DESTINED SOULMATES

CHAPTER 013

ZAYN’S POV

I stepped outside with Kaiser after he called me out of my room to discuss something important. The night was calm, but my mind wasn’t. Kaiser leaned against the door frame as he stared at the ocean.

“Father called,” he said, breaking the silence. “He wants me back home.”

I nodded slowly. “Figured he would.”

“He actually sent me here to keep an eye on things for him,” he paused and gave me a pointed look. “See how…this would turn out.”

I rubbed my temple in frustration, trying to ward off the looming headache that sprung up as a result of all the thinking I’d been doing. “Yeah, well, thirty days isn’t enough to gain the trust of someone you barely know.”

Kaiser gave a short laugh as he folded his arms over his chest. “True.”

I ran a hand through my hair as I started to pace around. Anger began to sizzle within me and I tried to control it from boiling over. “He never listens,” my voice came out rough, filled with frustration.

My hands turned into fists as I tried to keep my anger in check. “It’s always been his way, no matter the consequences. He’s so stubborn and greedy and selfish. He’s gotten himself in some deep s**t and now he’s dragging everyone else with him.”

“You know how he is, Zayn,” he said with a calm expression on his face, but there was a flicker of understanding in his eyes. “Pride comes first.

“Well, it’s gonna be that same pride that’ll cost us everything,” I hissed, my voice almost rising to a yell.

There was silence for a while before he spoke up again, his tone turning low and serious as he pushed himself off the doorframe. “You’ve got two weeks left, Zayn. Just wrap up what you came here to do and—“

Before he could finish, a faint noise from behind made us both turn. Ariana slowly walked into the living room, her eyes flicking between us.

“You’re leaving already?” she asked Kaiser.

‘s**t,’ I inwardly cursed. ‘How much had she heard?’

His lips quirked into a smirk as he instantly switched to his usual playful tone. He sighed, “Unfortunately, yes. Got some work to do.” A silly grin appeared on his face as he continued. “Try not to miss me too much, okay?”

Ariana rolled her eyes. “I’ll survive.”

Kaiser turned back to me and gave me one last look. The kind of look that said, ‘Don’t mess this up.’

I stayed quiet, watching him until he disappeared. Two weeks. The reminder hit me like a punch to the gut. Thirty days to gain the trust of someone I barely knew, someone I didn’t want to hurt in the process or after everything was finally over. And now, I was running out of time.

I stepped inside the villa, hoping to leave the tension with Kaiser behind, but Ariana was right there with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed in a way I hadn’t seen before.

“Why did you marry me, Zayn?”

I froze mid-step, taken aback by the question. ‘Of course, she’d ask.’

“That’s a loaded question,” I said after a moment of silence, forcing a smirk.

“Oh, don’t brush it off.” Her voice was firm but soft, like she was forcing herself to do this. “I heard what you said to Kaiser. About your father.”

‘Fuck.’ She didn’t just hear snippets, she had heard the whole damn thing. I tilted my head, giving her a measured look. “Eavesdropping now?”

“You guys weren’t exactly whispering,” she hissed, but I caught the way her hands fidgeted. She was nervous.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair as I tousled it. “Look, my family’s complicated. That’s all there is to it.”

“That’s not an answer,” she took a step forward, closing the distance between us. “Why did you say thirty days wasn’t enough to gain my trust? What’s really going on, Zayn? What deep s**t are you guys into?”

Her persistence threw me off. Ariana wasn’t usually this bold. I should have admired it, but at that time, it was the last thing I needed.

I exhaled slowly and finally met her gaze. “You really want the truth?”

She nodded, her eyes never leaving mine as she probably searched for something within their depths.

“Fine,” I took a step closer to her, lowering my voice. “I married you because….it was necessary.”

Her brows scrunched up. “Necessary?”

“Yeah,” I shrugged. “You have your reasons for agreeing, don’t you? Maybe mine’s just as complicated.”

“Stop trying to evade my question, Zayn,” the words came out through clenched teeth and I knew she wasn’t going to drop this topic anytime soon. But, who could blame her? It’s not every day you get a marriage proposal out of the blue that’ll change the trajectory of your life forever.

“I deserve to know why someone as rich and elegant as you decided to get married to someone like… me.”

I could feel the hurt and anger shimmering in her words as she looked me in the eye. I clenched my jaw tightly, resisting the urge to tell her everything.

I just couldn’t.

For a moment, I wished there was a way I could change everything and go back in time to prevent all these from happening.

But sadly, life didn’t work that way.

I was so confused. I didn’t know what to do. My brain was in a huge mess and Ariana’s snooping around wasn’t helping matters.

“Why can’t you just tell me what’s going on? I deserve to know, you don’t even know if there’s a way I can help,” she said softly.

‘Help? I think not.’

I sighed again, running a hand down my face in frustration. The weight of everything—her questions, my own secrets—pressed down on me like an anvil. “Ariana, just let it go. It’s not that simple.”

“Nothing’s ever simple with you,” she shot back. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an intensity that made me pause. “First, you’re cryptic. Then you’re distant. Suddenly, you just became this…new, completely different Zayn who I can’t stop thinking about. And now I find you talking about trust and time with your brother like I’m some…deal you have to close.”

I turned away, swallowing the bitter taste in my mouth as I couldn’t bear to look Ariana in the eye for another second. The night air felt cold against my skin, but it did nothing to cool the burning in my chest. “You don’t understand,” I said quietly as if I was speaking more to myself than to her.

“Then make me understand,” she said firmly as she took another step closer to me and locked eyes with mine. “Why did you marry me, Zayn? What are you hiding?”

I shook my head, a faint smile tugging at the corners of my lips despite what was happening. “You really are stubborn, do you know that?”

“Stop trying to evade the question.” Her gaze didn’t waver, and for a moment, I saw something in them that made my chest tighten—not from the pain, but from guilt. She deserved better than the lies I was feeding her.

I took a deep breath, trying to ease the hammering in my head. If anything, it only grew worse, spreading through my temples and down my neck. I felt the familiar ache in my chest, a dull throb that warned me I was reaching my limit.

The ground seemed to move slightly beneath my feet, but I ignored it. I had to keep moving, keep talking—anything to distract her from the truth for a while. “Look, we’re both tired. Let’s just—“

I didn’t finish the sentence. A sharp, searing pain shot through my chest, stealing my breath. I gritted my teeth and let out a strained groan as I tried to make the pain subside, but it didn’t.

“Zayn? Are you okay?” Ariana’s tone shifted as concern replaced the frustration.

I nodded vehemently, even though everything in me screamed the complete opposite.

I took another step, it was much slower this time, and each movement felt like a raging battle that tested my strength and willpower to continue standing. The edges of my vision turned blurry and I could see the dark spots creeping in.

My heart was pounding abnormally and each beat was a painful reminder that I was running out of time.

The world tilted and my knees finally yielded to the pain as I stumbled forward. Ariana’s voice sounded distant, like it was coming from the end of a tunnel.

And the next thing I knew….everything went dark.