Chapter 184 — If I Was Just a Substitute
Zarina’s POV
I slammed the door shut.
The sound echoed through the room, and for a moment, everything went still.
My chest was tight. My legs shaky. I barely made it to the bed before my knees gave out. I dropped onto the mattress and buried my face in my hands.
Tears poured freely down my cheeks.
I didn’t even try to stop them.
All I could hear was her voice—Zaria’s voice—repeating that name. Over and over in my mind. Her laugh. Her smug, knowing eyes. And then the way Asher looked at her.
Like a ghost had come back to life.
I had given everything—every single part of myself to this life, this family, this love. And now, I was standing in the middle of it, suddenly unsure if it had ever been mine at all.
The door handle rattled.
“Asher,” I croaked. “Don’t. Please.”
“Zarina—”
“Go away.”
His voice sounded again, lower, strained. “Zarina, please. Open the door.”
I didn’t move.
He knocked again. “I just want to talk.”
I curled deeper into myself.
