Read with BonusRead with Bonus

5. GOLDEN EGG

**** She can be a pawn in his game. That's not why he wants her.****

**** Layla || Now****

The sky looked clear today, a total contrast to the weather in the morning. What's the use when it wasn't in her favour when she went to the interview?

"Fuck you." She cussed at the sky, the only entity with which Layla could throw a tantrum. She removed the pumps she bought from a thrift store and strolled along the shore, leaving a trail of footprints behind her. Lilly would love to play here. Then she would look at the other families, who seemed complete; unlike them. Then she would ask about her father and as usual, Layla had to weave stories. She was sick of it, sick of those lies, sick of everything. This beach used to be her sanctuary when she was a teen. Now, it's just a place she tends to avoid at any cost.

The sound of waves triggered the memories of Leon. She remembered how he chased her and, how he lifted her so easily while she was giggling and twisting in his arms.

"Stop moving, Sprinkles." He used to say, spanking her ass.

A smile touched her lips, thinking about the day when he made love to her under the moonlight, covered in this wet sand. They were young, wild, and free. They were the past. He is not here anymore and she is still haunted by the ghost of his memories. How life would be if he were here? The question crossed her mind many times. But she never tried to entertain the idea of it. He will never come back. The least she could do is not to have hope even in her dreams.

The cold wind brushed against her skin, tousling her hair. She looked away from the blue sea, blinking her tears just to find one person who could save her and ruin her at the same time.

Zaley or Zed or the devil, whatever the hell they called him is standing a few feet away from her, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. The wind tousled his hair, and his expression was hard to read- somewhere between contemplation and restraint. His eyes though, steady, hold a quiet intensity as they fixed on Layla. Suddenly, the space between them felt heavy for her.

He tilted his head a little, so little that she would have missed that movement if she wasn't a good observer. Layla clutched her leather bag tightly, waiting for him to speak something--anything--to initiate the conversation.

"Stalking me?" His voice was deep and husky, just like she remembered from before while she her's was taut.

"I got here first."

She saw his lips almost lift into a cynical smile, nearly before they were pressed together.

"No begging on knees today?"

She flinched at his words. Begging on her knees? That's how he remembered her? Probably that's how everyone might have remembered her. Ever since Lilly got diagnosed with cancer six months ago, that's what she had been doing--begging; for money, for bonuses, for leaves, for insurance, for every fucking thing. SHE IS BEGGING. It's not his words that upset her, but the truth in them. HE IS RIGHT. And she hates that.

"Will you have a change of heart if I do?" She asked him, without averting her gaze from him.

His intense gaze assessed her body, silently, making her uncomfortable. By this time, she thought she was habituated to those filthy looks men gave her. She is wrong apparently. Among all of the men who looked at her, ZALEY was dangerous. Not because he is a murderer. It's the way he carried himself, confident, inhumane, and apathetic.

"Maybe."

That single word gave her hope and she is willing to submit herself to him right here on this very beach if he has said yes. That's when she realised how desperate she was.

"Desperate much?" He spoke her mind without any emotion and it surprised her how inhumane he had become.

That smirk told her that he was taunting her helplessness. How is that a joke to him when her daughter's life was at stake? She didn't understand. All she could do was turn her back to him, facing the water while the waves lapped her feet, soaking them, but her mind was far from the peaceful rhythm of the water.

She felt his gaze; heavy and unmistakable, piercing through the distance between them. He was standing behind her, close enough that she could almost sense the warmth of his presence. How he was able to reach her without making any sound is still out of her. Layla has been keen on observing ever since that incident. One cannot beat the devil, can they?

The air around her seemed to shift, charged with a silent intensity. Her breath caught, and for a moment, the world around her stilled. She didn’t turn around, not yet. Instead, she let the feeling of his eyes linger on her, seeping into her skin, as if waiting for something—an unspoken word, a movement that might break the tension holding them in place.

The ocean continued its steady rhythm, but all she could feel was him, standing there, watching her, and at that moment, she was no longer alone with her thoughts.

"I will do it." She heard him whisper in her ears.

She thought she was dreaming. She thought it was a cruel joke to give her such hope.

She waited, her heartbeat raising as if he would say it was a joke at any moment. Moments passed as the waves crashed their feet. He didn't take his words back. He agreed to donate her daughter, his bone marrow. He agreed to the transplant without her having to go on her knees. She found Lilly's donor. Lilly will be able to make it. SHE WILL LIVE, HER LITTLE GIRL WILL LIVE.

Layla closed her eyes as the weight on her shoulders ran through them in the form of tears. HE AGREED. She still can't wrap her head around how easily he agreed.

"But.."

Of course, there is a but. There will always be a BUT. Nothing in this world is free. Everything comes with a price. No one knows that better than her. She paid it heavily in the past, didn't she? Layla opened her eyes, her vision was blurry before she adjusted her eyes on to the deep blue sea.

"You have to work for me. At the Mayor's office, close to his son."

There came the cruel joke she had been waiting for.

"Do you know about me?" She questioned him, her voice became breathy. "Do you know what happened to me?"

"LAYLA, 24. Single mother. A child, born as a result of abuse. She is suffering from Leukaemia. Still has no idea who her father is...." His words stung, pricking the wound she thought was healed.

"She will never need a father." She yelled at him even when her voice trembled, out of fear, anger, and pain. "She is my daughter. She has no father and never will be. I will never work for the Mayor or his son."

"Hmm. Think about your daughter then." That's all he said before he turned around, leaving her there.

"You, fucking bastard." She yelled. "I hate you. I hate you so fucking much." She cried as her legs gave up and once again, she was on her knees, crying hard helplessly.

She should have known. Miracles don't happen to her. When she lifted her head, he was gone. Her heart began to thrum wildly against her chest.

"Please, come back." She whispered to herself. "Please, please, oh...God.. I am so sorry. Please come back." She ran in the direction he left, her eyes searching everywhere for the man in the black shirt.

"No...no...no...what did I do?" She slapped herself. "What the hell did I do?"

What will happen if she has to face her rapist again? Her nightmares will come back. They were never gone in the first place. But Lilly can live.

He didn't give her a choice. She had none. She knew it. But it was too late by the time she realized it. He was gone.

ZALEY

He watched her go pale in a second. The mention of the Mayor's son got him the reaction he wanted out of her; fear, anger, and pain. She is a fucking masterpiece when she was like that, so vulnerable, and so fucking breakable. She swallowed a lump in her throat and his eyes followed the movement, imagining his hand over that. Just a snap and he could end her in second.

But the thought didn't seem as amusing as it does for other people. What if her slender neck bore his marks? Definitely, a masterpiece. Zaley likes to believe that he was born a destructor and he didn't care to change. It's not destruction he had in mind when this redhead got involved. He wants to possess her for reasons unknown to him. He likes her on her knees alright, her eyes begging and her hands, shaking. But that's not how he wants her. He has better plans for her.

Two things happened. Layla yelled at him. No one yelled at him. Layla interrupted him. No one did that before either. At least, not the ones who are alive anyway.

Something tells him that the child is indeed the Mayor's grandchild. That's his golden egg. He knew not to push her. But no one, no one has the audacity to talk back to him let alone yell at him. She did both, didn't she? Then she was running across the road, crying like a mad- woman, searching for him.

He sat in his SUV and watched her going crazy with every passing second.

"What are you going to do with her?" Remi questioned him.

"Watch her for now."

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter