ZARIA

Chapter 19

Zaria

People said that time went by quicker when you were having fun, and Zaria had to admit, though grudgingly, that it was true.

After the night of Ren's sleepover, the days seemed to rush by her, and, in the blink of an eye, it was time to get back to the city.

She knew they couldn't stay at the lake forever, but she still felt sad as she stood in front of the house, watching the woods surrounding it, the view so beautiful with the snow covering the ground and the sun shining through the tree branches. After the rush and hubbub of the big city and everything that had happened before coming here, this place had proved to be an oasis of sorts, quiet and peaceful.

Of course, the closeness of a certain man played no small part in her reluctance to go back to New York, which sounded silly, seeing as they also lived in the same house in NY, but it somehow didn't seem the same.

If she were to be honest with herself, the truth was that she was scared, petrified, actually, of going back. These past few days had been incredible; between playing with Ren and spending her nights cuddling up on a sofa with Kei, she feared everything would change once they returned home.

Zaria knew that nothing had to change and that it didn't really matter the location but the people residing in it. Still, there was just something about the lake house that gave the illusion of a fairytale, a hidden place, one that only resided in stories, and, as silly as it seemed, she felt a bit like Cinderella, waiting for the clock to strike midnight and the illusion to shatter.

She sighed and turned away from the woods, smiling despite herself as her eyes fell on Ren. The boy was in the process of saying goodbye to their snowman, funnily named Betty, and she had to admit that it did resemble a bit their sharp-tongued housekeeper, with the tartan apron wrapped around its waist and glasses perched on its carrot nose.

In fact, she had sneaked out of the house the previous night and took a picture of it, and she couldn't wait to show it to the woman, looking forward to what would most certainly be an interesting reaction.

"Something funny?" a dark voice asked, making Zaria shiver as she felt a presence behind her, so close, almost touching but not quite, Kei's breath hitting the side of her neck and making goosebumps spread over every inch of her skin.

She closed her eyes for a moment, berating herself for reacting so silly since this was hardly the most sensual thing the two of them had participated in. Hell, they could barely keep their hands off each other most of the time; Ren was the only thing stopping them from doing so.

They had talked about Kei's son and decided not to tell him anything right away, seeing as this thing between them was so new and fragile. The last thing either of them wanted to do was get Ren's hopes up, only to dash them if they decided their relationship had been a mistake.

So, they kept their distance and acted like nothing had changed, though they had started spending more time together, the three of them, which she absolutely loved. And, at the same time, she absolutely hated it because she loved it so damn much.

It had been barely a few days since they established the new dynamic, and she already couldn't imagine her life any other way. And she felt scared of what would happen to her if their dark predictions turned out to be true and everything fell apart.

Zaria shook her head, silently answering Kei's question while at the same time deciding to not think about what-ifs. Those never led anywhere, and even if everything did turn out the way she feared, she still had time, here and now, with a wonderful man currently standing beside her, one of his hands covertly brushing against hers, and the little boy, playing in front of her and she planned to make the most of it.