"Sir, where are you going? Come back!"
I turned to Rayan. "I think there's someone behind us. I heard something."
He shook his head. "Oh no, there's no one. Just keep running."
But then, all of a sudden, a tall, strong man dressed in black appeared right in front of us.
It was a jumpscare for me — but not for Rayan.
The stranger glared at me and growled, "Hey, you disgusting brat! How dare you—"
Before he could finish, Rayan stepped in front of me, giving him a look so intense it made the man pause.
"Don't you dare continue," Rayan said coldly, shielding me with his body.
It was the first time I'd seen this side of Rayan.
The man straightened up and simply said, "Yes, sir."
"Sir?" I echoed, confused, my brows furrowed.
Rayan turned to me. "Oh... yeah, he works for me. We were working on the thing I told you about. And I'm really sorry for his behaviour."
He then shot a sharp glare at the man. "Apologize. And introduce yourself."
The man nodded. "I apologize for my behaviour, miss. I'm Alex, and yes, I work for him."
"It's okay," I replied with a fake smile.
Alex then looked at Rayan. "Sir, but where are you going? What about today's work?"
Rayan responded casually, "I'm heading to my hiding place. The work's done for today."
Without waiting for a response, Rayan grabbed my hand and pulled me away, not giving Alex a chance to say another word.
When we got home, we followed the usual routine — cooking, a bit of small talk, and then heading to bed.
But I couldn't sleep.
I kept thinking about what had happened today.
"Well, there's no doubt now… he definitely likes me," I thought to myself.
I was over the moon — not just any boy, but a rich, handsome man actually liked me.
And I liked him too.
The thought made me blush and smile like an idiot, kicking my feet in the air under the covers.
But then, another thought crept into my mind — Alex.
His first impression was so bad, I could almost say I hated him. He seemed so fake.
And worst of all, he completely ruined what could've been a perfect moment between me and Rayan.
As usual, I visit a lot of markets for my work — some nearby, some far, but never too close.
And the weirdest thing happened: just two days later, I saw Rayan again — in a market far from the last one.
He was deep in conversation with Alex, wearing a serious expression, and didn't notice me.
I sighed internally, "Oh god, this Alex is here too?"
Still, I decided to surprise Rayan.
I circled around and quietly appeared at his side, gently tapping his shoulder. But before I could say a word, I felt a strong grip from him — like he was either about to toss me into the air or snap my arm in half.
Then, realizing who I was, he immediately let go and said, "Oh Zera! It's you. You scared me!"
"I scared you?" I snapped back. "No, you scared me! Do you attack everyone who touches you?"
Rayan looked genuinely apologetic. "Oh... yeah, I'm really sorry about that. You're not hurt, are you?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I muttered.
That's when Alex finally looked at me and said, "You here too?"
Before I could respond, Rayan quickly cut in, "Sorry, Zera — we've got something urgent to handle. Let's talk later."
And just like that, he walked away with Alex, leaving me standing there.