/Zane's POV/
My head was pounding when I woke up, and my neck was sore too, but nothing was more painful than the fucking hard-on I woke up with.
That's not even funny, I told myself before walking straight to my bathroom for a cold shower.
I was still under the pouring water when flashes struck me—me holding Allison, begging her to stay, and telling her how much I wanted her.
Probably another dream turned nightmare. I sighed softly, realising the cause of my painful erection. After that came memories of Vikram's call that had me cussing out my cousin almost instantly.
Vikram was right—holding back my emotions would be impossible the moment I realised Elias had something to do with this mess.
As of yesterday, Elias had officially become a suspect in Allison's murder, but Vikram gave me a heads-up before they went to his house. Apparently, he met up with Allison three days before she was stabbed, and according to the investigation, the two had a huge fight.
I remember yelling at him to get the fuck out of my house after Vikram's phone call. Just why? I still don't get it.
I kept trying to give him the benefit of the doubt since he wasn't the type of person to—but Vikram successfully confirmed Elias had indeed been stalking Allison. If he had her followed, what's to say he didn't order the stabbing?
After the shower, I walked into my closet. Even with rows of suits and shirts staring back at me, I couldn't decide what to wear — I kept getting distracted, replaying the last look on Elias's face before I threw him out.
He looked so taken aback by my sudden outburst that he couldn't even hide his shock.
"Zane, please… let's talk."
I remember him trying to get me to listen to his fucking explanations, but I knew better than to let him open his filthy mouth. Not because I still trusted him—I should've known better than to trust anyone related to my uncle.
The betrayal stings, but it wasn't the reason I wanted Elias out of my sight. If he'd stayed a couple more minutes, I might've ended up in jail myself.
My self-control has always been lacking.For Allison, I tried hard to rein it in — to tame that violent side. I didn't want to get married knowing I could lose it at any moment. Therapy helped, but Elias had me toeing that fine line between reason and restraint.
I thought we were fucking friends! My fist landed against the wall. I groaned—not from the pain of my bruised knuckles, but from the sting of his betrayal, which hurt more than the peeled flesh.
I sighed and eventually settled for a navy-blue suit with a white shirt and a slightly patterned tie.
I could hear Ayanna's voice drifting from the kitchen. I guess she came early to finish up what she started. I'd have dropped by to say hello, at least, but I already woke up late this morning, which was unusual.
I wake up five in the morning almost every day—well, except on days I don't want to—but today, I woke up at seven, throwing not just my routine off but my entire schedule.
"Heading out already?" Ayanna joined me at the dining table as I poured myself some coffee.
"You're here early?" I pointed out as I gently set the coffee pot back on the kitchen island, but she promptly stole my cup, so I had to pour another.
"Well, I kind of broke my promise to fix Madison's closet since, honestly, that thing's a disaster. But—" she paused, her tone softening. "There was an emergency with Richard last night." Her expression fell.
"Are you two okay?" I asked. The last time I saw that look on her face was when her father died.
"We'll be," she forced a small smile. "We're taking a photo today to update Allison's socials. People are starting to doubt the news of her recovery, so I'll handle her makeup and everything else myself. That's okay, right?" Her face lit up as she snapped back into work mode.
"Yes, that's a great idea. I trust you to handle it," I said, finishing my coffee and grabbing my coat.
Madison appeared just as I was grabbing my wallet and car keys, all set to leave.
"Good morning," she greeted, awkwardly. Her voice sparked a flash of a dream I couldn't quite recall — blurred around the edges the moment I woke up.
"Zane… stop, please." An earnest plea, but with an alluring voice that made me want to continue rather than listen. My head throbbed harder, and I groaned, rubbing my temple as my eyes squeezed shut from the pain.
"Are you okay? You don't look so good," Ayanna pointed out.
"Sorry, I don't know what's up with me these days. It's getting harder to focus, and I always wake up tired," I admitted. Through my blurry vision, I caught something flickering in Madison's expression—nerves, maybe—but it vanished quickly.
"I think you should get checked out," Madison suggested, her tone calm but firm. "Honestly, you do look more tired every day."
"Maddy's right," Ayanna added. "You look exhausted. I didn't think much of it before, with everything happening, but it wouldn't hurt to see a doctor."
"Thanks. I'll think about it," I muttered, leaving before Aya could wring a promise out of me.
Vikram was already waiting for me at the office by the time I got there. He didn't look like he was waiting outside my office just for a friendly chat.
"You didn't have to come here. I was gonna drop by the station later," I grunted as he walked out of Noah's section and accompanied me to my office.
"This couldn't wait," he said.
I shrugged off my coat and hung it on the rack before joining him on the sofa.
"What's this about?" I demanded, crossing my legs as I narrowed my eyes at the strangely tensed Vikram.
"How was your relationship with Allison?" he questioned.
Confusion marred my features. "What?"
"Would you say you had a good relationship with your fiancée, Mr Antler?" His tone grew formal, and I knew right then that Vikram wasn't questioning me as a friend but as the detective in charge of Allison's case.
"Yes, I had a really good relationship with my fiancée… but you would know that," I answered, but the nervous lines on his face never faded.
"Have you ever been unfaithful to your fiancée—"
I couldn't hold myself back this time. "What's this about, Vik?"
"Please answer my questions, Mr Antler," he insisted, his voice firm—ever so stubborn.
"No," I said sharply. "I've always been faithful to Allison. She's everything to me."
"And there hasn't been a conflict of interest between you two?" Vik went on.
"No, we hardly ever fought," I rebutted.
"So, you consider yourself a pretty loyal partner?"
"Yes," I nodded, rummaging through my brain to come up with the possible scenario that made these questions relevant.
"What about your sexual life?"
"What—Vik, this is outrageous. What the hell is this about?"
"Elias claimed he was in a relationship with Allison," he finally admitted.
I scoffed. "That's impossible. Elias and Allison? No, he's lying," I insisted, but his face remained blank.
"He claimed he couldn't have killed her because he was in love with her."
"Vik," I glared at him.
"Dude, what do you want me to do? There's photo evidence suggesting they were really together. But if this was some sort of scheme, we can clarify it if we talk to the victim. She's awake now… right?"
My shoulders sagged. I should've seen this coming. I should've taken this police investigation into account. Of course they'd want to talk to Allison—she's the victim and would know best who was targeting her.
"I'm sorry, I can't do that. Not right now. Allison's still traumatised by what happened. She can hardly look at me, Vik."
Vik's expression turned sympathetic.
"She passed out a few times after she woke up. I can't risk anything happening to her. Maybe we can push this off until she's more stable, at least."
I lied—I know I shouldn't have, but this is too important to let Vikram sabotage it.
"Okay, if we can't see the victim right now, at least let's have her phone. You refused to hand it over the last time, but Zane, if this really matters to you, you'll hand the phone over right now," Vikram pressed, and my eyes wandered around my office out of guilt.
"Okay," I agreed. "But I haven't seen it recently. I kept it because I wanted to understand this whole incident, and even went as far as cracking it open. It's not with me right now, but I'll hand it over once I have it," I promised.
Vikram sighed. He didn't look like he believed me, but at least I was able to end the conversation there. Not long after Vikram left, the whole office was thrown into an uproar because of Allison's new post.
I couldn't be more glad that the post dropped after Vikram left—explaining that the bedridden, stabbed victim was updating socials because we wanted people to believe she was alive wouldn't have been a suitable explanation.
Everyone at the company wanted to ask me about Allison, but my murderous aura kept them all away since I couldn't get over Vikram's update.
Elias sure knows how to get on my nerves. What? He was seeing Allison? He's probably making all that up to get out of the mess he's gotten himself into.
It's annoying when pests and flies circle around Allison, but I try really hard to keep them away. I just didn't think my cousin would be one of them.
"But what if he was telling the truth?" I felt my stomach lurch at the thought.
"Sir," Noah walked in. "We have a problem," he announced, walking over to show me his tablet. On it was a newly published tabloid about Allison and me.
"Why the hell are they making it sound like I imprisoned her?" I muttered, jaw tightening.
---------