Felix was perplexed by her sudden boldness. His wife was never the type of woman to go against him or any of his words.

Zara Wellington was known to be bold and outspoken, but while with Felix, she was another version of herself.

She’d turned calm and tried to please him by doing anything he asked for. Unfortunately, all those didn’t make him fall in love with her.

“I’ll get another one. Be ready to sign them, else…” He trailed off, his tone threatening.

When Zara didn’t say a word, he stormed off the room.

As soon as he left the room, Zara took a deep breath.

It was hard holding back her tears, but she had to do it. Yes, she loved him so much, to the point of sacrificing everything for him, but now that she realized who he truly was, she would try to kill the feelings she had for him and make him pay for wasting her life.

*******

‘No place like home’

Indeed, the saying wasn’t just an exaggeration. As Zara steeped out of the plane, she could feel the wave of fresh air.

It was a nice feeling, being back home, but it would have been nicer if she didn’t have to disguise.

She had a face cap on, covering her face a bit. She didn’t want anyone to recognize her, it would be a shame to be seen by the media like this, looking unkempt and chubby, with her stomach which was still big as if she was four months pregnant.

As she walked out of the tarmac, she spotted a video of herself, being displayed at the digital signage wall.

“Thank you for using skydance airline, hope you have a great flight!” Her soft voice was heard, and after that, she smiled, revealing her cute dimples.

The screen went black for a second, before displaying the face of another lady.

Zara chuckled. She could remember how her mum forced her to make that video. Before she got married, she had the perfect body shape, flawless skin and a nice smile.

All the time, she received loads of invitations from modeling companies but she turned them down. She wasn’t ready to work, she depended solely on her father’s wealth.

She had agreed to that commercial because her mum’s friend was the manager of the airline and the lady had pleaded with her to do it.

She shook her head and continued her walk, her luggage rattling behind her.

When she got outside, she found a taxi and after negotiating, she got into the backseat, while her luggage relaxed at the booth.

She laid back her head and shut her eyes, finally getting to rest after a twelve hours flight.

The cool breeze from the car window sent her long black hair flying and it felt so good.

It had been two good years she went out of California, and coming back home felt like heaven.

That was the only thing she could think of; coming back home. She had no where else to go and she didn’t want to keep seeing the son of a bitch who broke her heart.

After about an hour, the car arrived in front of a white mansion, guarded by a big gate.

She exited the car and didn’t forget to pick her luggage from the boot.

When the car was out of sight, she turned to the building, staring at it with mixed feelings.

Fear, shame, anxiousness, were all what she felt at that moment.

She was back to the same house she ran away from. It felt embarrassing and shameful, but she didn’t have a choice.

“Felix.” She clenched her fists as she thought about the cause of her problems.

She took a deep breath and walked to where the bell button was. She pressed the bell button and the device at the wall beeped.

She could tell it was trying to scan her face, so she removed her face cap. After some minutes, nothing happened.

She pressed the button again and it still yielded to no result, which she found strange.

The security men at the house were always active. They must had seen it was her through the CCTV, but she couldn’t understand why no one was answering her.

She was still lost in thought when the gate opened and two security agents walked out, both dressed in black suit.

They bowed their head to the floor as soon as they got to where she was.

“What’s going on?” She demanded, her eyes roaming around them.

She hadn’t seen them before, and she assumed they were new.

“Your father ordered for the gate not to be opened for you.” One of them replied, his gaze still lowered to the floor.

Her brows raised questioningly, “Why?”

“I have no idea, miss Zara.” The other one replied, he sounded more bold than the first guy.

She sighed in frustration, “Tell him I have to speak with him, it’s important.”

“I’m sorry ma’am, there’s nothing we can do. He wants you to leave the premises.” The guy informed.

She scoffed, finding their words unbelievable. “My father wouldn’t ignore me.”

She was sure of that. Over the years, despite landing into troubles many times, her dad had never for once neglected her, he was always there to clean her mess, and would only scold her after that.

She dragged her luggage and tried to enter the compound, but the two men rushed to her front, stopping her.

“Please, just do as we’ve said. If you keep being persistent, we’ll lose our job.”

From their tone, and their apologetic eyes, she could tell they were serious.

“So my dad knows I’m back and he doesn’t want me to go into the house?” Her tone was low, as she struggled to accept reality.

“Yes, ma.”

Tears threatened to flow down, but she fought it back in. She wouldn’t cry in front of them, it would be a disgrace to her.

“Where are my brothers?” She asked, expectantly.

She had hope they wouldn’t abandon her, just like their father did.

She was their only sister and they cared deeply about her. Well, that was then, she didn’t know if they still felt that way after what she did.

“They aren’t in the country, ma. They traveled to Barcelona to watch the team play.” The bold one replied.

“Oh” She mouthed in disappointment.

They were her only hope, now she didn’t know what to do or where to go.

She used her last dollars to pay for the taxi that brought her to the house. She didn’t think things would turn out this way.

“Thank you.” She muttered to the security men, and after some seconds of staring at the top of the white building, she turned and walked away, dragging her luggage behind her.

Life was cruel, everyone knew that, but cruel was an understatement to what Felix did to Zara.

Who would have thought Zara Wellington would be roaming around the streets having no where to go to?

The same Zara that had millions to her name, the same Zara that was envied by the poor.

The irony of life.

She dragged her feet on the floor, not having the strength to raise them.

She was too tired and stressed out, she needed to rest, but she had no where to go to.

Her steps halted when she spotted an abandoned field at her right side.

An answered prayer!

She dragged her luggage and pushed the rusty gate opened. When she got into the field, she was relieved by the serenity.

Even though it was extremely spacious, there was no one there, and it was exactly what she needed at that time; to be alone.

She fell on the grassy floor, finally resting her back.

The cool evening breeze was refreshing and for a minute, Zara forgot about her struggles and her pains, as she enjoyed the calmness of the place.

After a while, she sat upright and took out her phone from her handbag.

She scrolled through Instagram and when she didn’t find and news concerning her, she sighed in relief.

She thought someone might have recognized her, but no one did.

She logged out of the app and went through her contacts list, searching for a number, and when she found the number, her finger shook as she tried to dial it.

It was the number of her best friend, Dayla. Dayla was part of those that advised her against being with Felix, but being blinded by love, she thought Dayla was jealous and decided to cut her off.

Even after she eloped with Felix, Dayla called from time to time and even sent series of texts, but she ignored all, and the girl stopped reaching out to her after being ignored.

It was definitely a bad idea to call her for help now. Not that Dayla would refuse to help her, but it was a shameful thing to do.

As she scrolled past Dayla’s number, her eyes twitched when it landed on a particular contact;

Harry.

The last person on earth she would ever think of calling in a situation like this.

He was the guy she was supposed to get married to two years ago.

They didn’t like each other, NO. It was an alliance formed by both parents and they wanted their children to seal it by getting married, but Zara ruined it by eloping with Felix on the day of the wedding.

But then, she didn’t have a choice, he was the only person she could call for help on her contact list.

After enough thought, she dialed the number and at the third ring, the call was answered.

She remained quiet, not knowing the exact thing to say.

“I don’t know how you got my private number, but if the next thing I hear is your breath, then I’m hanging up.” He spoke through the phone, his tone firm as usual.

She almost scoffed. She found him annoying and unnecessarily proud, that was the reason they never got along.

“Hey, it’s Zara.” She finally spoke up.

Silence.

He didn’t say a word.

“Hello?” She thought he went off the line.

“Zara Wellington?” He asked.

From his tone, she could tell he was a bit surprised.

Who wouldn’t be? They never had reasons to call each other.

“Yes, Zara Wellington.” She confirmed.

“Are you drunk? Or you wanted to call someone else?” He inquired.

If Zara didn’t need his help, she would have retorted, but she had to stay calm. “I called you intentionally, Harry.”

“Strange.” She heard him chuckle through the phone.

“What do you want?”

Busted. Of course, she wouldn’t call him if she didn’t want anything.

“I’m in California as we speak and I need your help.”

“Why are you back?” Curiosity hint at his tone.

“It’s a long story, but please I’m stranded here and I don’t have anywhere to go.” She explained.

When Harry didn’t say a word, she continued, “I know we don’t get along and you do not owe me anything, but please just…”

“Where are you?” He cuts her off.

She was familiar with the address, after all it wasn’t far from her father’s house.

“… when you get to the street, there’s an old abandoned field by the right, I’m currently there.”

As she finished describing the place, he hung up on her.

She scoffed, “Son of a bitch.”

An hour passed by and it was getting a bit dark, but there was no one in sight.

She felt sleepy, her eyelids were about to close when she heard the sound of an helicopter.

She flung her eyes opened and looked up at the sky.

Her lips parted when she spotted three helicopters hovering above her.

The windows were opened and she squinted her eyes, trying to see the people inside, but she couldn’t.

One of the helicopters descended and landed safely in front of her, causing the force of the wind to blow back her hair and the clothes on her body.

She moved back a bit, her eyes fixed on the helicopter.

A light gasp escaped her lips when Harry stepped out of the helicopter, looking dazzling in his black suit and his taper fade hair cut.

He was taller than the last time she saw him, and even though it had been just two years since she last saw him, she didn’t expect him to grow more than he used to.

For the first time in Zara Wellington’s life, she felt intimidated.

While Harry was looking clean and well kept, she was the opposite.

Harry halted his steps when he got few inches closer to her.

Despite the little distance, his fragrance filled her nostrils and Zara was appeased by the smell of vanilla and cinnamon.

His gray eyes roamed around every inches of her body, and she could swear she saw his eyes flickered in disappointment.

She lowered her gaze to the floor in shame and muttered, “Hi, Harry.”

“Hi, Mrs Zara.” He called, his lips curving into a smirk.