Queen of power, Slave to his touch

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Zara

The water was hot, just the way I liked it. Maybe it could burn the memories of his touch.

I sank deeper in the tub, arms resting on the edge, staring blankly at the chandelier above me. The steam curled around me like a lover's breath, the look in his eyes, how he knew how to disarm me without a word.

God, why do he have to come back being so different.

My chest tightened.

Why did his presence linger on my skin like a perfume? Almost familiar, sharp and impossible to ignore.

We used to be everything to each other. Best friends. Partners in crime. Soul ties in a way even I couldn't understand.

And I let him go.

I abandoned everything we had like it was nothing. And the worst part is, I don't think my reasons are valid enough. Just ambition..fear.. power? Or maybe all three.

He's different now.. colder, unreadable, but then again so am I. We were kids the last time we really saw each other, now we are just… shadows of who we used to be.

I shut my eyes, the heat biting at my cheeks. My heart thudded, too loud in the silence.

I reached for the cigarette resting by the edge of the tub, lit it with shaking fingers, and drew in deeply. The burn steadied me.

I needed to forget his touch.

But my body refused to.

The smoke curled around me like a lover I didn't ask for. Warm, toxic and addictive. I watched it spiral upwards, disappearing into the dim bathroom light.

My fingers were steady now, but only because the fifth drag had numbed everything.

The water had gone lukewarm and I didn't care. But I was still in it, sinking, floating, stuck.

The door creaked

Julie.

The smoke hit her first.

She waved a hand through the fog, coughing softly. “You're two hours late”. I said, my voice flat, barely turning my head.

“You're impossible,” she muttered, closing the door behind her. I didn't care. Let her drown in the smoke too.

“Just sit,” I murmured, bringing the cigarette back to my lips.

She pulled the stool closer. Not even bothering with her notebook, “you look miserable”.

I didn't answer.

“Zara” she said, softer now. “cigarette are an awful way for dull pain”

I turned my head slowly, finally meeting her eyes, and let a show, a sarcastic smile stretch my lips. “But I like it that way”

She exhaled, frustrated.

She then pulled out her glasses from the collar of her blouse and slid them on with that therapist look she always gave me when she was about to dig deep. “I see you're trying to dull the pain. Although I don't like the method but it is Obvious”

She said calmly, scanning me like a book she had already read twice. “So what's up, talk to me”..

I sighed, flicking ash into the tray beside the tub “I don't even know if it's the scandal or Aliestar”

Her brows raise slightly . “I thought you two were just childhood friends”

I let out a dry laugh. “it's Deeper than that…..and complicated “

Julie smiled, waiting.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the cold porcelain. “We were more than friends. He was… everything once. And I never looked for him. Even after knowing what his father sacrificed to help build this empire, my father's empire.”

The words felt heavier in the steam filled air. I kept going, not even looking at her face. “ I was so focused on myself, on surviving. After my parents died, I didn't have the luxury to grieve. I had to take off who I was and put on someone…. Tougher. Smarter. Colder. And somewhere in all that changed me… I forgot Him.

Julie was silent

I looked at her, my eyes glossy but dry "and now….he's the only one who can help me. And for the first time since we saw” I paused…my voice trembling just slightly “I feel.. remorse”

Julie exhaled, surprised “zara”

I exhaled silently letting the water fold around my body like a shield, but even that isn't enough.

“WHAT really happened Zara “ she asked , and something inside me flicked. Like a switch I've been avoiding all these years.

“after our parents parted ways” I said keeping my voice steady even though my chest feels anything but “they were best friends… Almost Family . And then one decision, tore everything”

The words found their way out

I rise from the bath tub, with water cascading down my skin with thin, trembling lines as I walk towards the mirror. The room feels colder with every step, the echo of the past tightening my throat.

“His dad lost everything “ I whispered “and mine gained everything”

The mirror fogs from the steam, but somehow I could still see myself, I could still see my reflection . Pale, exhausted , almost unfamiliar. A version of me stuck between and memory.

“They went bankrupt. We became billionaires”. A bitter laugh escapes Me, quite,sharp,empty

“Tell me how that doesn't ruin people”

My eyes locked themselves onto the mirror…and the longer I stared, the heavier everything got. Like the walls are shrinking, the walls know too much.

It presses on my chest

The old ache.

That silent, ugly truth.

I swallowed hard, tearing My gaze from the mirror before it swallow me whole

“Lets talk about something else” I say quickly, my voice low, almost pleading. “Please”

Behind me, Julie nodded, with that soft knowing smile. The kind that understands without needing to push.

Because no one forces me to open doors I have nailed shut.

And she knows it .

She clears her throat, a careful little sound. She steps closer, gently sliding the coffee cup out of my hand like she's disarming a bomb.

“Coffee after smoking ?” she says, raising her brow “You're literally trying to fry your nervous system”

I snort despite myself “oh please, I'm already Fried”

She rolls her eyes, settling Beside the counter “new topic, Before you disappear into that mirror”

I smile

“The scandal?, did Aliestar agree to give the documents”

I paused, reaching for the gloss

“No”

“Why?”

“Because he needs my help first”

“Help with what?” Julie asks, voice dropping like she's bracing for something dark.

I snap the gloss shut after applying.

“his sister, she's been taken. And whoever has her….also want those documents”

Julie freezes. Shock flare In her eyes “taken as in?”

“Yes missing” I cut In “she's been taken Hostage”

Julie folded her arms, eyes sharp In a way that instantly pulls my attention

“Zara…..why are you letting Aliestar walk around freely when you know that people who are behind your scandal, knows he has the documents”

I blink. “What?”

“Do you realise if anything happens to him, that document is gone.and if that Happens.

She steps closer, her voice Dropping

“everything You and your father has built, the entire empire would collapse . You need those documents”

My eyes widened in realisation, it dawned on me so hard I actually stumbled back a bit.

“oh my God” my voice cracked “f**k!”

I slammed my hand against the counter. “How could I be so careless”

I began to panic, my fingers shaking as I snatched my phone from the marble surface, screen lightning up as I scroll through numbers.

“I need To call my private trackers…someone has to trace him, he could be anywhere”

Julie grabs my arm, steady but firm. I paused, she looked dead in my eyes “it's not enough to trace him zara, you need to watch him. Every hour, every location, every move.”

My phone grows heavy in my hand, my mind racing. Every risk, Every enemy waiting to strike .

I swallowed..the decision forming like a blade in my chest.

“....he has to live under my roof” I said quietly, my grip to my phone tightened

“I'm not risking this, not him. Not the documents. Not my empire.