" My head instantly spun around when I heard the familiar voice.

"Ari." I whispered.

She looked from me to Zayn, a perplexed look on her face. "What is up with you two?" She finally asked, walking forwards so that she stood next to me.

I turned my attention back to Zayn who was standing like a deer caught in headlights. "You cheap, evil, deceiving piece of shit!" I yelled at him.

"Ana, what the hell?! Don't talk to him like that!" Ariana spoke up protectively.

"You don't know anything." I hissed.

"Enlighten me then," she said. "But please don't forget the person you're speaking to that way is my fiancé."

"Your fiancé is a lying piece of crap!"

"Enough, Ana!" Ariana raised her voice, looking at me with disbelief. She shook her head at me and tried walking up to Zayn, but I grabbed her wrist and yanked her back towards me.

"Stay away from him. He's not the good and innocent man we thought he was." I warned.

"What the hell!"

"He runs a fucking trafficking ring, Ari!" I exclaimed at her face. "He sent my husband to death."

Her mouth hung open as her brain absorbed my words. Her head then snapped towards Zayn. "Zayn?" She uttered, her voice almost breaking.

There was nothing but silence for a minute, and then Zayn admitted it. "It's true," his voice came out monotonous and defeated. "Everything Ana is saying is true."

Ariana's face went pale. I was also shocked. I had expected him to deny it in front of her.

Ariana dropped down to her knees, her eyes staring into distance.

"I didn't mean to," Zayn's voice came out shaky. "I didn't want to hurt Ethan. I love him like a brother. I really do. He... he found out that I ran that place..."

I scowled at him. "So you shot him, you monster?!" I shrieked.

"I did not!" He retorted. "Some rebelling idiot told Ethan that one of his family members was running the place. Ethan shared it with me. I convinced him into thinking it was only a trick and it must be owned by Caleb. He believed me, but wanted to go check the place out himself. I tried to stop him, but he just didn't listen... I told my men not to hurt him. Those idiots! One of them shot him as soon as he learned that I was the owner.... I didn't want him to get hurt! I wanted him to still make it out alive. I would have somehow coaxed him to believe whatever he learned was false... but..."

"You prick!" I growled at him as he lowered his head in shame.

"WHERE IS HE?" I screamed at him, hoping to get an answer this time. "Zayn, we all know the truth now so there's no point in keeping him from me anymore. TELL ME WHERE HE IS."

He still didn't respond. "Zayn!" Ariana finally spoke up with gritted teeth, her eyes brimming with unshed tears, her expressions of both hurt and anger. He lifted his head to look at her, his eyes holding remorse.

"Did you kill him? Is he dead?" I asked him, frightened, studying his expressions with my eyes.

"He's alive, Ana. I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him."

A wave of relief swept over me. "Where is he?!" I demanded once again.

"At the hospital. I'll take you to him."

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Um well...

I hope you liked this chapter. Don't forget to vote and comment.

Do you guys want Ana and Ethan to be re-united ASAP?