She was out of the house in the morning, dressed in a flowing white dress that made her stand out amongst the others in the breakfast spot. Her golden arm cuff shone under the soft glare of the morning sun bouncing off the window they sat close to, the shiny brown hues creating beautiful patterns on the table. It was the second time she re-crossed her legs, looking out at the road, even if there was someone right in front of her.
Different emotions went through her as she sat there, her mind reeling and her eyes hazy. She wanted to say a lot of things, yet desired to say nothing at the same time. The silence was comfortable, like a quilt draped over someone on a chilly winter night, instantly providing warmth. But there was also the fact that it could be taken away from her at any time. Despite her fears, she had never had this one yanked talk about consistency throughout the years.
She’d missed this.
The waiter came with a cup of hot cocoa for her and coffee for him, along with toast. Their eyes met for a brief second, before they pulled away, grabbing their mugs off the table and muttering hurried and inaudible appreciation to the waiter before he sauntered away from their table. The cocoa burned her lips because she’d tried to take it too fast, and before she could stop it, a curse word fell from her lips as she retracted from the mug.
He was on his feet faster than lightning, hurrying to her side with concern in his eyes. He knelt beside her chair and searched her face, then her hands. “What is it?”
If the situation was any different, she would have laughed about it, her hair falling behind her as her shoulders bobbed. But it was the both of them, and nothing was funny, more sad, more introspective. “I’m fine William,” she breathed, getting over the burn. “I had the cocoa to fast and my tongue had to pay for that.”
“Oh.” He withdrew his gaze ruefully and got back on his feet, walking around the table to his seat. “I thought it poured on you or something. How’s the tongue looking like? Do you need to see a Doctor?”
“It’s just a burn, William,” she chuckled awkwardly. “It will pass. I don’t need to go to the hospital for something this small.”
“Yeah,” he muttered. “You might not have had to if the circumstances were different, but I vividly remember your brother threatening that if as much as a hair on your head goes missing, he’s going to have me for dessert later tonight. While I don’t think he would be able to finish every part of me, I don’t doubt his threat even for a minute.”
This time, she laughed genuinely, her eyes twinkling under the lights. It made William stare at her longer than he should, his eyes lingering as he unconsciously leaned closer, holding his breath lest he broke through the moment.
“Zayn cannot do anything to you,” she said after her laughter slowly ceased. “You both are more brothers than he could ever be with Nathan and for that, he wouldn’t allow anything to happen to you. So, you can rest assured that you get to keep your head today.”
“That is such a relief,” he muttered, sighing in amusement. Silence settled over them again, but this time, it didn’t last long. William broke through it, deciding not to wait anymore. “You look great, Mago.”
“Better than the last time you saw me,” she murmured. “I remember it vividly. On some days, I had damp tissue in my hand, with tears streaming down my face. And on others, fear gripped me so hard that I could barely do a thing. You were there through it all. I don’t think I ever got to say thanks before running away to Hong Kong.”
William smiled. “You don’t have to say the words for me to know how you feel. I know you were appreciative of my gestures, but I will do it again in a heartbeat. Of course, not that I am hoping that someone threatens to kill you if he doesn’t have you to himself.”
“He was such a psychopath.” Mago shook her head, the memories returning to her. “I don’t even know how I managed to stay with him for that long.”
“You were in love with him.”
“The cosmos sure has a weird way of pairing people because that wasn’t love. I kept ignoring the red flags because I thought he would change, that I could change it. And I wasn’t asking Zayn for help because I thought I could handle it on my own. I mean, he warned me about him after running a background check, but rather than listen to my brother, I got mad at him for meddling in my business.”
“You were quite feisty about it.” William laughed.
Mago’s eyes widened in surprise and then realization. “Of course, you were there! How else can I talk to my brother without you being there?”
“We are always together, and I just happened to hear into the conversation. That and the fact that Zayn was quite furious about it so everyone around him automatically felt the heat. I had to be there to ensure he calmed down, or at least, gave measured instructions. I remember he fired his secretary, one of his men, the accountant from the company, and the doorman, all in one day.”
Her gaze softened as she regarded William in a different light. “I didn’t know Zayn loved me that much.”
William seemed to think about the words that came into his mind, thinking if it was the right thing to say. Then deciding to fuck it and just have it out there in the open, he looked straight into her eyes and allowed the warmth he felt to caress him. “Yeah,” he muttered. “You would be surprised to find out the number of people that love you back at home.”