CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
“Us against the world.”
The article disappeared within forty-eight hours.
Another celebrity scandal replaced it.
Another headline stole people's attention.
Life moved on.
But Zara had learned something important.
Being with Malik meant their relationship would never be completely private.
It wasn't something she feared anymore.
It was simply something they would have to navigate together.
Thursday evening found the apartment unusually peaceful.
Zara was curled up on the sofa in one of Malik's hoodies, her laptop balanced across her knees as she worked on table plans for an upcoming charity gala.
Malik walked in carrying two paper bags.
"The smell tells me one of two things."
She looked up.
"Oh?"
"You've either cooked..."
"...or you've admitted defeat."
He lifted the bags with a grin.
"I admitted defeat."
She laughed.
"What did you get?"
"Mrs. Alvarez insisted on jerk chicken."
"Again?"
"I wasn't brave enough to say no."
"You never are."
"Nobody says no to Mrs. Alvarez."
They ate dinner on the balcony, wrapped in blankets against the cool evening air.
The city sparkled beneath them.
"So," Malik said, "how was work?"
Zara smiled.
"Camille offered me the Senior Event Coordinator position."
His fork stopped halfway to his mouth.
"She did?"
"I haven't signed the paperwork yet."
He stood so quickly he almost knocked over his chair.
"That's incredible."
She laughed.
"I knew you'd react like that."
He walked around the table and hugged her tightly.
"I'm proud of you."
She buried her face against his chest.
"No one's ever said that to me before."
He leaned back slightly.
"What?"
"No one's ever looked at something I've achieved..."
"...and said they were proud."
His expression softened.
"Then people haven't been paying attention."
Later that evening they celebrated with cheesecake from a bakery a few streets away.
As they walked home, hand in hand, Zara noticed a little girl staring at them from outside an ice cream shop.
The little girl tugged on her mother's sleeve.
"Mummy."
The woman looked down.
"What is it?"
"They look happy."
The mother smiled.
"They do."
Zara looked at Malik and smiled.
"So do we."
He squeezed her hand.
"We really do."
The following Saturday they hosted Keisha and Coach Raymond for dinner.
The apartment was finally beginning to feel lived in.
Photographs sat on shelves.
Books lined the walls.
Fresh flowers stood in a vase on the dining table.
Even Coach Raymond noticed.
"This place has changed."
Malik looked around.
"It has."
Coach Raymond smiled knowingly.
"No."
"You have."
Dinner was loud.
Full of laughter.
Keisha told embarrassing childhood stories about Malik.
"He cried because our goldfish died."
"I was ten."
"You held a funeral."
"It deserved one."
Coach Raymond laughed.
"You even gave a speech."
Malik looked horrified.
"I trusted all of you."
Zara laughed so hard tears rolled down her face.
"I wish I'd known you then."
"You definitely don't."
"Oh, I do."
She smiled at him.
"I would've liked twelve-year-old Malik."
He looked at her.
"You think?"
"I know."
As everyone helped clear the table, Keisha quietly pulled Zara onto the balcony.
"I need to tell you something."
Zara looked concerned.
"Is everything okay?"
Keisha smiled.
"Everything's fine."
She looked back through the glass doors where Malik was laughing with Coach Raymond.
"I just wanted to thank you."
"For what?"
"I haven't seen my brother laugh this much in years."
Emotion caught in Zara's throat.
"I didn't do anything."
"You did."
Keisha shook her head gently.
"You gave him something he stopped believing he deserved."
Zara looked back inside.
Malik caught her eye and smiled immediately.
Her heart fluttered.
"I think he gave me the same thing."
When everyone had gone home, Zara and Malik curled up together on the sofa.
"I'm exhausted."
"You barely cooked."
"I entertained."
He laughed.
"You definitely did."
She rested her head on his shoulder.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Always."
"If things get difficult..."
He frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"The attention."
"Your past."
"My family."
She looked up at him.
"Promise me we won't stop talking."
His expression became serious.
"We won't."
"No matter how uncomfortable it gets?"
"No matter what."
"No shutting each other out?"
"Never again."
She smiled.
"Good."
He reached into the pocket of his hoodie.
"I actually bought you something."
Her eyebrows lifted.
"You said no more surprises."
"This one's small."
He placed a tiny velvet box in her hand.
She stared at it.
"Malik..."
"It's not what you think."
She laughed nervously.
"You really shouldn't start gifts in velvet boxes with that sentence."
He chuckled.
"Open it."
Inside was a delicate gold key pendant on a fine chain.
The key was beautifully crafted, with tiny engraved details winding around its stem.
She looked up.
"It's beautiful."
He smiled.
"Turn it over."
She did.
On the back were four tiny engraved words.
HOME IS WITH YOU.
Tears immediately filled her eyes.
"Malik..."
He reached for her hand.
"You've spent your whole life looking for somewhere you belonged."
His voice was quiet.
"I just wanted you to know..."
"...you'll never have to wonder where home is again."
Zara threw her arms around him.
He held her tightly as she cried into his shoulder.
Not because she was sad.
Because, for the first time in her life...
Someone had chosen to make her feel safe instead of making her earn it.
The next morning, while Zara showered before work, Malik's phone buzzed on the bedside table.
Marcus.
He answered quietly.
"Morning."
"It isn't."
Malik's expression changed.
"What happened?"
"We've got CCTV from outside Carter Developments."
"And?"
Marcus hesitated.
"The same woman has been parked across the street three mornings this week."
"Lena?"
"No."
"Someone else."
"She never gets out of the car."
"Never approaches."
"But she's definitely watching."
Malik walked towards the window.
"Do we know who she is?"
"Not yet."
Marcus paused.
"But we've run the registration."
"It comes back to a company we've seen before."
Malik already knew the answer before Marcus said it.
"A shell company linked to Devon."
His jaw tightened.
"So he isn't done."
"No."
Marcus' voice was grim.
"I think he's just getting started."
Malik looked towards the bathroom door, where he could hear Zara singing softly in the shower.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
He had promised they would face everything together.
Now he just had to decide whether it was finally time to tell her how close the danger really was.
Outside the apartment building, a black SUV pulled quietly away from the kerb.
Inside, a woman lowered a camera.
She smiled as she looked at the latest photographs.
Zara laughing.
Malik holding her.
The gold necklace around her neck.
She sent them to one contact.
Devon.
A reply came less than a minute later.
Perfect.
Phase Two begins tomorrow.