Areston thinks he can shield me from his past, but what he doesn't realize is I'm already part of it.
The darkness that haunts him? It's the same one that's been chasing me for years.
I've given him everything-my body, my heart, my soul-and still...
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Zayd, Zayd, where's Zayd?
Well, here he is, lol.
random note about Zayd's existence: Back in the previous version, the character of Zayd had kinda immediately sprung upon the storyline, and that too in the third book with no prior mention of him. Back then, I introduced him out of nowhere because I felt Rico and Belle's story was going too smoothly, and there was no conflict.
Because let's admit it, Rico was such a goody-goody compared to Areston. Actually, they're no match. That's why I've kept saying from beginning of the story, Areston is not Riccardo. Riccardo was compassionate, empath, and understanding—qualities we look for in men that exist in real life. Areston is everything we shouldn't look for in real life, lol. Someone rightly labeled him in yesterday's update 'a black flag'. I agree. He's not even a red, but BLACKEST OF BLACK flag. But that's what makes this a dark romance, right? He's the morally grey, anti-hero, and I suppose just like me, you're also in love with him for who he is. So, coming back to the point, because of who Areston is and Riccardo wasn't, this version has been full of conflicts from start till now, but previous one wasn't because Riccardo could never be as overbearing and toxic as Areston.
Which is why I needed RicoBelle to have some conflict. I was watching Sex and The City 2 movie, and I saw Aiden-Carrie's meet scene in Abu Dhabhi that caused a conflict between Big and Carrie. I got suddenly inspired by it and that's how Zayd's existence came into being.
I remember how controversial Zayd-Juliette meet turned out to be, lol. In this version, however, I wanted him involved right from the start because not only he's one of the leading spin-off characters of The Scent Universe, but he's the ONLY real competition to Areston. The ONLY character that can trigger him because he's the only person who can make Areston feel threatened and insecure. I wanted the Zayd-Juliette meeting to be more authentic. I'll leave you to read and give me your thoughts.
again a long update, but it was important and I hope you enjoy!
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Demons residing in your head never leave.
They remain buried in the depths until stirred awake—anything and everything is a likely trigger. You never know.
There's no way to obliterate those demons, so what you do is fight them, subdue them, cage them, and make them too weak to fight and survive against your will.
That's what my husband says, and we're on the same page about that fact.
The said demon in my head has woken up and is clawing at the periphery of my mind, inundating my head with darkness so rampant it's pressing against my skull.
