Chapter 19

Nadia's POV:

I felt suffocated when I saw Zack with that girl, he looked happy and I didn't have guts to step in and talk to him because he'd see how pathetic I looked in that situation. Therefore, after hiding and reaching my car without being seen, I headed away immediately.

Xby Counterflix

I didn't know what else to do so I drove to the apartment since I seriously needed a cold shower even though it was freezing outside; but I had to relax in order to think clearly and avoid making mistakes that would make things more complicated.

On the road, the traffic line was unbearable as the sound of cars added more tension and electricity in the air, and instead of spending forty minutes only, it took me an hour and a half to reach my destination, quite annoyed and frustrated as I only wanted to lie in my bed and stare at the roof after taking my shower.

Collen like usual, greeted with a big smile plastered on his face and asked about my day when he strode to open the door for me, I on the other hand just forced a smile and told him that it was okay then instantly pressed the button of the elevator and waited for it, tapping my foot on the floor and playing with my fingertips; the lifts' door burst open and I was was welcomed with a huge smile on a couple's faces, who were nice and introduced themselves immediately.

"Hi, I assume you are Mrs. Collins" A beautiful lady offered me her hand to shake "I'm Abby Roberts Bennett and this is my husband Ryan" She gestured at the guy standing beside her.

"Bennett?" I unconsciously spelled the name.

"Is there a problem?" Ryan chuckled.

"Nah, not at all" I smiled at them genuinely "It's just..." I paused for few seconds when I suddenly realized why 'Bennett' seemed familiar to me "Bennett is one of my relatives"

"Really?" Ryan looked surprised.

"Yeah" I stated then I remembered that I didn't introduce myself "Sorry, by the way, I'm Nadia Collins! Nadia Mathews Collins"

"Nice to meet you" They both smiled at me before excusing themselves "Well, we'll be meeting a lot in the future"

"I hope so" I waved goodbye then as soon as they were out of my sight, I entered the lifts.

Just when the elevator's doors burst open on my floor, I stepped out, I dialed the password and entered; it was dark so I turned on the lights and headed to my room after dropping my phone, keys and bag on the bed; I took off my jacket then I turned on the faucet and stepped-in after taking off my clothes.

The sound of water touching my skin, it had always had a major affect in soothing me and lifting my mood since it reminded me of the sound of rain, moreover the cold water was my escape to think through things and to find solutions to my problems although it was the main reason I had flu and punishments from grandpa all the time.

My mind kept drifting to Zack and that blonde girl, they looked cozy and he was absolutely happy to see her, I could see it in his eyes when he hugged her tightly and she did the same; she looked more beautiful than me and defiantly knew Zack even more than I did.

"Who could she be? And why did she have her luggage with her? Was she intending to stay in his house? What were they doing at that moment? Was she his Ex-girlfriend?" I had thousands of unanswered questions that were driving me crazy especially the latter and the fact that I was the one who put myself in that position, it made me feel even worse, angry and surprisingly jealous.

Thus, I knew I had to figure things out and put my ego aside so I could see my own happiness and when I realized that the only person who really mattered to me in the fight of that morning, was Zack, I was sure that I cared about him and he made me happy, therefore, I had one and only solution: I had to get him back, especially after seeing him with that girl who could be just a friend and I was just jumping on conclusions.

After making up my mind, I bathed really quickly then went to cook something since my stomach was growling and making weird sounds. I checked the fridge but it was literally empty, it only had juice and eggs so I had some shopping to do.

I dried my hair and dropped it freely on my shoulders, I wore my black jeans with a blue plaid shirt and Nike Roshe one Fashion shoe then I applied some Max Factor masterpiece Max Mascara on my eyelashes and Rimmel Kate Nudes lipstick, and before I left, I added my black leather jacket because the supermarket was only few blocks away and I felt like wearing a coat was unnecessarily. I could ask Collen to order for me but I always loved to buy my own groceries, especially if I was cooking.

Since the supermarket was nearby, I decided to go there by foot since I needed every possible way to just breathe and clear my mind, and the car was defiantly suffocating me. I reached the supermarket after almost ten minutes, I took a cart and started picking items I needed.

I started walking through sectors and picking items until I noticed people looking at me and sending few weird gazes my way; I looked behind me to see if they were addressing someone else, but I was the only one standing there.

/*Awkward*/

I decided to neglect gazes I gained and just focus on what I was buying until a little girl poked my leg and smiled genuinely at me as soon as I looked at her, she stared at me with her puppy eyes until I bent down and asked her "Hey sweetie, is there anything wrong?"

"Nah! You are beautiful" She beamed at me, adoringly.

"Thank you, you're cute as well" I caressed her pink cheeks tenderly.

"Mom says that your pictures in magazines don't give you justice" She whispered as if she was telling me a secret.

"Hum magazines?"

"Yeah, right over there" She pointed at the magazines' rack.

"Lian, come on honey" A women gestured at the little girl, who I assumed, was Lian and told me "I'm sorry if she disturbed you"

"Not at all, she's adorable" I patted Lian's back before excusing myself and heading to where magazines were placed. I needed to see what the fuss was about.

I reached the rack which only had magazines and newspapers; a picture of Zack and I, it caught my attention right away on the cover of a magazine that I didn't even pay attention on its name because I was taking my time to freak out. I hated being in magazines since it was one of the perks of being rich and even though the press was a part of our work, I wanted to keep my life private at least for another year until I took over my grandpa's company.

"Nadia Mathews Collins puts points to unfinished sentences and protects her husband: Zack Collins from the war of journalists" I read the title silently, thinking about what would grandpa do about it because he hated attention as much as I did. However, I knew that after marrying Zack, my life wouldn't be as peaceful as before especially in a state like New York.

I had no intention to read the article so I moved away immediately and continued shopping until I heard a familiar voice calling me. I turned my head to see who was it, and there she was Abby from earlier, she pushed her cart and walked towards me.

"Hey there" I stated cheerfully "It's good to see you again"

"Yeah you too" She beamed at me before stating sarcastically "Shopping alone? Where's your husband?"

"Well" I thought of a lie to tell "He has some assignments to get done"

"Nice at least he didn't ditch you off like Ryan did" She laughed at her own comment. 

"Tell me about it" I asked to get along with her.

"Well, he hates shopping" She pointed out "And I love doing it, I hope your husband likes it"

"Well, we've been married lately so I don't know yet" I chuckled nervously.

"Congrats then" She offered me a side hug "Well, I'll be pleased to have you two for dinner"

"Thank you, we'll let you know, I always enjoy having new friends" I spoke honestly

Throughout the remaining time of shopping, I realized that Abby was a great girl who really loved her husband infinitely since she kept talking about him, how he treated her and how much he loved her cooking. And I believed we were going to be good friends in the future.

Ignoring the headache I was starting to feel, I picked everything I needed with Abby then headed to the cashier where a young guy greeted me and started checking my items rapidly since the line behind me was starting to get longer and longer, while Abby went to another cashier.

I gave the employee my credit card and as soon as he handed it back, I lifted my bags and strode out of there and waited for Abby outside because I actually felt suffocated and I couldn't breathe properly as my head was throbbing and I could literally hear my heartbeats.

I couldn't stop worrying about what happened that morning; what if somebody taped everything? What if grandpa or even worse Mr and Mrs. Collins, learned about it? We would be in a big problem because we had an image to keep clean and problems like that, were only ruining it.

The weather was horrible, the clouds filled the sky, the air was heavy and cold, and it started watering. Therefore, as soon as Abby came, we tried to rush before rain gets worse but because of the bags we were holding, rain caught us off guard.

/*What a luck*/

By time we reached the building, I was all wet and freezing because of the light clothes I was wearing, and Abby wasn't any different. Collen rushed to help us and he insisted on carrying the bags to our apartments but we refused. However, I was thankful that he strode to help us by carrying our bags to the lifts since I had no strength to do so.

"So, we better get changed before catching flu" Abby broke silence although I really liked it.

"Yeah we have to" I answered her as the elevator's door burst open "Well that's my sign to head off, I will see you soon" I waved goodbye, stepping out.

"I'm right on top" She pointed at the ceiling, smiling at me.

I entered the password, pushed the door open with my foot, I sat the bags on the kitchen's island then I headed to change my clothes. I wore one my comfy pajamas, I sat the groceries in their places in the kitchen, and then I cooked chicken soup because I felt like I was going to catch flu and that was the last thing I wanted to happen because I needed every ounce of strength I got to pass through everything, especially that the firm's Gala was close.

I only ate two spoons of soup, I felt like my throat was closed and I couldn't put anything in my mouth so I cleaned the kitchen then headed to my room to have some rest because I had to rest my body and hopefully get some sleep.

Every time I tried to close my eyes, I concentrated even more on my heartbeats and my headache, as the latter was only getting worse, and I couldn't even make a move to bring pills in order to stop the pain because I felt dizzy and my body betrayed me.

/*I was literally sick*/

To add more intensity to the situation, I heard Abby's cheerful voice on the intercom, asking me to open the door. "What a great time" I slapped myself mentally since she chose a bad time to appear on my door. I hated seeing people when I was sick.

I forced myself to stand up and walked to the door but I only did it by putting my weight on every piece of furniture I had on way. I fixed my hair or at least tried to before opening the door and revealing Abby who was holding a basket full of cookies.

/*Nice*/

"You look pale, what's wrong?" She walked-in, looking worried.

"Nothing, I just..." I forced the words out as I felt suddenly dizzy "Have a headache"

"Well, you look sick, let me help you" She held my hand and leaded me to the couch "You also have fever"

"I'll be fine, don't worry" I forced a smile.

"Let me call your husband" She looked for my phone, which was on the wooden table "What's his name?"

"Zack" I answered shortly.

Abby's call to Zack, it was a good opportunity to talk to him if he came over but a part of me knew that he wasn't going to answer the call. And I was right, Abby said that he wasn't picking up so she insisted on staying with me but I refused and asked her to call Dillon.

Abby fixed my pillows and brought me a blanket as she kept talking about her famous soup and how much it helpful. However, I had no idea of what happened next because I saw darkness taking control of my sight as Abby's voice echoed in the background.

***

I felt a cold hand on my forehead when I was trying to open my eyes although my eyelids were heavy; I hoped to see Zack right there with me. However, after blinking few times, I succeed and the first thing which caught my attention was Dillon's panicked face. I suddenly felt disappointed.

"Hey, how are you?" He asked caressing my cheeks.

"Never felt better" I answered, sarcastically.

"Stop your sarcasm, I am serious" He glared at me.

"I have a headache" I stated the obvious.

"Well, I will bring you some of your neighbor's soup before I can give you a pill to stop the pain" He went to the kitchen and after few minutes, he came back with a tray.

Dillon helped me to sit properly and literally forced me to finish the entire bowl, and I was glad he did because I was hungry and my stomach was empty. He gave me a pill and cup of water them sat beside me, he looked worried, anxious and surprisingly quiet as if he had something to say.

"Spell it cutie" I hit him with my elbow.

"Where is Zack?" He asked straight ahead "He should be here for you"

"I don't know" I replied honestly, trying my best to look like his absence didn't affect me although my voice cracked a little bit.

"You had a fight?"

"I kind of messed up, pretty badly" I admitted.

"Well, I hope everything will be fine eventually; he really fought hard for you this morning" He patted my shoulder, encouragingly "You want to talk about it?"

"I should have some rest" I grinned weakly at him "And I have no mood to talk about it"

"Sure, by the way, I can always offer you my shoulder like the old days"

Before he could even finish his sentence I put my head on his shoulder and snuggled between his arms which were wrapped around me. It brought me back to my childhood and how Dillon used to take care of me and stand by myself even more than Adam did.

Dillon was more than a friend to me, he was my best friend and I loved him although he was overprotective when it came to me and I could never complain about it since I liked being around him, and the fact that he strode to help me, just after one phone call from Abby, it was pleasant and reminded me why he booked a big part in heart, an irreplaceable one. 

"Sleep tight princess" I heard him mumble in my ear, as I only closed my eyes and tried to drift to sleep. 

Nevertheless, I couldn't sleep, I just kept thinking about Zack and knowing that he didn't even care about my feelings, it hurt even more as I couldn't help but doubt my place in his heart especially after checking my phone when I made sure that Dillon was asleep, and finding out that Abby sent him a message saying "Hello, I'm Abby Bennett, your neighbor; Nadia is sick and I had to inform you so you can be here with her urgently; I'll be waiting for you"

As I was reading the text, I couldn't stop tears which started flowing on my cheeks. I felt betrayed since he knew that I was sick and he didn't even bother himself to come to check up on me or at least call to ask about me. How could he? While he was apparently enjoying his time with the Blondie.

"I should stop torturing myself" I thought deeply as I finally decided what I was going to do. I would stop trying because he didn't care about me as much as I thought he did. Therefore I tried to suck it up and forget everything so I could have some rest, which paid off since I felt sleep take over me after a while.

/*I should move on*/

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