Chapter 2 A New Start

It is morning now, I rolled out my blanket and stretched in the direction of the sun, just shining its warm golden light over the trees. The birds were calling to one another in that beautiful way they do and a light breeze carried the scent of flowers. Amazingly I didn't wake up to see Zein, probably he sneaked out quietly without waking me up. I was feeling all better as the doctor had said earlier, I woke up feeling refreshed and optimistic about the day. I slowly made my way downstairs, being greeted by comforting sounds and the smell of breakfast being prepared by maidens in the kitchen.

The clinking of utensils, the sizzling of food on the stove, and the laughter of maidens created a cosy atmosphere. The maidens were taken aback when they saw me there.

"Well, this is new" I took notice of one of them whispering to the other. "What are you preparing today?" I inquired. " Good morning Ma'am, today we're making a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, crispy bacon and freshly baked bread. We're hoping it suits your taste. Is there anything you would like me to add or change?" she asked. "Oh! that's perfect, thanks for letting me know." They had no idea how lost I was, I knew for one that I was a pretty bad cook. I left the kitchen and went outside to the balcony.

Breakfast was served and it was now time to eat. I was already seated and waiting for Zein to come. I had a mix of excitement and curiosity, I felt a little nervous too because of what had happened the night before. He came out of his room taking confident strides, holding onto the rail for support and barely had his eyes locked on me. He sat down, "Hope you're feeling better," He said aggressively. I nodded.

"What I did yesterday meant nothing, I am not the love of your life and I'm never going to be, but it's still my job to make sure you are safe and healthy."

When I heard him say those words, it felt like there was a heavy weight settling in my chest and a sense of emptiness washing over me. I knew I wasn't supposed to experience any of that but I thought I felt a "spark" between us yesterday, I felt so silly to even assume he wasn't the person I thought he was. "Kayla wake up already, you barely even know this guy, why would Jane just disappear from her wedding" At that moment I lost my appetite, I dropped the cutlery and ran upstairs to my room.

Later in the evening, After I had finished showering, I was watching a boring TV show and decided to change the channel. Unexpectedly, I heard a very unusual sound at the other end of the corridor upstairs. My heart fainted for a while, I thought something was about to change all of a sudden. Maybe all of these are about to end, maybe Nash would forgive me after all. But then I heard the sound of something being broken and destroyed. I started feeling extremely anxious and scared. For things to be shattering so loudly there had to be two people involved. So I jolted out of my room, curious to find out what was happening. I followed the noise, stepping cautiously and tiptoeing to avoid any padding noise with my bathroom slipper. The echoes of the shattering lead me right in front of Zein's bedroom.

With a manful look on my face, I looked through the peephole of Zein's door. The first person I saw was a lady with ombré hair wearing clothes that I would even shy away from. Zein had enfolded his arms around her waist and kissed her. They both continued to have a fierce make-out bout smashing things all over the place. I could feel a little pain down my chest, but I couldn't care less, he could do whatever he wanted with whoever person he felt like.

I noticed that one of them was about to get out, so I quickly ran back to my room. I stared at the black vehicle through my window and I saw the lady get into the car. I could still hear objects being smashed here and there and I knew it was coming from Zein's room. "Just ignore him, he doesn't even care about you, he already made you aware of that" Well, I couldn't.

I ventured out from the security of my room and there I was, standing in front of Zein's door. I reached out my hand gently and then knocked but there was no response. The silence persisted. With a mix of curiosity and caution, I turned the doorknob and stepped inside. I was so petrified, everything in the room had been destroyed. Shards of glass from shattered cups and broken objects littered the floor. Even the furniture had been destroyed. Amidst the chaos stood Zein, looking completely ferocious. " Zein, are you okay?" I asked with the hope of getting a response from him but there was none. I began walking towards him, honestly speaking I was extremely terrified. I gently placed my hands on his shoulder. He turned to look me in the eye, his eyes raging with so much hatred.

"This is all your fault, Kayla, every single thing that has happened here is because of you! You destroyed everything!" His eyes glared aggressively. I wanted to walk away slowly from him but I was too late. He pushed me against the wall and had already clenched his fist heading right towards my face. "Zein, please you don't have to do this" I whispered, expecting to calm him down. "Shut up, will you!" The scent of alcohol wafted from him, a mix of stale beer and spirit lingering in the air. At that moment tears cascaded down from those large watered eyes of mine with each drop carrying so much weight of sadness. He pushed himself off of me and struggled to even walk straight.

I held him by the shoulder and gently guided him into the bathroom. The tightness of his shirt bothered him, he had little awareness left within him and was able to undo his belt, let his trousers drop and slowly slide the offending shorts to the ground. I adjusted the temperature of the water and turned on the shower, after he was done I used a fresh towel to dry him off. I couldn't help but be so captivated by his biceps. He looked like a man who had picked up heavy objects and put them down and then done that again a few billion times. He laid on the bed slowly and I carefully draped the duvet over him.

As hard as I tried I couldn't be angry with him. It wasn't his fault. I wanted to stay by him all night and watch him as he slept but I had to leave. I had no idea how we would react if he woke up to see me there.

I was just waiting for the day that he would blame me for everything that had happened. The hatred that he had for me was nothing compared to what I felt. What he had been caring for wasn't the one he received and I felt sympathetic. I knew that he was so far from forgiving me, but there was something that I had to accomplish, something that would mend his heart.