Chapter 54
Zioh
Hours had passed since Tshabina, and I returned home.
I stole a glance at my watch, realizing the time had already slipped past seven.
I’d offered to pick her up half an hour ago, but she refused, claiming she had ‘something important’ to discuss with that bothersome friend of hers, Andi, while they shopped, and that she’d come here afterwards.
For some reason, my breathing grew uneven, and every few seconds, my eyes drifted back to the door.
I never liked that gossipmonger.
Andi’s always been nothing but a problem, with his pompous, chattering nature. I knew that bloke sometimes had a bad influence on her. The most unmistakable evidence was the little stunt he’d pulled with her to forget me, setting her up on a bloody blind date.
Fucking wanker.
But I knew Tshabina truly cared for him.
I let out a long, heavy breath.
Even though there was nothing between them, nothing more than simple friendship, it gnawed at me. Because how could you trust her, after what she’d done?
Shutting my eyes, I shook my head.
I tried to steady my breathing and calm the storm spiralling in my head that seemed to drag me further astray.
I reached for the pill bottles I’d set aside earlier, opening them one by one as I stared at the tablets in my palm; I let out a long breath, wondering when all of this would finally leave me alone so I could live in peace after all these years.
I never could accept it.
Every time I tried, it only dragged me deeper into the dark.
But the moment Tshabina’s face crossed my mind, I knew I had to do something. And though I’d failed before, this time I had to succeed.
I had to go home.
To fulfil the promises I’d once made to Tshabina.
I reached for a glass on the island counter and poured some water. As I was about to swallow those pills, my phone lit up, halting me. I set the pills on the counter and grabbed the phone beside me.
The notification staring back at me sent a heat surge through my veins. I growled under my breath as I opened the message Dave had sent.
Dave: Miss Sophia is really with her male friend, Andi.
Dave: Regarding what happened this morning, shall we take action, sir?
That shit woman had hurt her.
My Sophie.
That was what Dave had told me when I saw her being driven to the office, with a bruised forehead and shock written across her face.
Cindy had the audacity to do that.
I squeezed my phone so hard it shook in my hand. My breathing turned ragged.
Tshabina lied.
That bruise wasn’t from something trivial like a fall.
Cindy didn’t come here only to create drama for my family and me. She came as fuel that kept the flames alive whenever they threatened to die—or worse, made them spread.
Made the fire I fought so hard to smother roar back to life, bigger, broader, consuming everything good left within me.
Dozens, even hundreds of times, I tried to rid myself of Cindy. Not just me, even my elder brother and Zeraiah. From the gentlest methods to the harshest, we tried them all. But like Ivy, she endured, spread wider.
We nearly succeeded. But that damn woman had something—something my brother and I almost managed to erase.
Photos and videos of Zeraiah and me.
She had thousands. The moment I saw them, my stomach twisted as if it were being stirred from the inside, and my eyes set on fire. Photos she used to threaten me with, again and again—until I wanted to kill her.
The mere thought of those files in her hands made my skin feel itchy, making me want to claw at my own flesh until I bled out the memory of her touch.
No matter how many times we, even Zaeem’s people, had hacked her devices, she always had it. Copied, backed up, hidden. Every time we deleted one, ten more seemed to flicker to life on a different drive, device, memory card, flash disk, or hidden cloud.
Her insanity had to be stopped, I knew. But no matter how indifferent I tried to be about the consequences, there was still Zeraiah. Acting rashly would only hurt him more, and I couldn’t bear to wound him again. Not after all the chaos he’d already endured because of me.
I dragged everyone into my pain. My suffering entangled them, stained them.
Or perhaps I was the parasite all along…
Cindy knew exactly where to press.
I clutched the edge of the island counter, shaking. My body burned, and my pulse thundered in my ears at the mere thought of what she was capable of.
After she came that night, sleep wouldn’t come to me.
No, I couldn’t even shut my eyes. I knew she knew about this penthouse.
That was why, the moment I returned, I made security repeat it until it was carved into their minds—Cindy was forbidden.
I even ordered Dave to stay close to Tshabina at all times, because I knew Cindy would come for her next.
And I let my guard down. I fucking slipped.
Cindy was holding my heart in her hands, forcing me to keep breathing in her presence and leaving me no escape.
“But I’ll soon find a way to break free,” I muttered, clutching my phone hard. “Even if I crush my own hands in the process.”
I also read Zaeem’s message saying that my former therapist’s protege had arrived—she would take over my therapy during my stay in Indonesia. I drew in a long breath, slipping my phone back after giving Dave his order.
Zioh: Focus on keeping her safe.
Dave: Miss Sophia is already heading to your penthouse, sir.
Setting the phone aside, I turned back to my cooking. I’d promised to make Tshabina steak, as I often did in the past. When the universe still favoured us, I’d always cook for her—especially this dish.
I would spend my time watching her chubby cheeks puff with joy as she chewed away my food. No performance could ever soothe me better than watching Tshabina. Her expressions, her colours—they were all I ever wanted to see, all I ever wanted to feel.
I had always tried to make her happy every single day, to bring out those colours on her face—laughter, smiles, anger, pouts, shyness—even tears—though I loathed the last one.
I was always willing to pay any price for the colours she gave me.
I worked hard for them because they were mine alone.
Because when it came to her, no matter how hard or troublesome, I wanted to do it myself. Because I was convinced that my little Sophie was mine to cherish, protect, and treat as precious.
I wanted to treasure her that way.
I see you, Zioh. I always do. Do you know why? Because you’re always shining, just like the stars in my room. So don’t believe anyone dares say otherwise! Pink. 33.
After some time, I plated the meal neatly on the dining table, laid out the cutlery, and carefully arranged everything. Then, the doorbell rang.
I turned at the sound, unable to stop the smile from spreading. A rush of warmth and joy shot through me instantly at the thought that she was here again.
Strolling to the door, I pressed the wall panel. Her figure appeared on the monitor, her back turned, and her long black hair filled the screen.
At once, warmth lit my face.
I pressed my fingerprint on the lock and opened the door. “So, where’ve you been with Andi—” I stopped short.
Her scent hit me—different, wrong.
This wasn’t Tshabina’s scent. It was similar, but not hers.
And right enough, when the woman before me turned around, a storm of black clouds and thunder tore through my head and body.
Cindy.
That woman stood at my door. Not Tshabina.
Darkness crashed into me, my body reacting in the worst way it always did at the mere sight of her: my stomach churned, and my head spun, filled with a deafening voice.
She smiled, with that bloody, poisonous smile. In her hand, she carried something.
A brown file folder.
My heart pounded so fast that it felt like it would rip my chest apart because I could already guess what lay inside that file.