LOGINZara “There’s someone here to see you ma’am.” “Who is it?” “She did not give me a name.” the receptionist said. “She just said you will know her.” That was enough to make me curious. I excused myself from the meeting I was having and walked back toward my office. The moment I stepped through the door, I stopped. River’s mother was sitting in one of the chairs across my desk. She looked perfectly composed. Dressed in an elegant cream suit, her handbag resting beside her. There was nothing welcoming about her expression. I hadn’t forgotten our first meeting and the way she looked at me at the hospital. “Mrs. Cassian.” “Zara.” Her tone was polite. But nothing about it felt warm. I closed the door behind me. “I wasn’t expecting you.” “I know. Sit Zara.” I almost smiled at the command. Instead, I walked behind my desk and sat down. “I suppose we didn’t meet under the best circumstances the first time.” “That would be an understatement.” “I came to see my son that was hospi
Zara Vacation was over and it was time to get back to work. Everything has been in the hands is Elizabeth, but now I have to step in and there is a lot of work to do. The first thing I noticed when I walked into the office was how quickly everything came back. The phones were ringing, everyone was moving at the same time. I don’t think anyone even noticed my presence. I went straight to my office, placed my handbag on my table and walked straight to Elizabeth’s office. “Surprise.” “Oh my god. You didn’t tell me you were coming in today.” She pulled me into a hug and sniffed my hair. “You smell different.” “I changed my perfume.” “That explains it.” She let me go and studied my face. “You are glowing.” “Really?” “Of course. After spending several days in a private resort with a billionaire. You are bound to glow girl.” “Don’t start.” “I haven’t even said anything.” “Did you guys have sex?” “Oh my god ... .Elizabeth ... .what do you take me for?” “I just asked a sim
River I woke up earlier than intended. I had barely slept. My thoughts were just all over the place. I had meetings with investors that I had to put on hold to be here. My mind went to what happened in the kitchen with Zara. I had never been particularly good at comforting people. I preferred solutions. Problems had answers but emotions rarely did. Yet when I’d seen her frightened, none of that had mattered. I had simply wanted her to stop shaking. I got out of bed to take a shower and get dressed. The minute I stepped out of my room the smell of eggs and toast hit me. Zara was sitting at the kitchen counter. Her eyes on her phone. Her hair loosely tied, a few strands falling around her face, one leg tucked beneath her as she ate. There was another plate covered beside her. “Good morning.” “Morning,” she said with a smile. “Is that for me?” “Yes.” Her eyes remained on mine. “I wasn’t going to make breakfast and not save you a plate.” I took the seat opposite her. “Th
Zara I sat near the edge of the deck, watching the coastline in the distance as the familiar resort slowly disappeared behind us. “Where are we going?” He doesn’t look up. “You’ll see.” That answer only made me more curious than I had been before. A few minutes later, something appeared in the distance. At first, I thought it was another resort. But then when the yacht moved closer, I realized it was more secluded. A private stretch of white sand curved along the coastline, it was like a villa amongst other villas. Each separated from others by enough space to offer complete privacy. Just the ocean, trees and a property in between them. “Is that….”I looked at River. He finally lifted his eyes from his phone. “What?” “Are we going there?” My mouth fell open slightly. “Yes.” He looked towards the villa. “We will be staying there till this is finally over.” The yacht moved toward the private dock. I watched the staff prepare to secure it. The yacht finally stopped and Rive
Zara I spotted River at breakfast, sitting alone at the table overlooking the ocean. As usual he looked completely unbothered by everything around him.I walked toward him with the resort brochure in my hand. “Good morning.” He lifted his eyes from his coffee. “Morning.” I pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down. “I found something interesting that we could do today.” “What?” “The resort has activities and they all look interesting. So we will be doing all of them.” He shrugged. “I’m not interested.” “If you were not interested, why are you still here? You would have left before sunrise without a word, exactly the way you came.” “I will not leave because you want me to leave.”“That’s not what I asked.” I picked up the brochure and went through it for the third time this morning. “Since you are here, you might as well do something fun for once in your life.” I flipped through the brochure. “Let’s see….” “I said I was not interested Zara.” “There is kayaking, snor
River I left Zara’s room and closed the door behind me. I stood there for a moment, staring at the handle. What the hell was wrong with me? I had been inches away from kissing her. Worse, I wanted to. I had water to know how her lips felt like against mine. I wanted to close that small distance between us and finally give in to the temptation I have been fighting since the day she stepped inside my house. But I couldn’t, because once I started, I wasn’t sure I would know when to stop. And I couldn’t afford that. I walked down the hallway and headed to the bar. Maybe a drink or two would clear my head. The bar was quieter than I had expected. A few guests sat scattered around the room, their conversations blending with soft music playing in the background. I took a seat at the bar stand. “Whiskey,” I told the bartender. He poured it and slid the glass towards me. I took a sip. But it didn’t hit me the way it normally would. I needed to occupy my mind. Zara was still in my







