Chapter 2 The weight of silk

CHAPTER TWO

The dress shimmered like liquid fire as it hung from the mannequin - a deep emerald green that caught the light and danced with it. Zara stared at it, arms folded, heart too loud.

"You're quiet," Lana said, stepping into the room, barefoot, holding a steaming mug of tea. "That's usually not a good sign."

Zara offered a soft smile and sat on the edge of the bed. "It's just a dress."

"It's not," Lana replied simply. "Not when it's that dress. Not when it's his gala."

Zara took the mug from her sister, fingers brushing briefly. "I don't even know if he'll be there."

Lana snorted. "He owns the company. Of course he'll be there. You know Zayne doesn't miss a chance to make a scene without raising his voice."

Zara looked down into the tea, the steam brushing her cheek like a memory.

She hadn't seen him in two years. Not since that night in Paris - the rooftop, the rain, the words neither of them meant but said anyway.

She told herself she was over it.

But every time she heard his name, something stirred.

Something angry. Something broken.

She stood and walked to the window, her view a thousand city lights blinking with secrets. "I don't want drama."

"Then why wear a dress that turns heads?" Lana asked gently.

"Because I'm tired of hiding," Zara whispered.

Lana studied her. "Then walk in there like the storm he tried to outrun."

A silence passed between them, thick with memory and things unsaid.

Then Zara turned back to the dress. "It's time, isn't it?"

"Yes," Lana said. "It's time."

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lnterlude: Rain in Paris

The rooftop was quiet, save for the steady drizzle of rain tapping against the glass railing. Paris stretched before them - golden, endless, indifferent. Zara stood with her back to the view, arms folded across her chest, soaked to the skin. Her eyes were on Zayne.

He stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, his designer shirt clinging to his frame. The thunder rolled like a warning.

"I didn't come here to fight," he said, his voice lower than the clouds above them.

"No," Zara said quietly, "you came here to lie. Again."

Zayne's jaw tightened. "I never lied to you."

"Then why does it feel like I never knew you at all?" she snapped. Her voice cracked - the kind of break that came from loving someone too deeply, for too long.

He stepped forward, slowly. "Zara-"

"You left," she said, voice rising. "Without a word. No calls, no texts, nothing for six months. I was in your past like I was never even part of your present."

"I had no choice." His voice was sharp now. "Things changed-"

"No," she cut him off. "You changed."

Rainwater slid down her cheek like a tear. She turned away, staring out at the skyline, her breath shaky. "I would've stayed through anything, Zayne. But you shut me out."

Behind her, he said nothing. The silence screamed.

She turned back slowly, her next words trembling. "Tell me the truth... Did you ever really love me?"

Zayne looked at her then, really looked - like he was memorizing the exact moment his own heart cracked.

"I still do," he said.

Zara blinked once.

Then she walked past him, the rain washing over her, each step a goodbye.

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