He Seen Sera [2]

Sienna's POV

My eyes remained fixed on him, but my legs moved backward automatically. His eyes followed every movement I made. My hand clenched tightly around the door, ready to slam it shut, but his hand slipped between the door and the frame, gripping it before I could.

“Sienna, we need to talk.” His voice came.

His words only made my blood boil.

“There is nothing to talk about. Leave. The door!” My voice came out rougher than I expected, and I was grateful for it.

Sera was sleeping upstairs. What if he felt that connection with her? What if he took her away from me? What if he tore apart the little life I had fought so hard to build and took everything from me again?

There was so much strength behind his push that I tried to match it, desperately trying to keep him out, but I couldn't. With one harsh shove, he forced the door open and stepped inside.

His familiar fragrance hit me, dragging all those stupid memories back with it, all the moments we spent together.

Three years of forcing myself to forget that scent. Three years of pretending I didn't remember the way his arms felt around me.

And now he was standing close enough for me to breathe him in again.

You need to be strong! You can't let him have his way again.

“Zev, get the hell out of here before I call the police.” I tried to put as much strength into my voice as I could, but I quickly realised that it was a useless threat.

He didn't even show the slightest reaction.

His eyes remained fixed on me, boring through me.

“Why are you here?” I demanded. “After all these years, why the hell are you here?” I shouted, pushing hard against him, trying to force him back out of the apartment.

He caught my wrist.

“Listen to me.”

“No.”

I tried to pull away. Instead, he dragged me toward him. I could barely understand what was happening. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a hug. His face fell into the crook of my neck, and his lips brushed against my skin.

I froze. My entire body betrayed me. Goosebumps spread across my body. For one second, I wasn't standing in this apartment anymore. I was eighteen again, his hand was holding mine, his lips were against mine. And that girl who was stupid enough to believe he would never leave her.

Hundreds of memories came rushing back into my mind, almost making me melt until all the pain he had caused me came crashing down on me. It hit me so hard that I shoved him away from me, my palm landing across his cheek in a slap. My body trembled with rage.

How dare he try to do this?

I hated his manipulation. He is fucking married, isn't he? Him kissing her flashed in front of me the day when he made a joke of me in front of everyone, him sleeping with her. The pain was so strong that I couldn't control it. Wasn't it enough that he had already played with me?

Neither of us moved.

My chest rose and fell rapidly.

“You are di-”

Before I could finish, my back hit the wall so suddenly that I barely understood what had happened. A gasp escaped me. Zev stood inches away. His eyes were burning into mine. Fear flickered through me, but I refused to look away.

The old Sienna would have apologized. She would have lowered her eyes, she would have begged him not to be angry. I wasn't her anymore.

I knew how much he hated it when someone crossed him.

“Why the fuck did you do that?” he growled. I stared straight into his eyes.

He was still the same asshole.

“Maybe think about what you did before asking me that.”His jaw tightened.  “And leave me alone.”

“Why did you disappear without telling anyone? I was fucking looking for you for three years.”

I almost laughed at his words, the audacity of him asking me that.

“You made sure I couldn’t live there,” I shot back, barely holding myself back. Something flashed through his eyes, something that almost looked like guilt, but no, I refused to believe that. He was ruthless, the same man who had once broken me without looking back. I could feel his warm breath against my face as the tension between us grew thicker, making it harder for me to stay in the same room with him.

“Get away from me.” I freed myself from his hold and stepped away from him. “I have nothing to say about any of this.”

“But I do,” he said.

I looked at him, trying to understand what he wanted from me after all these years, but before I could ask, the sharp sound of something breaking echoed through the apartment, followed by a cry, almost stopping my heart.

“Sera.”

I turned immediately and rushed toward the stairs, my fear returning all at once. Her crying was getting louder as I ran into her room and found her sitting on the bed, tears covering her little face. I quickly picked her up, holding her against my chest while trying to calm her down.

“Mommy is here, sweetheart. I'm here.” She didn't stop crying.

Her little body was trembling in my arms, her face slowly turning red as she struggled to breathe properly. Panic took over me. I knew something was wrong, and I couldn't waste another second trying to figure it out. I grabbed her bag and my phone, while keeping her in my arms, her body was turning red, my breath stopped, oh my god please no.

“Sera …” she cried weakly.

“It's okay, I… am.” I turned around and froze when I saw Zev standing at the doorway.

His eyes were fixed on Sera. His gaze moved over her small face, her green eyes, her little features, before slowly returning to me as if he was trying to understand something.