LOGIN~Zara POV~“Thank you for helping, although I don’t mean to bother you,” I said, looking up at Henry. He had taken it upon himself to personally oversee the remodeling of my new studio. He already had a full crew of workers from his construction company handling the heavy lifting, but he was here, sleeves rolled up, getting his hands dirty right alongside them.“Kkk, I guess my check will be a fat one, huh?” Henry teased, a playful glint in his eyes.I couldn’t help but laugh. His mix of effortless professionalism and silliness was refreshing. “Don’t get too greedy now, Henry. I’m on a budget.”“For you? I might just settle for a cup of coffee,” he said, his voice dropping a little. He leaned against a ladder, watching me as I began sketching out the layout for the accent wall. “You have a real eye for this, Zara… Most people just see four walls. You see a story.”I felt a heat crawl up my neck. “Thank you. I’m a little rusty, honestly. It’s been… a long time.”Years, actually. Ever s
~Zara POV~After a long day, I settled for a hot shower. It turned out Henry owned a rising construction company called HJ Construction. He’d helped me renovate the rented space and start my firm. Thinking about it, I couldn't help but smile at how everything was turning out. The thought of starting afresh after two years of trying had me feeling relieved.I finished bathing and wore a towel. Without even drying my hair, I left my room and went to Ivy’s room to check if she was still awake. When I got there, I found her sleeping on the floor with a marker and some crayons in her hand. What caught my eye was the drawing she made. I picked it up, and my hands trembled. I glanced at my daughter sleeping peacefully, then at the drawing; it was a family of three. Me, her, and Wilson. Seeing this broke my heart; Ivy still believed the story I told her…that her father was busy and would come for her soon.“I’m sorry, sweetie…” I kissed her on the forehead as I dragged the blanket to cover he
~Zara POV~It turned out the man was just moving into the space on the fifth floor. I noticed a few boxes, and the place looked freshly painted and fixed. He handed me a small plastic bag and told me it contained a t-shirt and sweatpants he’d bought for one of his workers. He apologized again for ruining my dress with coffee. To be honest, he was a true gentleman…calm, polite, and very sensible. I hid behind the large screen in the vast room while he stepped out.I quickly slipped out of my coffee-drenched dress and put on the sweatpants and shirt. The pants were quite big, and the shirt was long enough to be a dress.“Umm, I’m done… although the shirt is quite big,” I said as I stepped out to meet him. He had his back to me, and when he turned around, his eyes widened as if startled for a moment. I stopped and scanned myself. I looked a little odd in these clothes.“Umm, did I drop my hair clip?” I began looking for it on the floor, my hair now loose and falling over my shoulders. “M
~Zara POV~The bed felt so hard that no amount of tossing and turning fixed it. At last, I sat up abruptly, feeling frustrated with myself.“Ahh,” I couldn't believe it. I failed to believe I could be so weak and break down. Pushing my hair off my face, I glanced towards the closed window, still imagining the scenes of the previous night. Driving back home with Chance, the palpable silence, the heavy breathing. The brushing of hands, the unspoken words. And the way he lifted me until he brought me to my doorstep. I hated all of it to the core.“Get it together, Zara,” I scolded myself and got out of bed. I checked my phone, and it was almost 8:00. “He's no one… you shouldn't get distracted,” I said as I walked to the window, preparing to part the curtains. My hands trembled. Why did I feel like this all because of a man I just met? It hasn't even been a week.“Focus, Zara." Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the curtains and pulled them apart. As soon as I opened the window, my heart ski
~Zara's POV~“You can put the box there… I'll handle it,” Chance said while he struggled to clean his wound. I was stunned that this man was here and to know Mrs. Bridget was busy praising him. I ignored him and walked over to him.“Please don't touch it; it will get infected,” I said, sounding a bit nonchalant, and shoved him down onto the bed. He winced in pain, glancing up to look at me sternly.“You don't have to… I can take care of it myself,” he said more seriously. I ignored him and took out some cotton from the first aid box. Just then, it started raining heavily.“Mrs. Bridget sent me here to help…” I didn't care what he thought as I cleaned his wound. It was too deep; I wondered how he got it. How careless was he? I was certain he was pretending to be a good person, and karma had found him.“Chopping wood… just a little mishap,” I heard him say. I looked at him, and he arched his brows at me. Did he actually read my mind?“You don't have to pretend to be all sunshine when we
~ Zara’s POV ~“You know you shouldn't be moving with that broken arm?” Kaden said, casting me a side look. I was busy putting some supplies in the shopping cart.“I need to put everything together; time is running out,” I remarked, ignoring her. She came with me to do some shopping; just because I was hurt didn't mean I had to stay in bed like she wanted.“You need to live a little… and have some hot sex too,” she said, a smirk creeping onto her face. I shot her a deadly glare because Ivy was with us. Kaden glanced over at Ivy, who was wearing pink headphones and doing her little dance while she dropped some items into the cart. Kaden bought them for her, and since then she had been dancing.“She can't hear us… and yes… you need a man to get rid of that stress… it's called revenge sex,” Kaden whispered so dramatically that I wanted to smack her on the head. She was too blunt for my liking.“I'm not interested…” I gave her an eye roll and continued pushing the cart.“You need to show
~Zara POV~I was shocked to see Chance in action; the man was moving swiftly, giving the fight to the muscular men Stanley hired. He knocked all of them down so hard that some even ran, while Stanley yelled at the top of his voice.“You're a disgusting pig; you never change!” Chance growled as he g
~Zara’s POV~When Stanley suggested a quiet place for our meeting, I didn't expect a noisy bar full of old, drunk men dancing and trying to flirt with girls. As soon as I walked in, all eyes were on me. I felt awkward, unsure if they were staring at my outfit or something else. Either way, I was ir
~Zara POV~“You can’t possibly be that stupid!” I heard someone say from behind when I was busy throwing out the trash. I turned around, and it was Chance. The man seemed to be everywhere. Didn't he have a job to keep him busy?“Excuse me?” I wondered why he was following me. I had stepped out to t
~Zara POV~“Wakey wakey, young lady.” It was early in the morning. I quickly parted the curtains in Ivy's room as the hot sun seeped in.“Mommy, just two seconds,” my daughter groaned like she always did. It was already 9:00, and I was late for the restaurant. Kaden had already called and said cust







