Dark Faïz ( Book 1 ) [ COMPLETED]

Chapters 11-4

— "I'm sorry for everything," Faïz whispered in my ear. "I never took into account how you felt. The idea of hurting you is intolerable to me, and yet I have done it over and over again."

The emotion in me was at its height. He suddenly seemed deeply vulnerable. I would have liked to comfort him, but no sound came out of my mouth at that moment, so much did his words surprise me. With his hand, he gently moved my face in front of his to better observe me. His gaze was filled with great tenderness. He then laid his forehead against mine as if to abdicate from a fight I had just won. That was it! We were finally there!

— "I want to be the only confidant, the only spokesperson for your feelings, Zoe."

— "What about tomorrow? Will you still feel the same?" I whispered, almost desperate.

Pain crossed his face. His whole body against me was tense.

— "I don't know. To protect you, I would be able to muzzle everything I feel for you. Even if you are comparable to a beautiful dawn in my life, I am ready to live in the darkness so that nothing ever happens to you. If something happened to you, I could never forgive myself."

The wonderful feeling of his lips against my cheek dissipated all the bad moments I had experienced in recent months. My will to love him was stronger than anything. My words came out on their own.

— "If it is our destiny, then nothing can prevent it. I've already opened my arms to you. Now you have to trust me and rely on me. Stop trying to fight yourself."

The song stopped, accompanied by thundering applause, leaving our words suspended in the void. He kissed me gently in the hollow of my neck. My eyes closed, savoring this sensual contact. My breathing accelerated without me being able to control it. Then his body moved even closer to mine until I could feel all the muscles of his torso through my clothing. His lips were a few millimeters from mine, about to kiss me, when a voice interrupted us at that moment.

— "Faïz!" Virgil suddenly appeared at our side.

No, no! Why now? He seemed to hesitate for a moment when he saw us so close to each other.

— "Oh, I think it's not a good time. I'll...I'll come back later," he apologized, obviously embarrassed.

Faïz, equally embarrassed, turned to me, not knowing what to do in view of this disturbing situation.

— "No, it's okay," I said, trying to take as detached a tone as possible. "You two need to talk. I'll see you later."

— "Are you sure?" Faïz insisted, distraught to have to let me go.

— "Yes. I'm going to meet Chloe and Andy. We leave early tomorrow morning. I'd like to enjoy it a little."

I was hoping to have deceived him and I moved away, disappointed that I could not stay with him.

— "I'll come to join you right after," he said with a look full of promises.

As I was about to return to my table, I heard someone hailing me from afar. As I turned around, I discovered James with his wife on his arm.

— "Hi, Zoe. Wow, you're so different, I didn't recognize you right away. This is my wife, Beith.

— "Hello, Beith. I am delighted to meet you," I said.

In front of this particularly cold woman, with her lips exaggerated with makeup and bulging with botox, I tried to make an effort by showing a most enthusiastic smile to prevent the gloom from overwhelming me. Chloe was right. Beith seemed really special, at least at first sight.

— "We're going to leave. Did you have a good evening?" James asked me.

— "Excellent! The place is simply fantastic, and I really enjoyed the speech," I admitted sincerely.

— "Perfect. In that case, I wish you a safe journey back to LA. We were delighted to meet you, Zoe."

— "Thank you for everything, James, I'll send you the article as soon as it's finished."

I waved, hoping that Beith would hold back a few more seconds before jumping on me, then I went back to my table.