Chapter 9: Jane's Floor and a Ringing phone

Chapter 9 : Jane’s Floor and a Ringing Phone

(Zara POV)

I didn’t really think about where I was going when I left that house. I just walked until my legs burned and the weight of the two bags felt unbearable. The second suitcase dragged against the pavement with every step, a constant, dull reminder that everything I owned now fit into two pieces of luggage.

It took me longer than it should have to admit the truth.

I had nowhere else to go.

My father’s house was no longer mine. My job was gone. Every fragile piece of stability I had scraped together had collapsed in a single night. I stopped once on the sidewalk, staring at my phone like it might magically offer another option. It didn’t.

Only one name came to mind.

Jane.

I called her before I could talk myself out of it.

She answered almost immediately. “Zara?”

“I’m coming to you,” I said.

A short pause. “Right now?”

“Yes.”

Another beat, then her tone softened. “You’re supposed to be at work.”

“I’m not.” I swallowed. “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

She didn’t ask for details.

“Come,” she said simply. “I’ll be here.”

When I finally reached her apartment, Jane opened the door before I could knock properly. She took one look at the bags, my face, and the exhaustion I couldn’t hide, then stepped aside without a word.

“Okay,” she said. “Inside.”

She didn’t bombard me with questions. She simply cleared a pile of clothes off the couch and disappeared into the kitchen. I stood there for a moment, unsure what to do with myself, before sinking onto the cushions.

A few minutes later she returned with two mugs of tea.

I wrapped my hands around the warm ceramic, more for something to hold than because I wanted to drink.

“Start from the beginning,” she said gently.

So I did.

I told her everything, the bar, Keisha, the spilled drink, the slap, the manager’s cold face, the phones recording like it was entertainment. I told her how I walked out with nothing left. Then I told her about going home and how my father had already chosen Keisha’s side without hesitation.

Jane listened without interrupting. Not when my voice cracked. Not when I had to pause to breathe. Not even when the words hurt to say out loud.

When I finally finished, the room stayed quiet for a long moment.

Then she leaned back and said, “You’re staying here.”

“Jane—”

“That’s not a discussion,” she cut in firmly. “You’re staying.”

I let out a shaky breath that almost resembled a laugh. “I don’t want to burden you.”

“You’re not.” She picked up her phone like the matter was settled. “And we’re getting you another job before the week is over.”

I stared at her. “You say that like it’s easy.”

She didn’t even look up from the screen. “It is if you actually try.”

“I just lost my job tonight.”

“And?” She shrugged. “You think life pauses so you can catch your breath?”

I shook my head but didn’t argue. That was Jane, she never softened the truth, but she always made it feel survivable.

For the first time since I’d left my father’s house, the tightness in my chest eased just a little.

Then my phone rang.

The sharp sound cut through the quiet room.

I glanced at the screen. Unknown number.

Jane looked up. “Who is it?”

“I don’t know.”

It rang again. Something about the persistence felt deliberate.

I let it go to voicemail.

A second later, the missed call notification appeared.

Jane leaned forward. “You going to stare at it all night or actually answer?”

I hesitated, then hit call back before I could overthink it.

It rang once. Twice.

Then that deep, velvet voice answered. “Hello.”

The sound hit me like a physical touch.

I recognized it instantly, the same low, controlled tone that had whispered filthy things against my ear while he was buried deep inside me. My breath caught. Heat flooded my body without warning, a rush of warmth pooling low between my legs. My nipples tightened against my bra, and I had to press my thighs together as I stood up and walked a few steps away from Jane.

“I’m… at a friend’s place,” I corrected myself, voice already breathier than I wanted. “Who is this?”

A short, knowing pause

“You already know,” Dominic said.

My grip tightened on the phone. My pulse was hammering. “How did you get my number?”

“I didn’t call to explain that.”

I exhaled shakily. “Then why are you calling me?”

There was a brief silence on the line, thick with everything we weren’t supposed to talk about.

“I heard what happened at the bar,” he finally said, his voice dropping lower.

My eyes flicked toward Jane. She was pretending to scroll, but I knew she was listening.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” I whispered.

Another pause. When he spoke again, his tone was calm but edged with something darker.

“I’m not entirely sure why I’m calling,” he admitted.

“But I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

The words sent another rush of heat through me. I felt myself getting wet, the sudden slickness making my panties cling uncomfortably. Memories flashed , his hands on my hips, the thick stretch of him, the way he’d groaned my name when I came around him.

I closed my eyes for a second, fighting to keep my voice steady.

“Why?” I asked, barely above a whisper.

“I don’t know yet,” he replied, the words slow and deliberate. “But hearing your voice right now… it’s making it harder to pretend nothing happened.”

Jane was definitely eavesdropping now.

I turned slightly away from her. “You said we should go our separate ways.”

“I did,” he agreed, his voice rougher now. “And yet here I am, calling you in the middle of the night because I heard you lost everything. Tell me you’re alright, Zara.”

A simple demand wrapped in concern. My core clenched at the sound of my name in his mouth.

“I’m fine,” I lied, even as fresh wetness slicked between my thighs.

“You’re not,” he said softly, like he could see right through me. “And we both know it.”

Something about that calm certainty made my knees feel weak.

“So what do you want?” I asked, my voice trembling just a little.

There was another loaded pause.

“I have something for you,” he said carefully. “You need a job. I have one.”

I went quiet, heart racing.

Jane’s head lifted fully, no longer pretending.

“I do,” I admitted softly.

“I know,” Dominic replied, his tone shifting back to something more controlled, though the undercurrent of heat remained. “Call me when you’re ready. But Zara…”

He let my name linger.

“Yes?”

“Don’t pretend this call didn’t affect you either.”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

For the first time since everything had fallen apart, I wasn’t sure if this was the lifeline I needed…

Or the next thing that would drag me under.