Page 139 of Gamble with Me
My brows shot up because she hadn’t mentioned it the last time we FaceTimed.
“Alone?” I echoed, glancing at grinning Zyon. It was the first time since he barged into my hospital room that he smiled. And fuck, he was gorgeous when he was happy. He could overshadow the sun.
“Almost alone,” Alice pointed out, smiling.
“Bluff sleeps on the floor, but it doesn’t count, right?” Zara said, affectionately scratching the massive dog who rarely left her side behind his ears. He placed his enormous head on her legs, looking at her with all the devotion in the world. She had found a best friend in him.
“He isn’t a person.” I shrugged, watching Zyon pour himself a generous glass of whiskey. He downed it as if it was water. A chill ran down my spine just from imagining how it would taste and burn my insides.
“What about a transfer to the new school?” I asked, zoning out of Zara’s excited talking because Zyon had just picked up his phone. But I couldn’t hear anything. He disappeared into his office and closed the door, isolating me from everything.
I knew what I signed up for, but it still got to me that he didn’t talk to me about his work. Specifics weren’t required. I just wanted him to know I was there if he needed someone to talk to. The secrets between us could create an abyss we wouldn’t be able to cross, and they would eventually separate us. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to find a way to push through.
"Are you okay?" Alice disturbed my thinking, using Zara going to her room as an opportunity to check in with me.
"I will be," I answered hopefully, casting her a tired smile. "Thank you for taking care of Zara."
"Always." She squeezed my hand, looking at me lovingly. "I'm here for whatever you need."
"Thank you," I whispered gratefully. "How is your dad?" I asked, directing the conversation elsewhere. I hated being the center of attention. I wanted this nightmare to finally end.
"Good for now," she replied, but I didn't learn more because Zara returned with the school assignment she wanted to show me, and Alice had to go to work.
After a light dinner, during which Zara didn’t stop talking, I sat her in the living room again and asked about Lisa. She refused to tell me about it at first, but eventually, she repeated her grandmother’s questions.
Zara had an unbelievable memory. She could recite everything word by word as if she were reading it from the paper. My heart clenched while I listened to her. Zara was confusedabout what Lisa wanted but understood that her interest in Zyon was suspicious. She asked me some questions that made me sweat but didn’t mention Chester, and I avoided the topic, too.
One day, she would ask about him. She would demand an explanation, but thankfully, it wasn’t today.
I put her to bed around ten, enjoying every second with her. While I was in the hospital, I forbade Zyon from bringing her for a visit because I didn’t want her to see me beaten to a pulp. The sight would traumatize her for eternity. It was enough that she learned that her father had done that to me. She didn’t need to see his masterwork.
With Bluff in the room, Zara almost instantly fell asleep. Zyon claimed it was because she finally felt safe, and I couldn’t agree more. The combination of a deadly guard dog, Zyon in the next room, and bodyguards patrolling the perimeter also comforted me.
After a long bath, I changed into my pajamas and decided on my approach to get some information from Zyon. I had the entire plan prepared, but it all collapsed when he didn’t come to bed.
It was midnight when I lost patience and left the bedroom, determined to find him. He didn’t text me to say he would leave the house, so I assumed he was in his office, but he wasn’t. He wasn’t in the kitchen, living room, or the garage. He didn’t pick up his phone and wasn’t swimming, playing pool, or cards with the bodyguards. They said Zyon was at home, but it was difficult to believe them when I checked the entire house and couldn’t locate him.
Eventually, I chose to go through the guest rooms. It was a blind shot because I would never expect him to choose to sleep alone rather than next to me. Yet when I finally found him in the last bedroom on the first floor, I knew we had real trouble.
Zyon deliberately avoided me, and it hurt more than a punch in the face from Chester. It made my poor heart constrict with fear of losing him. One look at his lying form in a different bed sent me into a spiral of silent panic.
“Zyon?” I whispered in a trembling voice, stepping inside. The room was submerged in darkness, and only the moonlight from the uncovered window enlightened his tattooed back.
He slowly raised his head, turning toward the door. He couldn’t see me. Maybe he wasn’t sure he heard me, so I spoke again.
“It’s me, Valeria.” I closed the door behind me, realizing my palms were sweaty. “Why are you here?”
He stretched his arm and turned on the lamp. The light instantly illuminated the stunning dark interior, but I was focused on his frowning face. He hadn’t slept. His hair was too perfect for colliding with a cushion, and from what I knew, he never wore watches in the bed.
“I didn’t want to argue,” he answered after a long, heavy pause, leaning against the headboard. “I hate fighting with you, so I chose to avoid it.”
The burly boulder that almost crushed my chest lifted a little.
“Wouldn’t it be better to talk about it?” I asked, slowly approaching the bed. The distance between us seemed endless. I needed to touch him, smell him, and hide in his arms to feel safe.
“You don’t talk, mon cœur,” he mumbled sadly. “You constantly yell at me. Whatever I say or do, you throw Zara, Chester, and security measures at me. You shout that I kidnapped you, and don’t forget I tied you to a chair. I’m a monster that forces you to live under his roof.”
“That’s not true, my love.” I shook my head resolutely, climbing the mattress. “It’s just…”
