DESTINED SOULMATES

CHAPTER 005

Ariana’s POV

The private jet hummed softly beneath me, and the luxurious leather seat I was settled in seemed to mould to my body, gently cradling me as I gazed out the window. Clouds that were as white as snow floated lazily in the pale blue sky, but my thoughts were rooted in the morning’s events.

Julian had seen us off with his usual stiffness, firmly patting Zayn on the back and tossing a curt nod in my direction. His eyes had lingered a second too long as though he were silently passing a message that only Zayn could decipher. The unease that had settled in my chest then hadn’t quite left yet.

I let out a small sigh as I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. The car ride to his private hangar had also been tense. Zayn had sat beside me in the backseat, scrolling through his phone as usual with an unreadable expression on his face as the driver drove us away from the house.

“Where are we going?” I had managed to ask as I broke the silence.

He didn’t look up from his phone but he answered calmly, “We’re going to one of my resorts in The Maldives.”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Of course. I should’ve known we’d be going to one of his many first-class hotels and luxury resorts scattered across the globe.

“How long will we be staying?”

I caught the way his shoulders rose and fell with a quiet, exasperated breath as if he was tired of hearing me talk. “A month,” he replied nonchalantly.

My head snapped toward him. “A month?” my voice nearly rose to a yell.

“Yes, a month,” he repeated, amusement flickering in his eyes as he finally shifted his gaze to mine. “You’re not planning on running away again, are you?”

I bit my lower lip, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reply. He smirked, clearly enjoying my discomfort before he turned back to his phone.

Now, sitting alone in the jet, I couldn’t help but wonder where he had gone. Although the pilot had already announced that we’d be taking off soon, I knew he wasn’t going to get the aircraft in the air until Zayn—who was nowhere in sight—was on board. Before I got in, he had told me to go ahead and board while he handled something outside.

I glanced around the spacious cabin, taking in the plush seats and rich wood that were highlighted by warm and golden lighting. The silence felt surprisingly heavier without Zayn’s presence and a strange sense of dread settled over me again.

‘Where was he?’

Before my mind could linger on the thought for too long, footsteps echoed from the entrance. My heart skipped a beat in anticipation, but when Zayn finally appeared, his face looked pale. His pace was much slower than usual and it was almost as if every step was a struggle.

My lips arched downwards in a small frown as I watched him closely. Something was off—terribly off.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly, concern laced in my voice.

He gave a small, forced nod as he brushed past me and sank into the seat across mine. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he muttered, but the strained edge in his voice told a different story.

I didn’t push further, but my mind was filled with questions. As the jet began to move down the runway, Zayn’s sudden pale complexion and stiff posture clawed at my thoughts. He leaned back on his seat and closed his eyes, but the tension in his jaw didn’t ease. I contemplated asking him if he was okay again but I bit the inside of my cheek. His expression had made it clear—he definitely wasn’t in the mood for questions.

The soft whirr of the jet was soothing as it filled the space around me. My eyes shifted to the window, watching clouds float by as we got higher into the sky. Everything just felt like a blur—the marriage, my futile attempts to run away, and now this. A month-long honeymoon with…him. Someone who barely spoke to me.

A slow breath left my lips as I leaned my head against the cool glass. My body felt heavy, weighed down by thoughts I couldn’t shake off.

My mind wandered to my stepmom, was she aware of this honeymoon? But then again, even if she knew, it wasn’t like she’d care. After all, she was the one who forced me into this—practically selling me off to people that only heaven knows what they wanted from me.

I closed my eyes for a moment, just to breathe. Maybe it was the lack of sleep catching up to me or the emotional rollercoaster of the past few days. Either way, I felt my body giving in to the wave of exhaustion that hit me from nowhere.

I blinked a few times, trying to fight it, but when I realized how long we were going to be on this flight, I eventually gave in and then everything just faded away.

‘Just for a little while,’ I told myself. ‘I just need a moment to rest.’

----

‘Ariana.’

The sound of my name pulled me lazily from my sleep. It was soft at first, like a quiet whisper at the back of my head.

‘Ariana, wake up.’

It came again, more persistent this time. My lashes slowly fluttered open but my mind was still hazy. The first thing I noticed was warmth—soft and gentle beneath my cheek. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized I wasn’t leaning on the window anymore. My head was resting on something firm yet surprisingly comfortable. Zayn.

I blinked up at him, still feeling foggy. His eyes held an unusual and rare softness and his thumb was gently stroking my cheek in a tender, almost absentminded caress. His touch sent waves of electricity through me and I could feel my knees getting strangely weak.

I jolted upright, my heartbeat picking up. “I-uh-sorry,” I mumbled, brushing stray strands of hair out of my face as I tried to make sense of it. How had I ended up on Zayn’s shoulder?

Zayn didn’t seem bothered at all. In fact, he was—dare I say it—smiling. A small, almost gentle curve of his lips that I didn’t recognize. That was the first time I saw him with an expression other than a straight face or a hint of a smirk. He was genuinely smiling and he looked so….beautiful, even though his smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“You sleep like a cat,” he said softly. Oh God, even his voice sounded different too. It wasn’t the usual cold or curt tone. This was warmer, teasing even. “Didn’t move an inch the whole time.”

I stared at him, not quite sure how to respond after hearing that I slept practically close to a whole day. This…wasn’t him. At least, not the version I knew. “Wait…the whole flight?”

He nodded as he unbuckled his seatbelt. “You were out cold. For a second there, you got me worried.”

I blinked again, trying to process what he was saying. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s fine.” He cut me off with a lazy shrug, his eyes still stayed fixed on me. “Kind of cute, actually.”

Cute?! My heart stuttered at the word. He said it so casually like it was no big deal. But it was HUGE. There was no way, I was definitely dreaming or hallucinating.

My cheeks burned, and I quickly looked away, focusing on the view outside the window in an attempt to hide the goofy smile that crept up my face.

And that’s when I saw it.

The ocean stretched out endlessly with a vibrant shade of blue that looked almost unreal as it glinted like sparkling diamonds under the sun. White sand embraced the shoreline, dotted with palm trees that swayed gently in the light breeze. It looked like something straight out of a postcard, except this was more surreal.

Peaceful. Perfect. Isolated.

‘Wow,’ I thought.

“We’re here,” Zayn said quietly.

I nodded, still staring out the window. But my mind wasn’t on the view anymore. It was on him. The comment from earlier still lingered in my head, along with the way he’d touched my cheek. The way he’d smiled.

It felt like I was seeing someone entirely different from the man I’d married. Was it all an act? Or was he just acting that way because his father was around?

No, that couldn’t be right. He had always acted cold and distant even before his father came to the house, so why the sudden change?

‘Ah, I get it,’ I inwardly scoffed in my head. ‘He’s trying to get something from me, that’s why he suddenly changed.’ I remembered hearing Julian talk about why Zayn needed to take me on this honeymoon. This was just part of the plan.

I bit my lip, glancing at him again. ‘Should I act like I don’t know?’ I asked myself. ‘Maybe if I go along with it, I can figure out what they’re planning before they make a move.’

Yes, that was what I would do.

Zayn stood and offered me his hand but I ignored it, determined not to give him the satisfaction of thinking I needed help. His lips slightly twitched at the corners, but he didn't say anything.

The door to the jet opened and the warm island breeze hit me immediately. I blinked rapidly against the sudden brightness as we walked down the steps, the scent of exotic flowers filling the air.

But something caught my attention. No, it wasn't the breathtaking scenery before me but a man standing at the bottom of the stairs.

He casually leaned against a sleek white Maybach with a grin that looked too confident for comfort.

Zayn froze mid-step. His entire body tensed as his eyes locked on the figure. “And what the hell are you doing here?” He asked the man calmly.

The man straightened himself up, pushing himself off the car with a lazy grin plastered on his face. “Couldn't let you have all the fun, Zayn,” he said, his voice dripping with amusement. “A tropical vacation sounded too good to pass up.”

Zayn's jaw tightened as his eyes turned to slits. “It’s a honeymoon and you're not supposed to be here.”

The man shrugged, unfazed. “Honeymoon, vacation, whatever you call it, as long as there's not gonna be any work to be done, I just couldn't miss it.” Then his gaze shifted to me, his playful smile still on his lips. “Besides, I wanted to see if the rumours were true. If you've actually found someone who can put up with you,” his lips curled into a mocking pout. “I must say I'm deeply hurt that I wasn't invited to the wedding.”

I raised an eyebrow. Who was this guy?

Zayn shot him a look that I couldn't understand but the tension between them was obvious even without words.

“Who is this?” I asked quietly, glancing between the two of them.

The man's grin widened, his eyes flickering to Zayn before he answered. “Kaiser. And you are?” he tilted his head to the side a bit, looking at me like I was some puzzle he wanted to solve.

“Ariana.” Zayn's voice was brief and his voice held a warning as he said my name.

Kaiser didn't seem the least bothered. “Hmm, Ariana, huh? Interesting,” his eyes lingered on me uncomfortably for a while before he spoke up again. “Nice to meet you.”

Turning back to Zayn, he continued. “I'll let you two settle down for a while. But don't think I'm going anywhere.”

With that, he strolled around the car and towards the driver's seat.

‘This honeymoon was going to be a lot more complicated than I thought.’