IMPORTANT: There had been a mistake in chapter 31 ( Half of it was deleted after three days from the update ) so can you please check if you have read the entire chapter because the end of it, is the key if this chapter.
Enjoy...!!! ð
Chapter 32:
Nadia's POV:
My head was spinning around and a serious headache started messing with my nerves. I only wanted to go back home where I would confront Zack the way I wanted to, not in the middle of the Gala where a scandal could be created and businesses' might be ruined.
As much as I tried to push Zack's words away, they always seemed to find their own way back to my mind; what he said was like a knife to my heart, it made me doubt all of the words he had ever told me so far, every touch and every look we shared because it could be all a game to get me under his spell. And I am ashamed to confess, that he had me wrapped around his finger. Stupid feelings.
I have to stop.
I can't do this.
I don't want to force you to do something that you don't want to do.
I am falling in love with you.
I can't get enough of your kisses.
I started remembering everything that happened when we were in Chicago, from our date to the park and our confessions that leaded to the night when I shared my everything with Zack. Was I that naive to give in? Did he say those things just to get what he wanted from me? Was I that stupid after all?
I was so lost in my thoughts that I felt like I was unconscious and far away from people. I didn't even realize what was going on until I felt something warm on my shoulder; I turned my head and there stood, Zack, beaming at me as if nothing happened, as if I was the most beautiful woman in the ballroom, and I couldn't help but wonder 'was I in his eyes?'
"I'm glad you're here, grandma says it's our cue to be on stage" Zack said, brushing his fingers on the skin of my shoulder "Are you ready?"
"Let's get it done already" I nodded at him and walked ahead of him.
"Wow, someone's excited" He chuckled, keeping up with my pace.
'I have to be strong' I reminded myself because falling apart would affect grandpa before it would affect me.
The man who was already on stage preparing the sound system, gave us a microphone for each. The sound of music died and the crowd's attention turned to Zack and I, taking their seats on the designed tables with pale pink and gold.
"For years, Mr. and Mrs. Collins hosted all of the company's Galas but from now on Zack and I, will follow the tradition" I straightened my back and started talking.
"You better keep your eyes off her" Zack chuckled, winking at the guests, who started laughing at his comment, while I rolled my eyes at him and he proceeded talking "People think that we are just like any other company but I must say that we are more than that, we are a family"
"That's why, celebrating our success today is our way to thank and encourage our employees to work harder, dare themselves to come up with greater ideas and push themselves to their limits" I spoke, making sure to keep the smile on my face.
"The Gala of today has basically two reasons" Zack said as soon as I finished my sentence, making me turn my head to look at him because that wasn't what we were supposed to say "The first reason is what my lovely wife have just explained" He peeked at me from the corner of his eyes while I plastered a stupid grin on my face to not look out of place, "The second reason, is to announce that we have decided to combine the Mathews's Fabric Company and Collin's into one, and that Nadia and I, will work side by side, and lead MC Fabric company, the new born strong company"
The entire ballroom fell in silence as guests were silently staring at each other in chock, and not ever daring to utter a word since the two companies were both strong and covered a lot of countries and had their own big customers, and combining them together as one, meant that the new company was going to be the strongest and the most unbreakable one in the field.
It took me few seconds to realize that what I heard earlier was true, Zack really used me to get what he wanted, and I felt like I wanted the ground to open up and eat me alive since I was fooled and felt so stupid that I didn't notice that Zack was just like the other people in my life who only wanted to get things from me.
I was blinded, maybe Anna was right, I wasn't the one for him, she was. They were made of the same clay...
"Thanks for bearing our boring talk" Zack chuckled when silence became unbearable.
"Have a lovely night, enjoy your time" I said and bowed slightly at the guests then I put the microphone down and started walking down the few stairs of the stage with Zack beside me.
"We'll have a serious talk later" I whispered at him, loud enough so he could listen to me through the blasting music.
"But please, promise me you'll hear me out" He pleaded me with his eyes but I was so angry that I didn't even have words to answer, I just nodded my head at him.
"Let's dance" He held my hand and pulled me to his chest.
His right hand soon reached my waist and pulled me even closer if it was even possible; I put my right hand on his shoulder while my left one was secured in his other hand, and we started floating with the beautiful song by James Blunt 'You are beautiful', one of the most beautiful songs of all time.
I wasn't even paying attention on my steps or what I was doing, I just focused on what was going to happen after my talk with Zack, I was afraid deep down of the idea of losing him because I knew that whatever agreement he made with his grandpa, was only going to hurt me more.
I would lose in both cases...!!!
Pulling myself out of my trance of thoughts, I lifted my head slightly in order to look for sincerity and answers in Zack's eyes, however, the moment I locked my eyes with his, I looked away since like every other time we shared eye contact, I would be trapped in my place and I wouldn't be able to focus on anything beside him.
"Please Nadia, just trust me" Zack spoke in my ear when I looked behind him instead of looking at him.
"I know what you are going to tell me next, you would say forget everything for a moment" I retorted, forcing myself no to give in to his request "But it's not going to happen"
"Why not?" He asked "Why can't I pull you to my chest? Why can't we lock ourselves in a bubble where I can hold you like this?" He proceeded, suddenly hugging me in the middle of the dance floor as soon as the last question left his mouth.
"Why?" I questioned, angrily but still managed to maintain my composure and followed the music "We can't pretend that everything is fine whenever something happens"
"I know that but I can't help it" He pulled back and looked down at me "I like having you this close"
"Zack, stop it" I said, sternly.
We went back to our initial position and Zack stopped talking for the rest of the dance. As the song ended, some people remained on the dance floor dancing on the second song, some took their own places on table, and others took the opportunity to congratulate Zack and I, on our big success, stating that sharing a house and company, would make our relationship unbreakable, and saying that it was a huge surprise for them.
Only if they knew that I was more than surprised...
I had to feign happiness about the entire company thing because every single one of the guests, was as important as we were, so we had to keep our facade composed and pretend that everything is completely alright, that's one of the first lessons I learned from mom throughout the years.
Zack didn't leave my side throughout the entire night, he even insisted to escort me when I said that I needed to use the restroom. However, I sent him away since I needed some space and cold water to freshen up.
Splashing my face with cold water defiantly helped me to gain my sanity back, if I pretended for one more minute, I would have fainted and embarrassed myself in front of everyone. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I reapplied my lipstick, checked my hair then I lifted my clutch off the island and went out.
I was about to look for Zack when I suddenly glimpsed Col, looking at me from afar; he seemed in distress, as if he was debating with himself whether he should talk to me or not, that's why, I decided to just go to him and end whatever problem we had because we were close friends for many years if we put my admiration aside, and I kind of felt bad because of how I treated him in Chicago.
"Hello" I said as soon as I was on an arm's length away from him.
"Hey there" He replied, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"Can we just end our stupid issue" I blurted out when he started getting nervous.
It reminded me of the old days when we used to fight...
"It's really getting under my nerves" I added.
"I'm glad we think alike" He smiled at me, genuinely.
"Come here" I gestured at him to come closer "I missed your stupid comments" I hugged him for a second then I pulled back "I hope we'll be good like the old days"
"If Zack doesn't mind, everything will be good" He smirked at me, well aware that I was going to snap at him but I wouldn't fall in his trap, I knew the glimmer in his eyes well enough not to.
"He'll be your best friend after a while" I winked at him then uttered quickly because I knew that he would kill me if I stayed there more "Now by, I have to look for someone"
"Yeah run, good idea if you want to stay alive" I heard him comment before I left.
I waited till I was few feet away from Col to look for Zack; it was high time we discussed about everything, we could escape the party for few minutes and no one would notice us missing. I glimpsed him looking around, so I held my head up high and walked to him; he noticed me heading to him so he did the same and we met midway.
"It's time to talk" I said, holding his hand then I started leading him to the office, where he was earlier with his grandpa.
'I wish he confesses to me about his agreement with his grandpa, without me shoving it on his face' I hoped, trying my best to escape people.
"So?" I said, closing the door behind me "Why didn't you tell me about Mc Fabric Company?"
"First of all, it wasn't my idea, your grandpa and mine decided, I only announced" He answered, looking deeply in my eyes.
"Really?" I asked, feeling quite angry because he was lying to me, and I wanted to yell at him for that.
"They agreed on everything before we even get married" He added, rubbing the back of his neck, nervously.
I just stood there, looking at him and debating with myself whether I should give him some space to talk or just tell him that I knew everything. Nevertheless, I wanted to trust him, I really wanted to but my brain was warning me not to, it was telling me to get the hell out there before he would break my heart.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I managed to ask quietly although I wanted to shout at him.
"Because I wanted to tell you the entire truth" He whispered, reaching for my hand "I want us to be a normal married couple, without hidden stuff"
"What do you mean by saying hidden stuff ?"
"Before I tell you everything, please, keep in your mind that I love you and I would do anything for you" He caressed my cheeks with his fingers.
His touch was so tender that I felt like he was afraid he would break me...
My heart and brain started fighting one more time because of what he said; my heart was telling me to believe that Zack really loved me and that he wouldn't do something to hurt me, while my brain reasoned that Zack wouldn't say such thing if what he would to say wasn't going to harm me.
"We should sit first" He offered, sitting on the couch and tugging me down with him, making me sit so close to him that our legs were interacting.
"Zack, just talk, I'm already starting to lose my temper" I moved away a little bit, putting some space between us.
"Okay, remember that day in the hospital where everything started?" He questioned and I nodded "That day, grandpa called me and said that my father told him that he wanted to see me because he wanted me to meet his son" Zack started talking and I felt the atmosphere get heavier with every word he was uttering "I refused but grandpa insisted a lot on the matter and we started arguing, it went on and on until the subject fell on you"
"Me?" I blurted out, uncontrollably.
"Yeah, you" He nodded then proceeded talking "The idea of the blind date wasn't grandma's, it was grandpa's, he discussed everything with your grandpa, and they both sat us up that day"
"Did you know that?"
"I didn't, until today" He answered me, a little bit distracted but he gained his composure right away "Grandpa was mad that I messed up things between us and after adding our argument, he said if I didn't fix things with you, he would bring my father back home, and he would give him his old place as CEO in the company"
With every word that came out of Zack's mouth, I was more chocked than ever because I didn't expect such thing to come out of Mr. Collins, he seemed to love Zack more than anything so why did he threaten him with the most sensitive subject ever?
"I was angry and frustrated so after hearing how much your grandpa wanted us to be together, I came right away and asked you to pretend with me" He added, playing with his fingers, nervously "But thing don't stop here, grandpa somehow knew about our game"
"Wait what?" I whispered loudly, slightly panicked because I didn't expect such thing to happen "Who else knows?"
Zack was about to answer when suddenly the door burst open, revealing Mrs. Collins in all her glory; she said something about a Turkish businessman who was looking for us, and that we had to talk to him since he was important for the company. We were obliged to stop the talk and follow her immediately.
Throughout the years, mom insisted on Adam and I to learn many languages, and we ended up learning more than eight languages including Turkish because grandpa's Fabric Company dealt with many Turkish businessmen. Moreover, I fell in love with the language since the first time I heard my teacher say "Merhaba, ben Anna'yım" (Hello, I'm Anna)
Anyway, the talk went smoothly and the businessman, Sinan (As he insisted we call him) was so delighted that he invited Zack and I, for lunch in his Mansion; besides, he seemed pleased when he first heard me talking fluently, especially when I told him that I had a Turkish friend from Adana, and that I attended her wedding there.
"TanıÅtıÄıma memnun oldum (I'm glad to meet you)" I said, shaking the man's hand when he excused himself to leave.
"Ben de tanıÅtıÄıma memnun oldum (It's nice to meet you too )" He smiled at us widely and added "Birgün seni öÄlen yemeÄi için bekliyorum (I'm waiting for you for lunch someday)"
"tabii ki, Onu kaçırmayız (Of course, we wouldn't miss it)" I returned the grin gladly "dikkatli olmak, hoÅça kal (Take care, goodbye)"
Talking with Sinan, made me forget about my talk with Zack for few minutes, but as soon as we were left alone again, every word he told me earlier came back at me like a cold bucket of water, waking me up and making me worried at the thought that our game would be uncovered to everyone.
I had an awkward feeling in my belly, the same feeling I felt at the apartment when Mrs. Collins left, it made my chest tighten in rib cage and I was starting to lose my breathe with every second that passed; but I didn't want Zack to notice anything, I wanted him to tell me what was really happening behind my back.
"We should go back" I gestured at the hallway leading to the office.
"Come on" He offered me his hand and waited for my next move.
I looked at it for few seconds before I took it and intertwined our fingers together; I wasn't ready to be with him like before but at least he was trying and he was willing to tell me everything, without intending to hide the truth.
'Maybe he was obliged to accept his grandpa's deal, maybe he really loved me after all' I thought to myself as we started walking.
"I am glad I lived to witness such a sight" Anna suddenly appeared behind the office's door "I thought you wouldn't recover after putting everything on the table"
"I don't understand what you mean by saying everything" I stared at her devilish innocent smile.
"Anna, we were talking about something important so if you could please excuse us" Zack gestured at the door with raised eyebrows.
"I know, it's just that I was really scared that Nadia would be mad" She started playing with her fingertips like a child who stole cookies.
"Anna" Zack hissed at her but she continued talking.
"When I heard you on the phone the other day, I was afraid that your relationship would be ruined, I thought..."
"I said, enough Anna" Zack yelled at her, making her jump in her place.
"No, I want to know what she is talking about" I said, taking a deep breathe since the room was suffocating me.
"Nadia, please, listen to me" Zack pleaded but I ignored him.
"I'm glad your relationship is real, I wouldn't imagine what would have happened if you didn't reunite in Chicago" She told me, batting her eyelashes, feigning innocence.
"Chicago?" I questioned, afraid of asking her how did she know about it.
"Yeah, if you didn't reunite, the two companies couldn't have reunited too" She answered so quietly that someone would think that she was talking about her favorite book "Anyway, everything is good, so you better remember this story and laugh in the future"
Before Anna could finish her sentence, my hand already flied in the air and ended up on Zack's cheek; it stung at first but after couple of seconds, I didn't feel anything, my physical pain was nothing compared to what my heart was going through, it was bleeding and I could do nothing to stop the pain that time.
The damage was big...
"That's what you meant by saying that 'you made me your real wife' then?" I asked him, my eyes already whelmed up with tears but none dared to escape, at least not yet.
"It's not how  it looks like" Zack retorted, his eyes widening at me.
'I wouldn't break down in front of him' I told myself as I pushed him out of my way and headed out, making sure to hit the door on my way out 'I wasn't weak, I wasn't weak, I was strong, what happened wouldn't affect me, I don't care' I chanted in my head.
'Then why do you feel like someone stabbed you in your heart?' My inner voice interrupted my thoughts, making me lose all my strength as soon as I locked myself in the bathroom, not even remembering how I managed to run through the guests.
'Why did he have to do that? Was is all a lie to get what he wanted? Was I a toy in his hands?' cried, silently, dreading the positive answer of my last question.
*******
/*I had to cry with Nadia at last*/
/*What do you think really happened? Tell me people*/
/*I want to know your predictions*/
/*I've written this chapter more than six times because I am thinking of ending the story :'( so I added so many details*/
/*Sorry if it became messy*/
/*I will try to update within these two weeks*/
/*I hope you liked this chapter*/
/*Vote, comment and share*/
/*Thank you* Kisses-N*/