I Was Never Yours

7-Surprise

Content/Trigger Warning: This chapter mentions suicide.

I avoided Zach for the better part of the trip and while I attempted to ignore him, he made efforts for reconciliation. He would make the most delicious breakfast every morning and leave it outside my bedroom door. When I would eventually come down, he'd attempt to strike up rather uneasy conversations. He stopped going out of town and volunteered to take me sightseeing but I had made up my mind to ignore him. He had to realize the immensity of the mistake he had made. He had likened me to a tradable object; passed from one man to another once they're done. I had been traded to him in place of my family's honour and now he'd trade me to Noah to relieve his guilty conscience.

On the last day of the trip, I yet again spent the majority of my time in my room, packing, wandering about and staying restless. I wasn't sure which was worse, staying here in the rather awkward limbo we were in or going back to New York to the Price Mansion which held the most horrid memories for me. I could've sworn a couple of weeks back that the place would drive me insane but now I had this strange sense of longing for the absurd normalcy it brought. I would go back to being confined to the dreary room and Zach would go back to being oblivious of my existence; we would work in perfect harmony. As I shut the suitcase, I realized that I had made up my mind. New York it was.

"Would you like me to carry that bag for you?" Zach asked, pointing to a particularly heavy bag slung across my shoulders. I knew that my muscles would ache from the force I was exerting on them by carrying it but my pride didn't allow me to relinquish it. Zach needed to find another damsel to carry around. I ignored him and kept walking towards the departure lounge. I heard him sigh behind me and I felt nothing. He could do whatever he wanted, I didn't care anymore.

The plane ride was slow and torturous. Despite my efforts to change my seat, I was still stuck with a husband who didn't know when to shut up.

"Do you want me to order something for you from the catalogue?"

"How do you like your fish, it's nicely seasoned isn't it?"

"I hate crying babies. Why do the airlines even allow people to bring infants onboard?"

He went on and on and on and I resisted the urge to smack my head against the small plane window or to simply jump out of it. The only thought which kept me from more suicidal pondering was knowing that I'd get to eat our cook's killer pot roast when we got back. I hated to admit that I had never eaten something that tasted half as good.

When the flight ended, I couldn't have moved any faster. I got up to grab my hand luggage from the overhead cabin but a hand reached it before I could. The Rolex on his wrist was a telltale sign of who the person was.

"I got it!" I huffed as I tried to push Zach out of my way but he had the upper hand, being taller, stronger and less prone to childish antics. He easily moved me out of his way and grabbed all my bags, leaving me with just my purse. He lifted them easily, as if they didn't weigh a ton and maneuvered us outside to baggage claim. I walked behind him, glaring constantly and I swear I heard him chuckle.

We collected the rest of our stuff in silence and went outside to look for the limo that automatically stood out. I cringed as we walked, the events that had played out when I was last here immediately making me panic. Had Lexie told him? How would he react? How was he going to deal with all this?

"Earth to Arianna, hello?" I blinked as Zach waved his hand in front of me, looking annoyed. I shook my head slightly to get rid of Noah's heartbreaking face from my mind and focused my attention on Zach.

"What?" I snapped at him and he pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling heavily.

"I asked you if it was okay if we made a stop on the way to the house?" he asked and I looked at him confused. Where would he want to go at this time of the night? It was nearly eleven.

"Is it important?" I whined as we settled into the car, the heat from the car heater immediately warming me up.

"It sort of is, I wouldn't be asking you if it wasn't," he stated in a matter-of-fact voice. Great, we'd been in New York barely ten minutes and he was back to his snarky self. Typical boy.

"Fine then, do whatever you want," I said quietly, leaning my head against the seat and closing my eyes. I needed sleep.

Zach poked me gently as the car came to a halt and after pretending to be deep in sleep, I opened my eyes. Truth was that I couldn't go to sleep near him; I'd never allow myself to be that vulnerable. The driver opened my door and I got out, the cold assaulting my senses. I shivered and my teeth started chattering; I shoved my hands in my pockets and moved closer to the car in hopes of getting some warmth.

"Where are we?" I asked Zach in a shaky voice as he came around the other side to stand next to me.

"We're here to see someone," he said simply as he began walking up the street to a rather tattered-looking apartment building.

"Someone who?" I relented, walking behind him as fast as I could possibly manage. He could possibly kill me due to hypothermia and he'd decided now to be cryptic.

As he stopped in front of the door, he took a deep breath and focused his blue eyes on me. There was an unreadable emotion in them, almost like he was afraid of telling me what he knew. If they weren't already there due to the cold, I knew I'd get goosebumps.

"Someone who could possibly tell us where your sister is."