Page 145 of She will Always be Mine

I take a step back when he takes one step forward. With his body coiled tight with rage, he looks like an angry bull. His nostrils flare as he stares down his nose at me and there’s no mistaking he blames me for what Riaan did to him. After all, he never would have betrayed him if it wasn’t for me.

“No. I don’t.” I reply in the softest tone I can muster.

“He took away my future that I tirelessly worked on for years.” He growls. “One signed paper and it was all destroyed. So tell me, why does he deserve to live happily with you while mine was stolen?”

“You stole from us too, Zain.” I know I shouldn’t push him but I can’t hold back anymore. After everything he’s done, he has no right to accuse me like I’ve done something wrong. He took a whole lot from me than he could imagine. My pride. My choice. My soul.

“All I did was try to protect you both from making a terrible mistake.”

“That’s not all you did and you know it. Stop pretending like you’re the fucking victim in all of this,” I yell rather harshly at him. All the pent-up rage I buried inside me was now boiling to the surface.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” he asks. The confusion contorting his face is almost believable. He’s a better actor than I thought.

“The blackmailing,” I accuse. “I know it was you.”

“Blackmail you?” he mocks, raising an eyebrow. His frame towers over my small one as he backs me into the wall behind me. I brace myself for an attack while trying not to shrink. “I can think of far more devious ways to hurt you if I wanted to, Nyra. You are the reason for causing a rift between Riaan and me, but he’s the one deserving of my wrath. Unlike him, I won’t stoop so low and use you to get my revenge no matter how tempting.” Closing his eyes, he inches backward, still suffocating me with his closeness. When they open, he’s back to being cold. “Make me the villain but my intentions were never about hurting either of you. I’ll never understand your relationship, nor do I care to. As far as I’m concerned, you both don’t exist to me.”

I’m trying to make sense of his words and a new possibility flicks in my head.

Is Zain even behind all this? Should I believe him when he’s already betrayed us before? He almost sounded sincere. Because if I’m wrong, then my blackmailer is still out there.

Their identity is still a mystery. And while I’ve been flaunting my relationship in public, they could still hurt us. I’ll never see it coming. I’ll never be able to stop it.

How am I supposed to protect us when I’m fighting against a shadow?

The front door bursting open with a wild thump startles Zain and me.

A furious-looking Riaan enters the room.

They are going to kill each other… is my last thought.

Chapter Forty-Seven

RIAAN

All morning I’ve had a strong feeling in my gut that something is wrong.

It started when Nyra texted me that she’s running late, and it slowly intensified when she said she’s on her way in a cab.

It twisted into full-blown worry when she never showed up at the university where I was waiting for her.

Ever since our talk, I’ve been keeping a close eye on her, always being aware of her whereabouts. She knows I’m being protective the past couple of days after learning my brother might be behind all of the chaos.

What she doesn’t know are the cameras that I’ve installed all around the apartment before she moved in.

So when she didn’t respond to my last text, I opened the app and checked the live footage. I watched as she grabbed her bags and phone while hurrying out the door. The second her body went rigid, my gut tightened into a ball of fury and fear when I saw Zain on the other side.

He hadn’t even taken a step inside before I ran toward my car. I drove like a madman, breaking several traffic rules as if the hounds of hell are after me.

I kept glancing at my phone and observed the trembling in her hands and the nervousness evident on her face. Although she was hiding it well from Zain, it’s clear that his presence unnerved her.

The second the elevator stops at my floor, I rush toward my apartment. Flinging open the door, my vision turns hazy when I find him aggressively towering over my Nyra. Wrenching him away from her, I slam my fist against his jaw before he sees it coming and his face snaps to the right.

“I told you to stay the fuck away from her.” My rumbling voice cuts through the air.

My body is brimming with violence and the urge to hit him again for daring to breathe the same oxygen as her feels stronger than ever, but I hold myself back. I’ve already lost my anger twice in front of Nyra.

She never said anything but I saw the fear in her eyes and I never want her to feel unsafe around me. So I control my rage and watch as my brother stands to his full height.

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