Chapter 7
The next time I brought lunch to Zachary, Aria greeted me with her usual enthusiasm.
But my eyes immediately locked onto the necklace around her neck–a piece I recognized all too well.
At home, I had the exact same one.
It was a gift from Zachary for our anniversary. I still remembered how Aria had complimented it back then:
“This necklace is gorgeous! Zachary has such great taste. You’re so lucky, Natalie. Someone like me will probably never have the chance to wear something this beautiful in my lifetime.”
Back then, her words had left me with a vague sense of unease.
Now, seeing my necklace on her, that unease twisted into something far worse.
Noticing my gaze fixed on her neck, Aria smiled at me, completely unfazed.
“This necklace “I started my voice tight
3:16 PM
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“Oh, this?” she said casually, not even blinking. “Mr. Stone gave it to me.”
I confronted Zachary about it later. He brushed it off, saying it was just a token of appreciation for Aria’s hard work. He told me I was overthinking things.
That same day, I realized I’d forgotten my purse in Zachary’s office and went back to get it.
What I found shattered me.
The lunch I had painstakingly prepared for him was sitting in the trash can, untouched.
And for the first time, Aria didn’t bother pretending in front of me.
She smirked and said mockingly, “Sis, I don’t eat cilantro. Next time you bring lunch, make sure to leave it out, okay?”
It hit me like a bolt of lightning: Zachary had been giving my food to Aria.
I don’t even remember how I left the office that day.
What I do remember is the fight that followed–our biggest argument in all the years we’d been together.
We didn’t speak for a month after that. The cold war stretched on until, eventually, I caved. I told myself it was because of all the good times we’d shared, because of the man Zachary used to be.
The Zachary I fell in love with was someone I couldn’t reconcile with the man who was now standing by Aria’s side.
Looking back, Zachary and I were childhood sweethearts. I always thought we’d grow old together, that our story would never end.
I never imagined we’d become strangers one day.
The summer before high school, my parents moved to another state for work. To avoid disrupting my education, they left me behind, arranging for me to stay with my aunt.
My aunt was rarely home, busy with her job and her own kids. That left me alone with my cousins most of the time.
To them, I was just an unwelcome intruder.
My older cousin made it her mission to torment me whenever she could. My younger cousin followed her lead, taking every opportunity to remind me I didn’t belong.
At school, things were worse.
One day, my cousin and her friends ganged up on me again. They shoved me into the artificial lake on campus.
As the cold water closed over my head, I didn’t even try to fight back. What was the point? No one was coming to save me.
I sank deeper, letting myself go.
Then I heard it–a splash.
Someone had jumped in after me.
It was Zachary.
Even in the icy winter water, he seemed to shine. He grabbed me, pulled me to the surface, and dragged me to safety.
“What the hell, Natalie?” he scolded, shivering beside me. “Why didn’t you yell for help? Next time, call me, okay? Just call me ‘Zach; and I’ll take care of it. Nobody’s going to mess with you again.”
And he kept his word.
After that, no one at school dared to touch me.
<
Another time, my cousin thought it would be funny to trick me into eating a cake loaded with nuts, knowing full well I was severely allergic.
My throat swelled up. I couldn’t breathe. I was on the brink of death when Zachary showed up, like some kind of guardian angel, and rushed me to the hospital.
And then there was the fire.
The night my aunt’s house caught fire, I was trapped inside. Thick smoke filled my langs, choking me, making it impossible to see or think.
Just when I thought it was over, Zachary burst through the flames to find me.
He carried me on his back, step by agonizing step, through the burning house until we finally made it out.
He saved my life.
But he didn’t walk away unscathed.
That fire left him with scars–deep, permanent ones that he carried to this day.
