..Out of the Blue ..💙

38.choas

Monica

Zurich had left a bitter taste, but this?
This made her blood boil.

She stood by the tall windows of her office, hands clenched behind her back, as her head of private security laid down the report.

"Someone named John Lucas tried to visit Athena at her play school today. Didn't sign in. Claimed he was a friend of the family. The staff didn't recognize him. He said he was just dropping by, curious if she was doing okay."

Monica didn't move, not even to blink.

"And Zoya?"

"She was there. Didn't seem uncomfortable. Laughed even. They spoke for a while."

Monica finally turned, slowly. The look in her eyes could've split steel.

She paused. John.!

"tighten the circle around Athena. No one, I mean no one, gets to her unless I approve."and research on Zoya and John. More

The guard nodded and left without another word.
Monica stood there in the silence of her office, a storm churning inside her.

Why the hell was John there of all the people

Why was he trying to get close to her daughter?

And worse... why hadn't Zoya said anything about it?

Zoya's POV (earlier that day):

John showed up like he always did-unexpected but oddly welcome.

"Just thought I'd swing by," he said, hands in his pockets, eyes on the kids playing behind the fence. "Wanted to meet the little superstar."

Athena was giggling in the sandbox with another kid, sunlight bouncing off her curls.

"She's really precious," he added softly. "Looks a bit like Rishi, you know?"

Zoya smiled, unknowingly warming to him again. "She does. She has his nose."

They stood side by side, leaning near the fence. John didn't overstep, just waved at Athena with a gentle smile when she looked their way. The girl waved back, unsure, but curious.

"You're really doing this, huh?" he said. "The whole mom life. Never thought Rishi's... well... never thought this is how it'd all turn out."

Zoya chuckled, a little uneasy. "Me neither."

He changed the subject fast. "Play schools like these cost a bomb. Monica footing the bill, I suppose?"

Zoya glanced at him, unsure how to answer.

"She's been... helpful," she said carefully.

"Hmm." John smirked, almost like he knew something she didn't.

Zoya tried to shake off the weirdness, but something about the way he looked at Athena made her stomach twist-not with fear, but a sense of invasion. Like something too intimate had just been touched.

Still, she waved him goodbye without a second thought.

Home - Late Evening

The apartment was quiet except for the low hum of the dishwasher. Athena had gone to bed early after an unusually quiet dinner, leaving Zoya and Monica alone in the open kitchen-living room space.

Zoya leaned against the counter, sipping her lukewarm tea, her eyes occasionally flicking toward Monica who was buried in her laptop, her face illuminated by the screen's cool blue light.

Zoya's POV:

She had thought Monica's return from Zurich would bring some warmth back into the house - the subtle comfort of knowing someone else was around, even if they didn't speak much. But instead, Monica had been distant. Polite. Too polite.