ZARIA

Chapter 15

ZARIA

She froze as her eyes fell on the sleeping figure lying next to her, Kei's arms still wrapped tightly around her middle.

For a brief moment, panic flashed through her mind, and she almost jumped out of bed then and there to run and hide before she forced herself to calm down and think clearly before acting.

She took a big breath, closing her eyes for a moment, before she slowly turned to the side, careful not to disturb the sleeping man as she did so.

She looked up to Kei's face, her gaze drifting over his features as she thought about the situation she'd suddenly found herself in.

Last night was hardly the first time she had gone to bed with another man, but it was the first time she had spent the night with one, or anyone for that matter, if you didn't count her sister and Nura, which she didn't.

She wasn't sure what to think, her mind going from full-blown panic to blissful content in the blink of an eye.

The previous night had been amazing, probably the best night of her life. The way that Kei had made her feel had never before happened. Logically, she knew that sex was supposed to be pleasurable; otherwise, people would not be so obsessed with it, but for all her hard-won experience, she could never understand how before.

Sure, the men that had bought her had seemed to enjoy it quite a lot, but she never did, not even when she did it herself, which was why she usually avoided it, so to finally experience the pleasure everyone was always going on about had blown her mind into a million pieces.

Kei had been patient and kind, never asking or demanding more than she could give, bringing her to heights unknown with just a few kisses and a brush of a finger, making her forget about herself and all her insecurities and fears.

And yet, even as she drifted off to sleep, Kei's arms wrapped tightly around her and her head on his chest, the sound of his heartbeats lulling her into a blissful sleep, she couldn't help but think that all of it was just too good to be true.

She fully expected to wake up the following day to find the sheets beside her empty because Kei would surely leave.

Why wouldn't he?

He had got what he wanted. After all, she was good for those things, sex and all that it entailed, but for anything else, a man like Kei surely wouldn't want someone like her.

So, to say that she was surprised to wake up with the man still there, still hugging her, would be an understatement.

"It wasn't our fault, Zaria. I know it is hard to believe, but we must believe it. If we want someone else's love, we must first learn to love ourselves..."

Nura's words from months before drifted through her mind, spoken softly as they lay in the same position as Kei and she were currently lying.

Zaria remembered scoffing at the words at the time, unable to imagine a world where she could find someone who could love her. The thought was so abstract to her that she almost laughed out loud then and there, and the only thing preventing her from doing so was the look of pure belief etched into every line of Nura's face.

She had thought Nura a naïve fool then, blinded by her love for Nate to be able to see clearly the harsh reality of their lives, but lately, Zaria had started to suspect that she had been the fool all along.

The more time she spent with Nura and Nate, being allowed to witness the absolute joy on Nate's face any time Nura simply walked into the room, one that perfectly matched Nura's has made her rethink everything.