2 - Almost Crazy

Zia opened her eyes and found herself in her room. She had completely forgotten what happened after she drowned because at that moment, she had accepted that death had come for her.

The clock on the wall showed exactly eleven o'clock, and the sky visible from Zia's window was dark. That meant Zia had been unconscious for quite a long time without knowing who had helped her and brought her home.

Feeling extremely thirsty, Zia got up despite the pain in her body. She walked slowly and unsteadily, barefoot, toward the kitchen.

However, when she was about to return to her room with a tray of drinks and warm soup, Zia found James's door, which had been closed when she went to the kitchen, now open.

As Bella suggested, Zia and James's rooms had been separated. Bella said James needed to sleep alone to get good quality rest and aid his recovery. Of course, Zia didn't mind if it was good for James.

“I can't sleep without you.”

Zia's steps stopped instantly when she heard a woman's voice coming from James' room. At first, she didn't want to pay attention to the open door.

Out of curiosity, fearing she might be hallucinating, Zia approached and stood right at the threshold of James's dark room. Her gaze immediately fell on where James, bare-chested, was hugging Bella.

Zia did not react momentarily, as if her mind was processing what she saw.

“Bella, go back to your room,” James said, releasing his embrace.

“I don't want to. I want to be with you.”

The tray in Zia's hands fell, causing a commotion as the sound of broken glasses and bowls was scattered across the floor. This made Bella and James immediately turn their heads toward where Zia stood, frozen, her eyes welling up with tears.

“J—James, you and Bella...”

“No!” James denied it without waiting for Zia to finish her sentence.

Zia was in shock after realising that what she had witnessed was her husband and her best friend having an affair.

Bella jumped off the bed and buttoned up her open nurse's uniform with a panicked expression. This only made Zia more certain that something had happened between James and Bella. It was far more than just a kiss or a hug.

“Z - Zia, Bella is here to check on me.” James stood up to defend himself.

With her body trembling and throat tight, Zia stepped inside without seeing James. She didn't react at all when her feet stepped on broken glass. Now her mind was filled with thoughts of James and Bella.

Unfortunately, Zia couldn't hold back her tears when she faced James and saw the kiss marks on several parts of his body. Her eyes widened, and she stepped back, stepping on the broken glass again.

“Zia...”

“Don't touch me!” Zia shouted, pushing James' hand away from her shoulder. "Why Bella?" Zia asked.

As if she didn't need any explanation of what James had done with Bella, Zia only wanted to know why James had chosen Bella to be his mistress.

“You could have cheated on me with any woman, James. But why Bella? She's my best friend!” Zia's patience snapped. She screamed amidst her sobs while punching James' chest. Even though Zia vented all her anger at James, James didn't respond. His expression was flat and unreadable, and what made Zia feel so humiliated was when James looked at Bella as if he cared more about Bella's condition.

It was clear that Zia was the one who was hurt.

“I was just checking on James, Bella. I didn't mean anything else.”

“SHUT UP!” Zia snapped at Bella, who was trying to cover up James' lie.

Her hand pointed at Zia's face, her eyes blazing with anger. She walked closer, ready to attack Bella. And of course, James wouldn't let that happen. James stood before Bella, using himself as a shield to protect her.

“Stop this drama, Zia. You're acting like a madwoman!” Feeling threatened, James shouted back.

“How can I stay sane after seeing the kiss marks on your bodies?!”

“ZIA!” James shouted right in front of Zia's face.

The veins on James' face were visible, indicating that he was also holding back his anger. Still sobbing, Zia finally fell silent. She lowered her head, not daring to look at James, who was angry. She hated admitting she was weak and could never fight against James.

“Your mind is so dirty.” James's voice softened.

Hearing James blame her way of thinking, Zia burst into laughter. She found it funny that someone who felt no guilt would go to such lengths to tell the world they were the victim when they were the perpetrator.

Still laughing and unable to stop the tears from falling, Zia walked around every corner of James's room as if she had lost her mind. Her feet stepped on glass shards multiple times, but Zia didn't react to them at all.

Zia, numb with emotion, made Bella shudder every time she saw Zia step on the glass shards. Blood formed a trail where Zia's feet had walked, scattered across the floor.

“James,” Zia called out, standing in front of James, staring into his eyes sharply with a wide smile on her lips.

“So you like nurses dressed as prostitutes,” she continued, followed by the sound of a slap landing on Zia's cheek.

“How dare you, Zia!”

Zia froze momentarily as the silence around her made her ears ring loudly, as if the world had stopped spinning. She began to feel her chest tighten, her legs ache, and her cheek burn.

The nerves that had gone numb came back to life, making Zia feel even more miserable.

“Get on your knees and apologize to Bella, Zia!”

Zia continued to curse James in her heart. She didn't know when the world had decided that victims had to apologize to the guilty. Unlike James and Bella, Zia realized she was losing her sanity but felt ashamed.

Despite being angry, hurt, and disappointed, Zia was also tired. She didn't want the argument with James and Bella to continue; she just wanted to distance herself from their lives.

“I'm sorry for speaking badly about you,” Zia admitted, kneeling before Bella as James had demanded.

It wasn't because Zia admitted defeat. She was just tired and in too much pain, so she had to end it all by doing what James wanted.

Without waiting for Bella's response, Zia left James's room. Her vision was blurry, and she was breathing heavily. Zia's suffering had reached its limit. Zia wasn't sure she could bear it alone if anything were more painful.

She sat on the floor of her room, grabbed a pillow, and covered her face. Then she screamed as loud as she could, releasing all the pain she couldn't bear any other way. That was all Zia could do.

After stopping, Zia grabbed her phone and called Edward, her older brother, who had lived abroad for years.

“What's wrong, Zia?” Edward asked.

“Tell me how to kill myself without feeling any pain, Edward.”