CHAPTER 4
1285 Words
Liam didn’t sleep that night.
He lay awake in his small apartment, staring at the ceiling, replaying the moment the installation fell—over and over—until even the memory felt bruised.
By morning, the guilt had settled in.
Not about the piece.
About the woman.
He shouldn’t have spoken to her like that.
He knew it.
But grief had a way of clawing through him when he least expected it, turning his voice into a weapon.
I should have apologized, he thought.
But he didn’t even know her name.
Zuri, meanwhile, woke up with a headache and a heart full of embarrassment.
Aunt Pesh’s loud morning knocking didn’t help.
“Wake up, Zuri! You have work! You cannot sleep like a miserable pigeon!”
Zuri dragged herself out of bed, showered, applied lip gloss, and tied her braids into a neat ponytail.
She had a client today.
A makeup client.
Her first in two weeks.
Money was tight, and she needed this job.
Focus, she told herself as she packed her brushes. Today will be better.
She slipped on her sandals, grabbed her tote bag, and left the house feeling slightly lighter.
Until she arrived at the client’s apartment.
And the door opened.
And there he was.
Liam.
Standing right in front of her.
Both of them froze.
Zuri’s heart dropped straight into her stomach.
Liam blinked, stunned, the toothbrush in his hand still dripping toothpaste foam down his wrist.
They stared at each other with identical expressions:
You?
Here?
Again?
A woman appeared behind him, tying a satin robe around her waist.
“Ah, you must be Zuri! The makeup artist!”
Zuri cleared her throat. “Y-yes.”
Liam looked like he had swallowed a whole avocado seed.
His sister—Kendi.
The resemblance was obvious now: the same dark eyes, same sharp cheekbones, same “I didn’t ask for this nonsense today” resting face.
Zuri exhaled.
Thank God it’s not his girlfriend.
Kendi smiled warmly. “Come in, come in! Don’t mind him—he’s useless before brushing his teeth.”
Liam shot her a glare.
Zuri stepped inside, praying for invisibility.
But the universe wasn’t done messing with her.
The Tension in the Room
Liam disappeared into the bathroom, and Zuri got to work setting up her brushes and palettes at the dining table.
Kendi sat, chattering excitedly.
“I have a photoshoot today. My brother is the photographer. He’s driving me crazy because he’s too perfectionist.”
Zuri’s brush froze mid-air.
Oh.
So she wasn’t just his sister—she was his client.
Great.
Just great.
“You okay?” Kendi asked.
Zuri forced a smile. “Yes. Sorry.”
Liam reentered the room, now fully dressed, hair slightly damp, looking like a walking apology—but refusing to speak one.
Their eyes met accidentally.
Zuri looked away first.
Kendi raised a brow, noticing the odd tension. “Do you two know each other?”
Liam opened his mouth.
Zuri opened hers at the same time.
“No.”
Kendi laughed. “You said that exactly the same way. Suspicious!”
Zuri pressed her lips together.
Liam cleared his throat. “We…met. At the festival.”
Kendi gasped dramatically. “Was he being awkward?”
Zuri blinked. “Um—”
“Yes,” Liam said quickly. “I was. Very awkward.”
Zuri glanced at him, surprised.
Kendi slapped the table. “I knew it! This man is allergic to normal social interaction!”
Liam rubbed his forehead. “Kendi, please.”
Zuri giggled before she could stop herself.
Liam’s eyes softened.
Just a bit.
Kendi Leaves Them Alone
An hour later, Zuri had finished Kendi’s makeup—soft bronze tones, a subtle wing, and warm nude lips.
Kendi checked herself in the mirror and squealed.
“Oh my God, Zuri! You’re hired forever! Liam, you’re paying her extra.”
Liam blinked. “…what?”
Kendi grabbed her bag. “I need to pick up my outfit from the tailor. Zuri, can you wait here? Liam still needs to take test shots.”
Zuri froze. “What? Why me?”
“Kwani you’re not human?” Kendi shrugged. “He needs a subject. You have a face. Problem solved.”
Before either of them could protest, she grabbed her car keys and left.
The door shut.
Silence.
Zuri and Liam stood in the middle of the room, avoiding each other’s eyes like two magnets forced together but resisting.
---
The Conversation They Couldn't Avoid
Liam was the first to speak.
“I owe you an apology.”
Zuri looked up slowly.
He inhaled. “At the festival… I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way.”
She crossed her arms gently, not defensive—just grounding herself. “You were hurting.”
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
His voice was low. Honest. Raw.
Zuri swallowed, her heart softening.
“You lost someone,” she said quietly. “I saw it in your eyes.”
He looked away.
“She…meant a lot to me,” he admitted. “And the installation was the last project I poured myself into for her.”
Zuri nodded. “And I destroyed it.”
“No.” Liam stepped closer. “It was an accident. My reaction wasn’t.”
Something warm flickered in her chest.
Forgiveness was easier when someone deserved it.
“…I accept your apology,” she said.
Liam exhaled, relief passing through his shoulders.
“And,” Zuri continued, “for what it’s worth, I really didn’t see that cable on the ground. Maybe it needed tape.”
Liam chuckled softly. “You’re probably right.”
Their eyes met again—this time without shock, without shame, without the shadow of grief between them.
Just two people learning each other’s presence for the first time.
---
The Test Shots
Liam gestured toward the window. “Can I take a few photos? It’ll help me adjust the lighting for Kendi.”
Zuri hesitated. “I’m not exactly photogenic.”
“That’s not true,” Liam said before he could stop himself.
Both of them froze.
Zuri’s cheeks warmed.
Liam cleared his throat, embarrassed. “I meant—you have a very…photographable face.”
“That doesn’t sound better.”
He rubbed his forehead. “Just—sit?”
Zuri laughed, nervous but flattered, and sat by the window. The sunlight hit her braids, casting honey-colored highlights across her cheekbones.
Liam lifted the camera.
Click.
Zuri shifted.
Click.
He lowered the camera slightly.
“You’re tense,” he said gently.
“I’m…trying not to blink too much.”
“You blink like a normal human being.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Somehow, yes.”
She giggled.
Liam paused a moment too long, the camera lowered, his eyes tracing her smile.
She was soft.
Warm.
Gentle in a way he hadn’t seen in years.
And it scared him.
Because gentle people could break you without ever meaning to.
He lifted the camera again.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Zuri finally relaxed.
Liam stepped back. “These are good.”
“Can I see?”
He flipped the camera around.
Zuri blinked at the photos.
That wasn’t the broken, exhausted woman she felt like.
This woman looked hopeful.
Bright.
Like someone who still believed in beautiful things.
“Wow,” she whispered. “Is that really me?”
Liam nodded softly. “…yeah.”
Their eyes held for a second too long.
The air shifted.
Not in a dramatic, cinematic way.
More like a quiet turning—
the kind that changes everything slowly, patiently.
---
Kendi Returns With Chaos
The door burst open.
“HELLO! I’m back!”
Zuri
- Writer
