It's a fact that you can't help who you fall in love with. And for Rosaline Davenport and him, it definitely shouldn't have been each other.
Because, sometimes, love stories have blood on them.
[warning: this is the mother of all slow-burns]
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【 34.
Thirty-four
Zakham 】
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[ Zakham • wound ]
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ZACHARY SHOULDN’T BE here, should he?
Nobody back home knows about his wife’s dirty secret, except for himself. And instead of staying home like a husband in mourning, he’s made a trip to Chicago.
If he acts out of norm this way, won’t it make people suspicious? He’s never been one to give a damn about what people thought of him—but this isn’t about Zachary, it’s about Lia.
As soon as the thought crosses his mind, anger flares up in him. Why is he still thinking about her? What does he care if her name and honour is smeared and tainted after she’s gone? She did that to herself by sneaking behind his back. It’s not his job to cover for her, not his job to try and protect whatever dignity of hers remains.
He sneaks a glance at Rose, and reminds himself why he’s here.
Because he doesn’t owe Lia anything. He doesn’t owe the dead anything. But Rose, on the other hand… Rose he owes. Rose he needs to make up for. Wants to make up for.
He can’t do anything about Micah’s deeds, Micah’s actions. But for whatever role Dahlia played in ruining Rose’s life—Zachary can attempt to lighten that ache, right?
Because if he was a little smarter, a little more observant, a little less blind in love… then he could have known sooner.
Zachary blinks and pinches the bridge of his nose. How does someone leading the intelligence and defence industry not know the person closest to him was taking him for a ride? Jesus, isn’t Zachary supposed to be more attentive and smarter than this?
“Headache?” Rose’s voice snaps him out of his endless internal torment.
Zachary raises his head, straightening his back against the brown leather single-seat couch he’s occupying. “I’m fine,” he answers with a nod of gratitude.
It feels weird to behave so formally, but at the same time, he finds it hard to regain the same footing they had back in the hotel. Then, it was easier and more natural because being in the same place was pure coincidence. Now, on the other hand, it’s pretty clear he made the decision to fly down to a whole other state just to drop in and check up on her.
Zachary meant what he said to Rose—that the teether wasn’t the sole reason for him to fly here, and that it gave him a solid excuse to see how she’s holding up. Though he did lie about being able to just mail the teether to her if he wanted. He will have always wanted to hand it over to her personally, knowing the significance behind it. He won’t have settled for letting her be shocked at its arrival through the mail when the better option is having it gently broken down for her.
