Merrick

Yesterday when I walked out of that cafe and saw paparazzi huddling around, I knew it wouldn't take time for the news to spread out. Now as I look at the article headline I know I wasn't wrong. It states Famous actor Liam gets in a spat with his girlfriend's billionaire ex-fiancé. Seriously? I thought we already moved past that ex-fiancé tag for me.

It also says that Liam was seen with a broken nose after he left the cafe. I move my eyes down and see that there is a picture of Liam covering his face as he makes his way towards his car. He has the cap that he had on yesterday and I see Monica right behind him, she also has her head low and I know she is trying to hide her face.

I stare at it for a long time. I don't know how to feel about this but one thing I can assure is that I don't regret even a little what I did to Liam. I mean I wasn't the one to fucking jump on him at first.

I don't understand what the hell was his problem when I had nothing to do with Monica. I mean how dare he come on me like that and blame me for something that wasn't of my fucking concern. It was my good that I wanted him to know the truth. I wanted to warn him about what Monica was doing with him.

Every time, I think about Monica, I can't keep my anger in check. It's obviously clear by now that she is trying to play us and that fucking Liam has no idea about it. I don't know how could she do such a thing? Though, a part of me agrees that I am to be blamed for it but that still doesn't justify her reasons. She says she is still in love with me and she did everything to get me back which I know is complete bullshit.

"I know you are not going out with Dean." I slip my phone back and turn and look at Anna who is standing at the doorway. "You are going to see her, right?" She asks, holding up her phone.

I put on my suit jacket and frown as I walk towards her. She is dangling her phone in her hand so it isn't clear but when I take a closer look at the picture, my eyes widen. It's of me and Zelina kissing at the launch. Damn.

"How did you get this?" I ask her in disbelief.

She shrugs and I see a glint of amusement in her eyes. "I was scrolling through some fashion gossips and this suddenly popped up." She says and I look at her in confusion.

"What? Everyone is aware of the ravishing style statements that Zelina makes. She is just fabulous." She says, smiling.

I cross my arms and narrow my eyes at her. "So this is what you do when no one's watching. Aren't you supposed to complete your assignments?"

"Yes I do but I thought I could use some free time to nudge into your love life." She smiles cheekily.

"Great, I 'll go and let Claire know about your resourceful use of free time," I say and take a step forward.

"Fine, then I'll show her this," Anna says as she begins to walk ahead of me. "Seems pretty scandalous, don't you think?"

I suddenly realize what she just said and call her back in panic. "Anna no...wait, I won't."

I didn't tell Claire about this because I know she gets a little too excited about everything and I don't want her to make stories in her head about me and Zelina which I am pretty much sure she would do if I'll let her know.

Anna stops and grins at me. "So tell me if it's true or not?

"What?"

"Are you going to meet her? Is she your girlfriend?" Anna asks curiously. "How come you lied to Claire?"

I sigh and shake my head. "There is nothing going on between us."

"It doesn't look like in that picture." She points out.

I look at her clench my jaw, feeling a little frustrated but I know I can't do anything. "Anna, I don't have time to explain everything to you but you need to understand that we work together and things are a bit rough between us right now."

When she still doesn't look convinced, I run a hand through my hair and sigh. Jesus, what's wrong with kids these days? "Fine, it is a little complicated as well. I need to sort out certain things with her and I don't want Claire to know about it until I am sure." I say and look at her waiting for her to argue again but she doesn't do it.

"Okay, I won't tell her..." She says and I let out a sigh of relief. "but on one condition." She continues and I look at her.

"What is it?" I ask.

I frown when I see a mischievous grin on her face. This doesn't look good. "You are going to convince her to let me go to my friend's party next week." She chirps excitedly.

"Anna..." I try to warn her.

"Okay, then I think she needs to know..." She drawls, giving me a threatening look.

"No wait...I'll do it." I give in and agree with her. Though her demands can be frustrating sometimes, I know I can't be mad at her for that. Anna has been just like a little sister that I never had and it is true that I can never fight her over anything. She always gets what she wants.

"Thank you...you are so amazing." She says as she puts her arms around me and takes me by surprise. I shake my head as I smile and hug her back. I hope she lets me stay out of trouble for now. When she pulls back, she looks at me and smiles. "Bye... and enjoy your date."

                                                                       -------------------

I park in the driveway, suddenly feeling nervous. The thought of canceling this plan has crossed my mind so many times but I knew I couldn't let go of the only chance of getting to know Zelina better - only if what she said over the phone was true. It's Friday evening and I am here just like I agreed to her yesterday. I look at her house and my mind goes back to the day when I was here to drop her off. That was a hell of a night.

I take a deep breath and ring the doorbell. Within no time Zelina shows up at the door and it makes me wonder if she was waiting for me. She is wearing a white shirt dress and she looks really good in it. It's the first time I am seeing her no-makeup look and it's refreshing. I do agree with Anna on this. Zelina never fails to look stylish and sexy.

"It's so good to have you here." She looks at me and says when I step inside. "Honestly, I thought you weren't going to make it."

"Trust me, I didn't think any different," I shrug being honest. "But here I am."

"I am glad you changed your mind." She gives me a warm smile and it does something to me. I quickly look away. God! I turn my head and my eyes fall on the large water tank sitting in her living room. It caught my eyes the first time I came here and the same night made me realize the love that Zelina has for fish. I remember how she was staring at the aquarium in my office with dreamy eyes.

"Come on, let's go." She says, turning around and I look back at her.

"Where are we going?" I ask as I follow her upstairs.

"To my bedroom." She answers calmly and I stop.

"What?" I ask her, looking a little baffled.

Zelina shakes her head and I see a hint of a playful smile on her lips when she looks at me. "Merrick, you need to believe me. I have something special for you there and it's not what you think it is."

I hesitate a little but follow her up to her bedroom. I have no idea what she has ready here for me and I stand with a look of confusion when she walks towards her balcony. With a frown on my face I go behind her and my eyes widen when she opens the door and I see outside.

There is a table arranged right next to the railing with a beautiful view of the night sky. I look at the flower vase and the candles in the middle and it's hard not to think how oddly romantic this looks. I can also see an outdoor sofa to our left and there are dim lights everywhere.

I feel like I am suddenly at loss for words, looking at all of this. I try to gain my composure and clear my throat as I look at Zelina. She looks a little nervous as she puts a strand of hair behind her ear and waits for me to say something. Wait, is Zelina really nervous? I've never seen her get nervous before.

"You've got a nice view," I finally say to her as I look at the beautiful sky with a cue of the moon coming to the view now.

"That's my convenience of escaping reality." She smiles and looks up. "Looking at the stars. It's so soothing and peaceful."

I nod and we stare at it for some time. The silence around us doesn't feel awkward. In fact, it is making me feel comfortable.

"Why don't you have a seat?" Zelina says after a moment and I nod. I reach to pull out a chair.

"After you," I say. I see a weird expression on her face which is hard to make out.

"Thank you." She then smiles as I take a seat in front of her.

"Whoa...this looks amazing," I say as I take in the food in front of us. It looks delicious.

"I've done it all...except for the cooking part." Zelina chuckles and I look at her. "I mean yes, I've helped Stella a bit here and there. But no big deal."

"No matter how little...the efforts are still appreciated," I say, looking into her eyes. She stops laughing and we find ourselves staring at each other for quite some time. What the hell is happening?

Zelina tears her gaze away immediately when she realizes what we have been doing and there is an awkward silence between us for a moment. "I am sorry, I'll serve you." She says sheepishly as she reaches for the grilled chicken.

"I hope you don't mind having some red wine," Zelina says as she pours us wine after that.

"Not at all." I shrug.

After she is done, I use my fork and take a bite. "This is so flavourful. I like it." I smile and look at her as she lets out a breath.

"That definitely eased my nerves despite knowing the fact that I haven't made it." She jokes and I laugh.

"You have nothing to worry about with me, Zelina," I say and she nods. I can see a glint in her eyes which I've never seen before. It seems like she is really enjoying having me here. We begin to eat in silence occasionally giving each other little smiles and glances.

"So how have you been?" Zelina asks after some time. I look at her and something about this night makes me want to be honest with her.

I reach for a paper towel and wipe the corner of my lips as I look at her. "I've been better but not as good as I was before what happened at the launch."

"I am sorry..." She looks at me and says. "Did you get anything on it...I mean there has to be someone from your company to rat the details."

"I know. We are working on it and I hope we find him soon." I say, feeling a little tense.

She doesn't say anything and I stare at her trying to figure out what's on her mind. This night so far has been great - better than what I wished for and I fear if I'd try to bring the issue that we are here to discuss in the first place, I might ruin it.

As if sensing what I've been thinking, Zelina straightens. I watch her as she hesitates before she finally speaks. "Merrick, I wanted to know if you have forgiven me for what I did?"

I look at her in disbelief. I didn't expect her to say this and I struggle, trying to find words. "I...I don't..."

But before I can say anything, she interrupts. "I know it's not easy for you to trust me but...." She gulps slowly and I notice her eyes gleaming under the moonlight. "I've been trying to reflect on myself these past few days and while it took me really a long time, I did realize that all this time I've been dealing with you the wrong way." She stops and I can see how difficult it is for her to talk about things normally. It seems like she has never done it before.

She pauses and she closes her eyes for a moment. "I wouldn't deny that I was making it difficult for you to be around me and I also feel guilty for violating your personal space..." She looks back at me and I see the same pain in her eyes that I saw the night when she was drunk. I clench my jaw, realizing that I am not going to like what she is about to say. "Merrick, I've known nothing better than being a woman to seduce rich businessmen to get her work done. It's not something to be proud of but I can't help...I've been like this for a long time."

I don't say anything and she continues. "I've never doubted the kind of life I lived until now, Merrick." She sighs and then looks at me. "You have to believe me when I say this....this is all new for me."

"What do you mean?" I finally manage to ask her.

She lets out a shaky breath and looks into my eyes. "I've never been like this with anyone...I mean sitting here in front of you...talking with you...having dinner with you...doing things the normal way...this is what is new for me. Something that I never did." She gives me a sad smile. "Something that I never imagined I'd enjoy doing this much."

I clench my jaw tighter trying to hold my emotions. She looks away for a moment before turning back at me. "Men never valued me the moment I was out of their beds..." She says and her eyes fill up with tears and it makes my chest tighten. I can see in her eyes that she has endured a lot but then she shakes her head and lets out a chuckle. I know that she is failing miserably at faking it. "And neither did I see sex more than an easy weapon to get my contracts done...so it's really..."

"Zelina, you don't have to tell me," I stop her, feeling concerned for her. From her face, I can assume that opening up to me is agonizing for her and I don't want to see her in pain.

She nods slowly looking at me. "I know I don't have to but I want to. I want you to know how much I mean it when I say I am sorry." She shakes her head before she looks at me. "Jeez, this all feels so fucking gross when I say it aloud." She says with a small smile. I can see the tears fresh on her cheeks but she seems to be genuinely smiling now.

"You are the only one that's going to get to see me like this, Addington." She leans forward and pokes me on my chest, teasingly. "I hope you don't use it against me."

I laugh and I grab her hand in mine when she begins to pull it away. I can't help but stare at her beautiful face. "You are way more stronger than you think, Zelina," I whisper and her cheeks turn pink. "I am glad that you see me worth knowing you."

Zelina looks into my eyes and I almost stop breathing when she says. "You are worth more than it." The moment she says that her hand drops from mine in shock. I didn't intend to do it but it happened just at the moment and I curse under my breath when I see the disappointment written all over her face.

"Zelina..." I begin to say but she is already shaking her head.

"I know, I won't cross the line. I am not saying all this to get you to like me or something...I said it because that's what I felt was right in my heart." She says looking at me. "I've never trusted someone as much as I do you, Merrick. I hope you realize it."

I gaze at her and I know I need to tell her how much I already like her but before I can say my phone begins to vibrate in my pocket.

I reach for it and look at Zelina apologetically when I see Dean's name on it. "I am sorry, I have to take this."

"Of course." She nods.

I pick up the call and look at my watch. "Dean, is everything okay?" I ask when I see it's almost nine.

"Merrick, we got something. Can you get to the office?"