Arranged To Be|18+✔️(editing)

'5

I woke up in the middle of the night; my throat was dry, and I was still in my clothes from earlier.

Did I sleep that long?

I thought, so I hurried to change into a pair of sweats and a tank top. I took my hair out and brushed out the knots before applying leave-in conditioner. I felt ten times better. I headed to the kitchen, looking forward to getting a glass of water. I was surprised to find Czar sitting at the dining room table, drinking a glass of what appeared to be Scotch.

"Why are you up this late?" Czar asked.

I walked to the kitchen and took a glass from the cupboard.

"I was thirsty," I said as I turned on the sink and rested under it, watching as it filled.

He came behind and placed the cup beside me on the counter. "You should get back to bed."

I turned to look at him.

"I will." I drank from the glass, but he took it out of my hand, and that was when I noticed his bloody knuckles.

"Omg." I gasped and took his hand into mine. "Your hands."

He slid his hands out of mine. "Go to bed, Zariah."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "You're hurt; let me help."

He backed up and turned. "Zariah, please go to bed."

I came up and walked around so that I was facing him. His eyes were closed, and he was rubbing his forehead.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Business, " he mumbled. Then he walked away from me and left me alone in the kitchen. I wanted to follow after him, but I knew it would be of no use.

I took my glass of water and headed back to my room.

~

I awoke to knocking at my door repeatedly, and I hurried to answer. It was Czar, but this time, he was completely dressed.

"We leave in five." He said.

"Where to?" I asked, confused.

"Just get dressed." He says.

I sighed in frustration but shut the door and hurried to shower quickly. I threw my hair in a neat bun (which took me a solid 15 minutes and hair my arms burning by the end of it) and hurried to brush my teeth. If Czar wanted to leave on time, he would have to stop giving me such short notice. I went to my closet and decided to go with a plane with a dress that was fitted on me. I put on black pumps and threw on a pair of earrings and a matching necklace. I grabbed a handbag, stuffed my phone and other things inside it, and headed out the door.

As I walked into the living room, I found Czar waiting for me. He was talking on the phone in Russian and seemed angry. When he saw me approaching him, he hung up the phone and turned to me. He looked me up and down but didn't comment on my outfit.

"Come on." He said and led the way.

I followed closely behind him, still wondering where we were headed, but he didn't seem interested in telling me.

He opened the car door for me, and I was momentarily shocked at his kindness. I thanked him and slid into the car. He walked around and climbed in before driving off. We sat in silence for a while before he finally spoke.

"We're going to my office." He suddenly said.

I didn't say anything; I just nodded my head and waited until we had reached our destination. We arrived in front of a huge building. I assumed this had to be his, considering it had his name on the sign. He parked the car and got out, this time not bothering to open the door for me. I rolled my eyes and opened the door before hurrying to catch up with him.

"While here, you must stay close by my side." He said.

"I'm not some little kid." I scoffed.

He turned to look at me. "Look, this is my place of work. If you try to pull anything here, I won't hesitate to punish you."

I glared at him, but I knew he wasn't bluffing. He kept walking, and I followed close behind him. When we stepped into the building, everyone seemed to rush to their desks and busy themselves with work. The conversations all died down, and it was extremely quiet. There was no noise besides clicking my heels as I followed Czar down the hall to the elevator.

I noticed that people glanced up to look at me, and I tried to avoid their curious gazes. We eventually reached the elevator, and as the door closed behind us, I felt a sense of relief. I hated having a lot of people staring at me; it made me feel uneasy and self-conscious.

The tension in the elevator was very thick. Czar stood as far away from me as possible and didn't bother saying anything. I couldn't help but stare at his hands. His knuckles were still badly bruised and obviously needed medical attention, but I knew he would only decline my offer to help.

"You should wrap that," I said lowly.

He glanced over at me, but he didn't speak.

"Seriously, what happened last night?' I asked, stepping closer to him.

"Nothing that you need to worry about." He said.

"But- your hands." I lifted his hands to examine it.

"The other guy looks way worse." He mumbled.

I looked up at him, locking eyes with him for a second. I saw some type of emotion, but it was gone just as quickly as it had come. He hurried to pull his hand away from me and cleared his throat while I stepped away.

"Personal space, " he said as the elevator doors opened, and he hurried out of the building as if I were some type of plaque.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance but followed after him.

What a big baby.

~*~

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