Chapter 18

Zack's POV:

Anger took control of my actions and my words, and I couldn't think of anything besides making Col regret every word he spelled about Nadia because it apparently hurt her but like usual, she kept everything for herself. Thus, I just followed my rage and ended up grabbing him by his shirt, fighting the urge to knock him off.

"Chill out" Col simpered at me devilishly "No need to be aggressive"

"Try to hurt her and you'll end up mysteriously lost" I tried my best to stay calm but it was impossible in that moment because I was getting more irritated by every second which passed.

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"Ouh threatening now?" He hissed annoyingly "Aren't you the same guy who hated her? When did this epic love have grown?"

"None of your business, she's mine"

"She was mine before and even if you hit me, she will choose you to show me that she moved on but she didn't so enjoy living in my shadow" He tried to push me away aggressively but I was faster to react by punching him on the face before he could even think of it.

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"Yeah and that's why she enjoys being with me" I felt like the punch he had, wasn't enough to take off his smirk.

"Just like she used to enjoy being with me" His nose started bleeding immediately but it didn't stop me from punching him on the stomach, then again on his face "You know I'm saying the truth that's why you are furious"

"You said it yourself, she used to" I tried to sooth myself again but I couldn't.

"Zack, stop fighting and let's go" Nadia's voice echoed in the background but I was way furious to pay attention on what she was exactly saying.

The only thing I could focus on was the stupid guy standing in front of me. His eyes showed everything but sorrow, he looked as if he didn't care about Nadia's feelings, and it only made me angrier. Moreover, I actually felt like he deserved every punch I gave him and I literally wanted to give him more especially when he jabbed me on the face.

I could no longer control myself and I only thought of erasing his satisfaction because it wasn't my problem if he was stupid enough to let Nadia go and not taking his chance. But just when I was about to hit him back, Dillon caught me and few other guys did the same to Col whose face was full of blood and wounds.

I tried to move forward but Dillon kept pushing me away and I didn't want to hurt him since he had nothing to do with what happened, However, I just lifted my shoulders in defense and reassured him that everything was fine even though I still wanted to knock Col down.

"Seriously?" Dillon snapped at both of us "I think I am dealing with kindergarten kids, calm down we are surrounded by students" He hitched.

"When he stops being a b*****, I will treat him like a normal guy" I yelled at Dillon who kept glaring at me.

"Do you think that fighting in the middle of the parking lot in front of other students is good for you? Grow up, both of you" Dillon poked my chest aggressively but because he had right, I didn't even try to fight back.

"You're bleeding" Nadia spoke from a distance.

Her eyes were swollen red and her face was pale, and I felt like I wanted to address her immediately and reassure her that everything would be okay but then, I had doubted that she was talking to me when she said "You're bleeding" therefore, I just stood there and didn't make a move toward her.

Throwing her jacket on the ground, she started walking until she stood between Dillon and Col. My heart pounded in my chest at the thought that she was going to run toward Col and help him especially when she looked down at him with a look full of sorrow.

However, instead of standing there and watching her choosing him over me, I pushed Dillon one more time, turned my face and started walking away since I was apparently not welcomed there, and I didn't want to be the extra pressure in that situation.

As I was walking away, I unconsciously turned my head, as if my heart wished that Nadia was running after me, but I wish I didn't because what I saw, it put my doubts in their right position, she was on her knee handing him a tissue, she went to help him instead of rushing toward me.

I couldn't stand being there and witnessing my own loss therefore I grabbed my car keys and headed to my car dismissing students who were looking my way and mumbling nonsense words which had no meaning nor had it the slightest hint of reality.

"Zack" Nadia yelled at me as soon as I started the engine "What do you think you are doing?"

"Apparently leaving" I replied, coldly.

"You're bleeding" She stood in front of the car blocking my way "You're not going anywhere"

All I could think of when she standing there, was Col's words which kept prompting on my mind and I couldn't stop thinking of what if he was saying the truth, what if Nadia would never forget him? What if she rushed to help me, only to prove her point? Was he lying? And what would happen if the answer of the latter was 'no'?

"In case you have forgotten, we live together so I'm coming with you" She simpered at me, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah..." I hesitated to answer in the beginning but then I unlocked the passenger's door since we needed to talk and College wasn't the right place to do so.

I had mixed up feelings; in one hand, I was furious and mad at her for even thinking of using me in her conflict with Col and giving him the chance to mess with her; but in other hand, I couldn't stand seeing her like that, so weak and broken, and I only thought of hugging her and reassuring her that everything would be fine, however, I had to confront her first.

Although I had plenty of things in my mind that I wanted to say, I found myself tongue-tied as I couldn't even form words, until we were out of College's field because I had no intention to gather more students around us since gossips that were hovering around us were enough.

"Hey, your lip's still bleeding" Nadia tried to wipe the blood with her thumb but I didn't leave her as I turned my face, throwing her attempt of helping me in the air.

"Stay still for a second, your hand is sore" She whisper-yelled at me, holding my hand with both of hers.

She first started examining my hand since I had few bruises then she turned her gaze to my bruised lip again; she blew on my face to ease my pain but her simple blow and gentle touch burned me more than Col's punch, and I felt like her fingers held fire but yet they managed to cool me down.

"Stop moving" She approached me again, her hands were still on top my lip and her eyes locked with mine.

In a moment of weakness, I got lost in her eyes, her charm and her innocence, and I didn't even notice that we were close until we were literally inches away and we were almost sharing the same Oxygen; I couldn't even pull away, I was just mesmerized by the amount of words I read just by staring at her eyes.

Like every time I gazed at Nadia's eyes, I found myself tracked in my place and I couldn't even move. She was just different and I wanted to have her, I needed her presence and as much as I hated to admit, the fact that Col's words affected her that much, it actually bothered me and it was the main reason why I wanted to talk with her.

She looked beautiful, even when she diverted her gaze elsewhere when our staring contest lasted a while, even when her cheeks and nose were red and her eyes watered when her friend didn't care about her, and I wondered "How could she do that to me? Why did she put me in that position?"

/*What would I do?*/

"We have to talk" I grabbed her hand which was placed on my face, just when we were both numb and paralyzed.

"Yeah... after we clean up..." She spoke quietly.

"Now" I answered her firmly "We have to solve things"

I was done of that drama, I had no intention to be a part of the stupid game Nadia put me through, and I regretted keeping my thoughts for myself, I should've confronted her with the truth the moment I heard what she said. Therefore, I decided to face everything and put an end to everything so we could move on: Together or separated.

"Do you still love Col?" I went directly to the subject since I didn't want to hover around.

As soon as I spelled those words, she literally froze; she just stared at me as if I mentioned Lord Voldemort in Hogwarts. She pulled her hand out of my grip and sat properly in her seat then she started talking slowly.

"I don't know" She mumbled almost whispering.

"Then why did you give him hope? Why did you tell him that you'd stay with me even if your heart beat for him?" I yelled at her, angrily.

"What?" She looked at me, shock apparent on her face "What are you talking about?" 

"Oh please I heard everything yesterday" I glared at her "So don't try to deny! Now tell me; why did you even mention me?"

"I wasn't going to"

"But you didn't give Col any justice by telling him those words" I replayed what happened in my head, and Col's face after she left, kept standing between Nadia and I.

"I didn't want to hurt him" She whispered, obviously trying to hide her shaky voice, but she failed miserably.

"You didn't want to but you did" I was getting more frustrated by every second which passed because she wasn't even trying to explain herself, and I felt like she didn't even care about me, and neither did she about Col. Because if she did, she wouldn't tell him that and she would just tell me at least what she was thinking about.

The reason I didn't confront her with what I heard, was because I didn't want her to give me explanations, I only wanted her to forget him forever and chose me; I didn't want to give up on her in the beginning, not when I started to explore new feelings and new sides of her. But that day, she wasn't even trying to fight, she just kept blabbering and that took me to blocked alley.

"For god's sake, can you just talk?" I snapped at her angrily.

"What are you waiting for me to say?" She turned her head to gaze at me.

"You know that I was willing to start a new chapter with you" I hit the steering wheel "But then when I heard you..."

"Continue" She interrupted me when my voice started to shade.

"How can I tell that you moved on and you weren't pretending of being happy with me?"

"I..." She stared at me for few seconds before taking a deep breathe "I don't know, I have to go" She stepped out of the car without looking back.

I stared at her empty seat for few seconds before actually processing what just really happened. "She left" I thought to myself as I felt anger boil in my veins; I hit the steering wheel couple times, but then I decided to leave too since I had nothing else to do in that place.

"Why should I wait?" I thought to myself, starting the engine and heading away.

Nadia's POV:

My stupid brain froze, I couldn't even form words to fight at that moment, all I thought of was taking a breath to sort things out with Zack but I couldn't even talk and just left, I ran away as if I was the one to blame although I knew I had no right to mention him the day before.

As soon as I closed the car's door, a feeling of guilt consumed me because I should've stayed there even if I was tongue-tied and couldn't come up with a single word. However, I felt that I was hurting him more with my silence and in my condition, we would end up more damaged.

Feeling a loosened tear fall on my cheeks, I pushed strays of hair which fell on my face behind my ear as I was trying to breathe since I was literally freaking out, especially when I heard the roar gear of Zack's car when he was leaving. And that's when I realized that I had done the biggest mistake of my life and I ruined everything.

"What have I done?" I slapped myself mentally for being stupid "I have to fix things" I shook my head since I couldn't give up, I had to gain my composure again to clear everything up.

Fighting the urge to cry, I strode to catch a cab, snatching my phone out of my pocket and dialing Zack's number. I was in an urgent need to speak with him but unfortunately I was directed to his voice mail so I hang up immediately as a cab caught my attention.

Without even waiting, I climbed in the cab urgently, trying my best to control my brimming tears. I closed my eyes for a while, thinking about everything that had happened; starting with Col's stupid comment which was like a knife in my heart since I had never thought that Col would even think of hurting me in such way but I guess I wrong because he broke my heart and trust.

My mind kept drifting to Zack, the way he protected and defended me, the way his entire body tensed just by the mention of my name, the way he punched Col when the latter told him that I was his, and most importantly, the disappointment written on his face when I had nothing to say. It was surreal and like a nightmare, the kind of nightmares that I always feared.

I was drowning in my thoughts to the point that I didn't even notice that the taxi stopped moving until the driver's voice snapped me out of my daze "Madame, are you okay?" He turned to gaze me, concern evident on his face.

"Yeah, why?" I felt numb and had no idea of what was happening.

"I asked you for directions more than four times but you didn't answer" He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I'm fine, thanks" I answered him, kind of embarrassed of the situation I put myself in.

"So? Where should I take you?" He smiled at me reassuringly.

"College, thank you" I beamed at him back.

I had to pick my car since it was useless to take a cab while I had my car parked in college aimlessly. I had no idea of where I was heading because I doubted that Zack would go to the apartment and I had no idea where he would think of going to. Thus, I decided to go to the only person who knew him better than anyone else.

As soon as I reached my car, I couldn't miss students' gazes my way, they looked at me as if I killed someone, just like the predator looks at his victim. However, I had neither mood nor time to pay attention to any of them; therefore, I inhaled deeply and grabbed my phone to call a certain person, before starting the engine and heading to my direction.

"Hello?"

"Hi, I'm Nadia, can we meet somewhere if you have time, please?" I spoke determinedly.

"Of course, but where?"

"There's a coffee shop down the road of the Collin's Mansion" I suggested "I'll be there in ten minutes"

"Okay, take care" The other line cut the line.

My feelings were messed up when I was driving since I was scared that my attempts would be a total failure and I would end up in a closed circle. Nonetheless, I was willing to try and take advantage of every ounce of strength I had to make things better, I had to.

Stepping out of the car, I was welcomed by the cold wind which messed with my hair and sent goosebumps on all over my body, I closed my jacket and proceeded walking towards the glass door where I glimpsed Oscar already there, sitting near the entrance with a cup of what looked like white coffee.

"Sorry for bothering you" I took off my jacket and placed it on the chair "No need to" I gestured at him when he was about to stand up.

"It's okay" He smiled at me "So what would you drink?" He lifted his hand to call the waiter.

"A cup of Turkish coffee, please" I ordered the first thing which caught my attention on the menu "So, I really messed up"

"I see and how can I help you?" He took a sip of his coffee.

"Thank you" I smiled at the waiter who put my coffee on the table "Well, I hurt Zack pretty badly" I sipped from my glass "I want to fix things but I'm afraid Zack will push me away"

"It means that pretending of being a happy couple didn't help you to be one"

"What do you mean?" I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.

"I know that you were pretending from the beginning" His face was void of emotions "Because you went from pure hate to incredible love in a short time"

"Maybe we started like that and we hated each other but we buried our past and we decided to start again" I spoke confidently but my voice broke in the last part "At least before I messed up"

"Everything will be back to normal soon" His lips twitched up in genuine smile "And what can I do for you?"

"Well since you know him better than anyone, I hope that you can at least tell me where does he go and what does he do when he's angry?" I asked him, trying my best to control my watering eyes.

When Oscar was going to answer me, my phone buzzed in my pocket which made me apologize immediately and excuse myself for few minutes while Oscar shrugged off and gave me a gesture with hand that it was okay. I answered directly without checking the caller's ID "Hello?"

"Hey, are you okay?" Dillon questioned urgently, his voice held concern.

"I wish I was" I tried my best to not cry at that moment but I ended up having a low and really sad voice.

"What happened? Did something occur with Zack?"

"Yes and yes" I replied, still trying my best to catch my tears.

Dillon didn't push me much since he realized that I was accompanied with someone, thus he hanged up and said that he would call me back later. On the table, Oscar was gazing at me awkwardly, and I realized that I had been staring at my phone blankly for more than a minute and he didn't want to disturb me.

"I have to leave now, don't be stressed out" He pushed his now empty cup and offered me his hand, which I gladly shook before remembering that he still didn't reply on my question.

"Sir, you haven't answered me yet"

"Check his penthouse, you might find him there but give him some space" He wrote something on a paper, an address, and then he placed it on the table along with money for our coffees "Take care Nadia and I won't tell him about our meeting. It's better if you solve everything "He grinned at me before walking away.

I felt numb and I couldn't even process what he said. Zack had a penthouse? If it was true, then why couldn't we just live in it instead of buying the apartment? And why didn't he tell me? I guess he didn't trust me after all, and that thought hurt me more than it should have. Still, maybe I was wrong, maybe he was waiting for the right opportunity to tell me, knowing that we didn't get over everything and we still had our issues.

I left the coffee shop right away then sat in my car thinking of a direction in my mind since I hadn't decided if I really wanted to go to Zack's house or give him space so we could have a proper talk again and hopefully fix everything. Nevertheless, I ended up by mentally slapping myself for my stupidity as I just put my head on the steering wheel with my eyes closed and just ...thought.

/*What would I do*/

I took one deep breathe before leaving despair behind and finally deciding what I would do; I was Nadia after all the unbreakable, the untouchable and the wall of secrets as tabloids used to call me based on the way I used to ignore journalists and the fact that I never dated, and never had been seen with a guy before except Col and Dillon. Thus, I thought of using those adjectives to build up my confidence again and so I did.

I started the engine with a new found courage and confidence in my heart because I couldn't just go there and look at him tongue-tied or even worse run away like it happened earlier. I hoped I could just