Opalescent ●ADIYA VERSION●

●Part Three●

Aditya woke to high pitched screeching, the kind of strangled cat sound that would forever torment him in his lonely hours.

"What do you mean it's a weapon?" Zoya stood straight with her hands on her hips and a very annoyed expression sculpted into the lines on her forehead. "It's a cane to help me walk, if it wasn't already obvious, I can't see" she huffed.

"Did you or did you not use it outside a shop to hit someone on the head?" As an officer of the law, he'd often ran into irritating people, but she really was on a different level.

Gasping loudly, her jaw dropped "How do you know that?" Slamming her fist on the desk, she bit back the yelp of pain "Are you stalking me?"

"No" his eyes rolled. "CCTV".

"Ah didn't see any cameras" wrapping an arm around her waist, she fell forward in laughter at her own joke. "Alright, tough crowd, I admit I am guilty, but I won't get home without it, so please?"

It was at that exact point that her partner in crime was freed from his cell, brown bags beneath his eyes from the lack of sleep and a grimace that was usually tattooed on his face due to his very clear hate of the world. "My stuff?"

"Oooh I have deja vu" she giggled again. "Morning Aditya".

"Morning" he bit back, signing a form to collect his belongings, he nodded his head "See you around" though he doubted that would be the case, a small part of him wished it would be. People hated him and he hated people, but Zoya was... different somehow, at least she seemed different, he didn't know her well enough to make a decision yet.

"Wait" reaching out, her hand moved from side to side till it finally reached his toned arm. "Don't leave me here, I can't get home" fluttering her lashes, she could only hope that she was holding the right arm.

"And that's my problem how?" Both his brows raised in apprehension, a guttural growl escaping his lips as she fell to her knees and clung to his legs.

"Alcohol showed you my crazy side, no point acting normal now" she reasoned. "You can't leave me".

"I can" he argued stiffly, trying and failing to pull his leg from her hold.

"You can, but don't, I'll be homeless, someone may KIDNAP ME, how would you sleep? Wouldn't you miss me?" It hit her then that she could've made a fortune as an actress, she could imagine the amount of awards she'd gain and the accolades that came with it.

"Zoya, get off" Aditya ordered, clicking his tongue as he moved away. "I'm used to not sleeping and no I wouldn't miss you, why would I care if someone took you?" He knew exactly why he would, afterall she was the only person other than his father who treated him as a person rather than dirt beneath their shoe.

Finally rising to her feet, she crossed her arms, a stern look on her face "Because we're friends" shoving him playfully, she jumped back at the sound of heels against the floor and a feminine squeal.

Brushing his arm, he turned to apologise to whoever he'd fell into only to freeze, his skin a pale white as his eyes ran over the figure of the woman who stood a little shorter than him. Her raven hair was pin straight over her shoulders matching the pencil lines beneath her eyes "Ma" he gulped, mouth suddenly dry.

The woman slammed a wad of cash onto the desk and slid it forward "The disgraced former detective finds himself with no one but the legally blind as his friend" turning so her hair whipped from her shoulders against paperwork, her lips curled into a vicious smirk, "A good headline for the paper, no? You spend more time here than you did when you worked here, makes me wonder if you ever really got over being fired?"

Clenching his fist, he exhaled loudly, nostrils flaring "Don't" Aditya warned, "Don't talk about that".

"Why not? Surely your new friend would want to know why people deplore you so much?" Anjana tutted "Oh, Aditya, don't scowl so much, it does nothing for your looks, don't ruin them any more than-".

"Than you already did, you mean?" Shaking his head, he looked down at Zoya then back over at his mother.

"How many more lies? I wonder what lies you've told to this poor girl, Zoya isn't it?" Turning to look at her, she smiled kindly "He's bad news, I'd be careful if I were you" about to leave, she stopped at the sound of sandals hitting the ground.

"It is days like this that I am thankful I'm not gifted with the ability to see you, but make no mistake" she leant toward her a little more, "I see you for exactly what you are" feeling the splash of air on her face as the woman turned back to face her, she looked straight forward. "You were right, my name is Zoya, but that's the only thing you were right about, my favourite book when I was younger was The Twits and my favourite quote was 'A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly; you can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely' so while you wasted no time trying to make comments about his looks, know that he is the handsomest man I know and you are the ugliest woman I have ever come across" stepping around her, she nodded her head "It was a pleasure to meet you, some doses are good only once, let's hope we never meet again".

By the time Aditya managed to chase after her, she was gone. Falling forward so his shoulder bashed into a lampost, his eyes scanned the streets "Thank you, Papa" he looked up, only a man as good as him could send him an angel so pure, she was a gift, one he wouldn't take for granted.