Behind Closed Doors

***Interlude***

A/N: Time Jump! This is going to be a fun/extra chapter from present day. It's just a standalone thing. Feel free to skip. The story will continue where it left off next chapter.
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January 2023

"One last deep breath..... perfect. Alright. Are you ready to begin?" Irene asked.

"Yeah, let's do it." Zayn replied after finishing the breathing exercise with his therapist. They always began their sessions this way. Its purpose was to calm Zayn's mind and become present in the moment.

Zayn smiled through the laptop screen at his therapist, Irene. She was an older woman, likely in her 60s (though he'd never ask) with light brown skin giving her a racially ambiguous look. Her amber eyes were slightly downturned, shining brighter given the contrast to Irene's hair: a dark coffee brown with subtly gray streaks. As usual, it was worn straight down reaching just below her shoulders. Irene had a wide-set mouth with full lips, always painted in a mauve shade while her cheekbones sat high on her heart shaped face. Zayn admired her near flawless skin given her age save for a few wrinkles around the eyes and mouth. She was a lovely woman both internally and externally.

He was happy to see her again and excited to fill her in on the new details of his life. Zayn had initially begun to see Irene weekly over a year ago as suggested by the judge who oversaw his trial with the harassment charges against him. They were filed by his beloved baby-mama and her mother.

The court ordered anger management classes to be mandatory for one year. At the time, Zayn felt it was over-done and unjust. However, the judge spoke with him and was nothing but kind. He'd gone out of his way to talk to Zayn about the seriousness of the charges while giving subtle hints of feeling and understanding for Zayn's position. Zayn had sought legal advice but ultimately appeared on his own, choosing to plea no contest as a way to "man up," and get it over with. It wasn't on account of him feeling guilty, for he'd never lain a hand on any woman. Zayn was simply exhausted.

The Hadid's had bled his soul completely dry over the years and he wanted it to be over. There was no energy left for Zayn to even care about what happened to him personally, at the time he only thought of his daughter. He'd be damned if he became a passive father like Yolanda wanted. From the time Khai came into the world, Yolanda was eager to get control of the child. Zayn was being told how to parent, when to speak, and who to seek for guidance.

"You should not let the baby sleep with you in the room and never in your bed, Zayn. Let her cry it out at night or she'll grow up to be a weak girl."
"No, no, no. Khai goes to my doctor not some glorified pediatrician."
"Why are you still feeding her that milk? Didn't Gigi tell you we are going to do a veggie diet and restrict the breast milk. Khai needs to get rid of that extra infant fat."

Up until Khai's birth, Zayn had done a decent job at keeping his thoughts on Yolanda to himself. In the past, Gigi would sometimes complain and open up to Zayn about her mother's overbearing ways. Though Zayn had many more opinions he knew Gigi wasn't ready to hear, the two seemed to be on similar pages regarding Yolanda. That's why it came as a shock when Gigi began siding with her mother after Khai's birth.

Zayn had always done a decent job at keeping boundaries between himself and Yolanda. When she tried to corner him to do some fucked up blood ritual to heal his anxiety, he had no problem walking out and telling her to stay out of his personal business. Likewise, Zayn would never tell Gigi or Yolanda that the older woman was completely insane and likely had Munchausen's syndrome. Yet, with Khai's birth the lines began to blur.

Zayn found his voice and told Yolanda off on many occasions regarding the safety and well-being of his daughter. He threatened not to let Yolanda see Khai if she continued to undermine his parenting choices, but Yolanda did the same to him.