A Moment of Heart Break
She pushes the door open and enters the room, sobbing uncontrollably. In the fit of rage, she starts breaking furniture and puts her room in a chaotic mess, the unmistakable shattering of glass, and the sharp sound of furniture crashing against the walls. The room was a wreck—fragments of a broken vase scattered across the floor, a chair overturned, papers fluttering from the desk like wounded birds. Her heart had been shattered into a million pieces.
Zari stood at the center of it all, chest rising and falling rapidly, hands clenched into fists at her sides. The pain was unbearable, suffocating. Her face was damp with tears, her heart pounding with the weight of humiliation that burned inside her like an uncontrollable fire.
"This pain is too much to bear!" she cried out, her voice shaking under the weight of her anguish.
Dennis, who had been standing helplessly just a few feet away, moved closer, desperate to soothe her. He reached for her, his touch firm yet gentle, but Zari shoved him away with a strength that surprised even herself.
"What did I do to be humiliated this way?" Her voice trembled with raw emotion, her dark eyes burning with anger and sorrow.
"Zari, please," Dennis murmured, his hands still hovering between them, unsure whether she would let him comfort her or push him further away. "You don’t have to do this alone."
"I am alone!" she spat. "Alone in a world that doesn’t care. Alone in a world that only sees what it wants to see!"
Her vision blurred with tears as she turned her back on him, her shoulders shaking violently as she sobbed uncontrollably . The room felt too small, too suffocating, too full of emotions she couldn’t control.
Dennis said reassuringly, "You’re not alone, Zari," he said softly. "You have me."
His words struck something deep inside her, but instead of comfort, they only fueled her frustration. She whirled around, her face twisted in disbelief.
"You’re all the same," she said bitterly, voice filled with resentment. "You act like you care, like you’re different, but at the end of the day, you pity me."
"I don’t—"
"You do!" she cut him off, her voice raw and trembling. "Because after all, I’m ugly and unlovable! What self-respecting man would ever want to end up with a girl like me?"
Dennis inhaled sharply, pain flickering across his features at her words. He had heard Zari speak about herself in self-deprecating ways before, but this—this was different. This was pure, unfiltered despair.
"You are neither ugly nor unlovable," he said, his voice gentle but firm.
Zari let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. "Please, enough!" she snapped. "You don’t have to feel sorry for me. Just leave me alone."
"Dennis, I’m broken," she whispered after a moment of silence, her anger slowly dissolving into sorrow. Her voice wavered, hollow and tired. "Nobody cares about your good heart in this world. Beauty indeed isn’t skin deep."
Dennis stepped closer, his heart aching for her. Without hesitation, he reached out and pulled her into a gentle embrace. She stiffened at first, her body trembling, but slowly, she melted into his warmth. His arms wrapped around her securely, his presence steady, unwavering.
"Zari," he murmured while stroking her hair, "please don’t cry. You are beautiful—inside and out."
Her hands clutched at the fabric of his shirt, holding on as if he were the only thing anchoring her to this world.
Zari looked up at him, her face streaked with tears. The look in her eyes was one of raw vulnerability, a silent plea for him to stop saying things she could not bring herself to believe.
"Beauty isn’t skin deep," she repeated, but this time, her voice held no rage—only resignation. "At least not in this world."
She exhaled shakily, exhaustion finally overpowering her grief. Dennis carefully guided her toward the bed, helping her lie down as fresh tears continued to slip down her cheeks. She curled into herself, her body tense even as fatigue set in.
Dennis sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, watching her, with sadness in his eyes. Then, in a quiet voice, he said, "Let me get you some tea. It’ll help you relax."
Zari didn’t respond, but she didn’t protest either.
Dennis makes his way to the kitchen. He reheats the water in the kettle, crushes some fresh ginger, filtering it meticulously. He pours the ginger juice into a teacup and adds the steaming water, the aroma filling the space.
When he gets to the room, Zari is asleep. She is slightly snoring peacefully as she had too much to drink.
Dennis placed the tea on the nightstand and hesitated before reaching out, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.
He strokes her hair tenderly, with a mix of sadness and admiration in his eyes.
"Poor girl," he thought, “how could Jason be so cruel?Zari isn’t just kind hearted but also very beautiful… he’s not going to get away with this. I won’t let this slide.”
He wished he could take her pain away. He wished he could make her see herself the way he saw her, the way she truly is.
But he knew that it was beyond him alone.
So instead, he stayed by her side. He watched over her as she slept, making a silent promise to be there when she woke up.
To show her that true love—which is unconditional —still existed.
And that no matter how much she tried to push him away, he wasn’t going anywhere.
Not now.
Not ever.
The room was silent except for the soft sound of Zari’s breathing. Her exhaustion had finally overtaken her rage, but even in sleep, her body remained tense, as if still bracing for another blow. Dennis sat beside her, watching the way her fingers clutched the sheets, her brows furrowed as though nightmares still haunted her even in rest.
He exhaled heavily, running a hand through his hair. He wished he had the power to erase the cruelty she had endured.
His thoughts were distracted by the vibration of his cell phone. He checks his phone and sees 12 missed calls from Elena. “Not now Elena" he whispers to himself. He comes online and receives several messages from Elena. He sends her a voice note. “My darling, something came up. I’m sorry I couldn’t pick my calls. I’ll call you once this is sorted ” He goes offline and dials Leila’s number. It rings but she doesn’t pick up. He puts down his phone and keeps watching Zari in deep thought.
Zaris past was brutal but it couldn’t be compared to the public humiliation of that night.
The laughter. That was what Zari remembered most.
It had filled the elegant hall like a chorus of mockery, cruel and cutting, wrapping around her body like chains. She had never felt more exposed, never felt smaller, even though her frame was anything but small.
She stood frozen in the middle of the banquet hall, surrounded by people dressed in silk and suits, people who watched her with a mix of amusement and pity. And at the center of it all stood Jason, the man she had foolishly thought cared about her.
The man who had just destroyed her in front of everyone.
“I mean, just look at her!” Jason’s voice rang through the room, filled with open contempt. He gestured toward Zari with exaggerated disgust, his handsome face twisted in a sneer. “You think I actually wanted to be with her?!” He scoffed, taking a swig of his drink.
Zari stood paralyzed, her throat tight, her heart pounding like a war drum inside her chest.
"Jason... what are you doing?" she had whispered, her voice barely audible over the sound of giggles and murmurs from the crowd.
Jason laughed—a sharp, vicious sound. “Oh, don’t act surprised, Zari. You had to know this was coming.”
Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Not yet. Not in front of all these people.
"You’re ugly and unlovable, Zari," Jason continued, his voice loud and cruel. "You were never my type. You were just... a distraction."
A sharp gasp rippled through the crowd. Some people looked uncomfortable, others outright delighted by the drama unfolding before them.
"Take a look at me girl. I’m every woman’s dream. Didn’t you find it weird that someone like me with countless options would look in your direction? You’re such a joke!!!”
His words were daggers, slicing through her, one after the other.
Zari’s breath came in short, sharp gasps. Her chest ached, her vision blurred, and the once-beautiful evening had turned into a living nightmare.
A joke. A distraction.
Her hands clenched at her sides.
Jason smirked, looking her up and down. “Come on, sweetheart. Look at yourself. I only came close to you out of curiosity… you know… well you can’t comprehend what I’m trying to communicate as you’re too ugly to understand ”.
Laughter erupted again, and Zari felt her stomach churn violently.
She looked around, searching for a single face that might defend her. A single person who might stand up and say this wasn’t okay.
But no one did.
She had never felt so utterly alone.
Without another word, Zari turned and walked out, her legs shaking beneath her. The moment she stepped outside, the tears came—hot, furious, endless.
And that was when the rage took over.
Dennis had heard what happened. Everyone had.
And even though Zari had acted like she didn’t care—like Jason’s words meant nothing—it was clear from the wreckage in this room, from the anguish in her voice, from the brokenness in her eyes, that Jason’s cruelty had cut her in a way that might never fully heal.
Dennis swallowed hard, looking at the sleeping woman before him.
Zari was beautiful.
Not just because of her curves, not just because of the softness in her face or the light in her eyes.
But because she wasn’t pretentious.
Dennis had known Zari since they were younger. He had seen the way a lot of girls bullied her. How they had treated her for being different when they were children, and envied her because of their friendship.
Zari had always been different.
When the other girls were still petite and slim, her body had begun changing too soon, too fast.
By the time she was twelve, her hips had begun to widen, her chest had filled out, and she had curves that no one else in her class had.
At first, she was teased.
Then, she was bullied.
The other girls whispered about her, calling her names—“Fat.” “Weird.” “Too much.”
Boys stared, but not with the innocent curiosity they showed the other girls. With something else. Something crude.
Zari had learned quickly that she was seen as different, and that in a world where the required beauty standard was slenderness, being different meant being ugly.
As she grew older, the bullying changed.
Girls no longer mocked her just to be mean. They envied her, as some wondered why she could have type of relationship with Dennis, the lust of their lives.
Zari had what they didn’t—full curves, natural beauty that didn’t conform to their delicate ideals, a presence that couldn’t be ignored.
And so, they found new ways to bring her down.
They whispered behind her back, spread rumors, ensured she always felt like she didn’t belong.
And Zari had learned to build walls around her heart to survive.
