6. Double Trouble

Hearing the heavy baritone voice that had once been so comforting to her hearing, Zanara froze. Hoping that what was happening right now was just a dream, she wanted to be able to wake up immediately if, indeed, the man standing behind her back was that man.

Her body shook violently, not wanting to meet his eyes. It wasn't that she was afraid her heart would be weak, but she didn't want to. She hated having to look at that man again. She didn't want the shadow of Mark's infidelity to play mischievously in the back of her mind.

But damn it!

She couldn't even move her legs to escape from that place. Jayme. Where was that man? Had he left already? Or was he still standing in the same place and waiting for the continuation of the story being played out before his eyes?

After struggling to swallow her heart that almost burst, Zanara finally turned around. The look in her eyes, full of panic, turned stoic instantly as two irises met in the distance.

That's right, Mark, standing behind Zanara's back. Looking at the figure slowly cutting the distance between them, Zanara was almost right in front of Mark. However, Jayme quickly became a barrier between the two.

As if she could read the reluctance on Zanara's face about the man's presence, Jayme realized that the man who was now in front of her was the man who had broken the heart of a kind-hearted woman like Zanara and made her a cold woman who permanently withdrew from the love and attention he gave her.

Jayme's gaze was aimed at Mark. And Mark doesn't seem to be able to accept someone else being by his ex-wife's side.

No, they didn't. They hadn't even signed anything about the divorce. They could still come back if only Zanara gave Mark a second chance. After all, their daughter needs a father.

"What did you come here for?" asked Jayme, sounding calm. However, his heart was like a cloudy sky full of thunder that could rumble whenever it wanted.

However, for now, he wanted to be calm, just like Zanara did. Calm, even though Jayme could see the emotional turmoil in the woman's heart.

"This is none of your business. I want to see my wife and son. You step aside."

Hearing Mark's reply, Jayme was momentarily stunned and almost didn't move. However, he was an intelligent man. He knew how to play his cards well.

"Can't you see that she doesn't want to see you?"

Mark didn't seem to like Jayme's presence. "Let her say it in person."

That sentence sounded challenging, as if Jayme was wrong to say that Zanara didn't want to meet Mark. However, Zanara, without raising her face, or trying to look at her ex-husband's face, immediately took over the conversation.

"This man is right. I don't want to see you. Now leave!" Zanara twisted her body and almost walked away, but again she did not.

"I want to talk to you, Zee. Please."

Zanara froze in place. Did Mark not hear what she said? What was the right way to send him away?

"I'm tired; I don't want to talk to anyone."

Hearing the sentence that sounded firm, Mark could not force it; he knew the character of the woman he loved so much. He sighed in resignation, then looked at Zanara, still covered by Jayme's firm body.

"Okay. It would help if you didn't get tired and sick. You'd better rest. But tomorrow I'll come again. I miss you guys, and I won't give up chasing after you and asking you to come back."

Zanara grunted, then took a swinging step away from Mark and Jayme.

She didn't care if it was Jayme or Mark; none could shake her. There was no real love in this world. The men will only give wounds in the end. Zanara doesn't want her heart to be fragile again because she has Marion to take care of, and later she will teach her to be strong like her so that any man won't easily tempt her.

Zanara arrived at her apartment. She was locking the door hastily and leaning against the closed door.

"Mama? Why do you look so scared? Is Papa angry?" asked Marion innocently. Zanara was momentarily stunned when Marion appeared and asked a question she didn't know how to respond to.

Zanara crouched down to align her body with Marion's. She gazed deeply into the hazel eyes of the little girl before her. The woman took both of her daughter's hands, kissing them lovingly.

"Uncle Jayme is not angry, dear. You're not scared, either. I'm just ... hmm ... what's it called?" Zanara looked thoughtful. Searching for a sentence that a child as small as Marion could easily understand. "In a hurry. Yes. I was in a hurry, so I was now out of breath. Can I come in now, detective?"

Marion rounded her eyes when she heard Zanara call her 'detective' because she had just acted like a detective investigating the look on her mother's face.

The girl laughed. "You mean I'm like a detective? I got the idea to play detective with Melika." She then pecked Zanara's cheek and walked away, leaving the woman, who was now sighing with relief at being able to avoid her daughter's critical questions.

Zanara then staggered into her room.

Zanara flopped down on her bed. Would it be okay if she rested for a while? Dealing with just one man drained her energy; she faced two men, one from the past, whom she desperately wanted to avoid. Especially after running away from him for so long, having to meet him again is like a nightmare.

"Why did you have to come back, Mark? Isn't that woman, and your child, enough?" Zanara monologued, furious at what the man from her past had done.

Whenever she heard Mark's name, all sorts of bad memories flashed uncontrollably. And Zanara didn't like those memories. Her chest hurt every time she thought about it.

But life often tested her patience. Not content with what Zanara had just experienced, her cell phone rang loudly and made Zanara lazy when she found out who was calling her.

Once it rings, she ignores it until a text message arrives at her number.

'Please take my call.

From a blocked number that she had only unblocked a few hours ago. Who else but Marion's favorite guy? Jayme.

Zanara didn't want to be affected by the man's messages or calls. However, she was distracted when another message came in.

'Please.'

She then followed a ring that she didn't ignore this time. Zanara took the call but didn't want to say anything. She let Jayme lead the conversation. Zanara was too lazy to deal with those men because, for her, both Jayme and Mark had given her a lot of problems in her life.

"Zee ... I'm in front of your apartment right now. I want to talk."

Zanara was reluctant but could neither prevent nor refuse Jayme's arrival. So she cautiously opened the door, not wanting Marion to notice the presence of her favorite man who might make matters more complicated and time-consuming.

Jayme stood at the door with his cell phone still attached to his left ear. Staring at the hazel iris of the beautiful woman in front of him, who was waiting for what else the man wanted to talk about.

"May I come in?"