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Me: Because life isn’t always rainbows and sunshine. Zahra: Of course not. But how can we appreciate the sun every morning if we don’t live through the dark?
Declan grabs the paper bag from the middle of the desk and removes Iris’s takeout box. He places it in front of her. Out of all the weird things I’ve seen today, that has to be the strangest thing yet.
The smile she unleashes makes me feel like I’m staring straight at the sun—beautiful yet blinding.
I can’t compare to a woman who can light up a room with her smile alone. She’s like the sun, with everyone orbiting around her to bask in her warmth.
“What do you like to do when you’re not working?” Text you.
I want to see myself like she sees me. Because in her eyes, I don’t feel like I’m a man carrying an entire mountain of expectations on my shoulders. I’m just Rowan, the kind of guy who sits on a floor in a pair of expensive slacks, eating takeout from a carton and loving every second of it.
Me: Who hurt you? Do we need to find their HP address? Zahra: Haha so funny. Are you expanding your talents to the computer hacking business? Me: For you, I’d consider it. And I mean every word.
“I thought you didn’t care?” “Hmm. Maybe I found some fucks to give after all.”
Everything I do today is for Zahra’s sweet smiles and soft laughs. She has the magnetism of the Bermuda Triangle, and I’m a lost plane desperate to land.
Kissing Zahra is like reaching heaven after an eternity spent in purgatory. Like I’ve spent most of my life hopelessly ambling around, waiting for her to show me the way back to the light. She’s divine with enough wickedness to make a sinner like me want to pray in devotion.
It’s a perfect representation of how I feel now that Zahra’s gone. Nothing but empty.
A liar is a liar, no matter what excuse they have.
“If apologizing were easy, everyone would do it.”
“Because you either bend to the will of monsters or you easily become the prey.”
“While I’m sorry he hurt you, I’m not sorry he let you go.” I shoot him a wobbly smile. “Are you always so selfish?” His eyes glint. “With you, yes.”
“A kiss for a secret.” “I’ve never heard of this game.” I smirk. “That’s because it’s exclusively ours.”
Making her laugh fills me with the deepest sense of pride, knowing I could make her day brighter in some small way.
I’m genuinely interested in hearing anything that comes out of Zahra’s mouth, and everything is only amplified when I make her laugh.
“If I had a heart to give, it would be all yours. Free of cost.” My spine tingles, and it has nothing to do with his hand running down my back. I want to tell him he has a heart, but the words get stuck in my throat. So instead, I soak in whatever kind of affection Rowan is willing to share.
“He scheduled this entire event for you because he said you’re my biggest fan.”
“Because I like you. It’s scary as hell because you make me feel everything. And I know I’ll disappoint you. That I can’t promise much, but sometimes I think maybe I could. If I tried hard enough. If I found a way to make things right.”
I’m tempted to make the next tree at Dreamland as gigantic as this one to make her this happy.
Zahra beams. For her smile, I’d do just about anything.
“You’ll learn that the best rewards come with the biggest consequences. Because nothing that great comes without making any sacrifices.”
While I might be interested in changing some of my old ways, I’ll never stop being greedy when it comes to Zahra. She will always be the exception to any rule and the one person I’m willing to screw the world over for. Because if she’s not happy, I’ll ruin whatever stole her smile, myself included.
“Truth is, I’m terrified of falling in love. But I’d rather trust you with my heart and risk you breaking it than live another day without you in my life. I want to be the kind of man that deserves a woman as beautiful, selfless, and kind as you. It might take my entire life to achieve that kind of goal, but as long as you’re by my side, I’d consider it a life worth living.” Her bottom lip wobbles and I trace it with my thumb. “And while I know I don’t deserve you, I’ll spend every single day proving to you how much I love you.”
Zahra’s it for me. I know it with everything in me, and my intuition has never been wrong before. There’s nothing in the world I’ll find more beautiful than her. Not the sun. Not the moon. Not even the entire galaxy compares to the light she radiates wherever she goes.
“I’m not sure what I did right in my life to deserve your love, but I’ll stop at nothing to protect it.” His lips find mine and he softly kisses me. “I’ll work every damn day to make sure you always have a reason to smile, even if it means sharing them with the rest of the world.” He withdraws to slide back into me, this time with a bit more desperation. “And I’ll ruin anyone who threatens your happiness.”
