After about fifteen minutes of meandering around the mall just doing a bit of window shopping, Zayn paused by a baby shoe store and looked through their display window. His eyes flickering through the variety of baby shoes of every type and color, for every stage of a baby's active life.

He found himself staring at the cutest pair of sneakers that had caught his eyes and bit his lower lip, contemplating whether to go in there and buy it since MJ is crawling and he will need a pair of shoes once he starts to walk, to protect his feet from broken glass and other problematic objects on the ground.

Why are you buying stuff for a kid you're supposed to return to his mama in a few hours. It doesn't make sense.

Louis's voice resounded in his head however before I knew it, his feet moved on their own accord into the store and he bought the sneakers. Then he spent an additional thirty minutes inside the store, buying whatever stylish pair of shoes he thought would fit MJ, and he ended up buying different expensive brands of shoes, sneakers, and sandals.

He came out of the shoe store holding five shopping bags with a satisfactory grin on his face then he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He drew his phone out and looked to see who was calling before answering it.

"Hi, sorry I'm late, my son was....

"Where are you?" He asked, cutting the nurse in mid-sentence.

"At the food court" She answered with hesitation.

"Alright, I will be there soon"

He ended the call before sliding the phone back in his pocket then strode towards the food court and stood at the entrance, looking through the crowd, and saw someone at the far end of the room waving in his direction.

He recognized the person as the nurse and sauntered his way over to her then sat across from her. He glanced around, to see if someone is watching their way before pulling out an envelope from his pocket and slide it across the table towards her.

The nurse raised her brow and picked it up. She opened the envelope and her eyes widened.

"Take it and do whatever you want to do with it. This is the last time we will see each other, and remember to keep your mouth shut"

The nurse looked up at him and sucked a long gulp of air into her lungs before nodding her head. She put the envelope in her handbag and stood up, then gave him a curt, imperceptible nod.

Zayn acknowledged with a small thin smile and stared after her as she strode away from him, toward the exit door.

He sighed, leaning back in his seat, as memories of MJ's adorable giggling flashed through his mind, and the thought of never seeing that again made his heart descend from his chest into his stomach.

He had always ruthlessly concealed his emotions but this time, it's ruling him and he's finding it difficult to keep them at bay.

What the hell is wrong with him!

He groaned inwardly, clenching his jaws, as he fought the conflicted emotions holding his mind.

How on earth in this short time he has spent with the baby, he has become so attached, and surprisingly, he's crushing on the baby's mama too, even though he had only seen him once at the parking lot of the supermarket and on TV during a news report on the kidnapping of the baby.

How does he untangle himself from these emotional knots he has somehow entangled himself into?

He ran a hand through his hair, trying to fend off his growing frustration. Then he had a feeling that somebody is watching him, he frowned and looked around until his wandering gaze landed on two ladies on the other side of the room, eyeing him with their most flirtatious smiles.

He raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into a naughty smile, and immediately he knew by their blush that if he should walk over there and turn on his charms, he would probably end up with them in a hotel room, having a threesome.

But strangely, for the first time in his life, the usual thrill fizzle out as quickly as it began as an image of the curly popped up in his head as if his brain is telling him that, this person is the only one for him and he needs no other.

His heart palpitated, causing him to tear his eyes away from them, then he stood up and picked up the shopping bags, and without sparing them a second glance, he took quick strides toward the exit door.

He made his way through the busy parking lot toward his pick-up truck and unlocked the backseat door, putting the shopping bags onto the seat before shutting it. He took his phone out while walking around to the driver's side and shot Ricky a quick text that he wants to meet up with him for a serious talk.

Does it have to do with Horan?

Ricky replied after a few seconds.

Zayn opens the driver's side door and climbed inside, typing the response.

Yeah, I want to know everything you know about him.

Okay, let's meet at the beach, but I will be a bit late.

Zayn texted back, letting Ricky know that he's on his way and would wait for him there, then tucked the phone away, before starting the truck. He drove slowly and arrived twenty minutes later at the beach and parked the truck on the hard-packed sands.

He took out a blunt and placed it in the corner of his mouth then reached into his jacket pocket and emerged with a match. He lit the blunt up and took a long drag before expelling the smoke slowly.

He got out of the truck and sat on the hood as he puffed on the blunt, watching the sun rays glistening across the seawater and a few people here and there, walking up and down the beach.

He took another drag and flickers the ash on the ground, blowing out another puff of smoke, a light breeze ruffling his raven hair. He sat there checking out some women in bikinis when his roaming eyes caught someone familiar with shoulder-length curly hair, sitting on the soft sands a few feet away from him.

He leaned forward and squint his eyes, trying to get a better look at the person's face but the person had his hair tousled across the face from the ocean breeze, making it difficult for Zayn to identify him.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Zayn took the last draw from the blunt and got down, crushing the butt beneath his heel. He began taking slow steps toward the man, and as he got closer, the man tucked his hair behind his ear and that's when Zayn caught a glimpse of his face, causing his eyes to widened and his breath to hitch.

He turned the opposite direction to walk away but halted his steps, and like a moth drawn to a flame, he averted his gaze back on the curly, blatantly turning into Edward Cullen.

He let his gaze roam over the curly's figure suggestively, fighting back the urge to reach out and let his hands roam over the flawless skin, leaving no spot left untouched and kiss ..........

~ For heaven's sake, Zayn control yourself! ~

A little angel popped up on his right shoulder, scolding him while a little devil appeared on his left shoulder, snorting at what the little angel said.

~ Hypocrites, pretending as if Song's of Solomon doesn't exist in the bible ~

The little angel huffed, narrowing his eyes at the little devil, and flipped his hair sassily while the little devil smirked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Zayn shook his head, trying to shake off the sudden illusory playing out in his head, then he debated with himself, whether to walk away or take this opportunity and start pursuing the curly. He chose the latter and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to make himself look presentable. He reached into his front pocket and took out mint toffees and sucked on them, to get rid of the smell of the blunt in his mouth.

Afterward, he counted to ten, took two deep breaths, and stepped closer to the curly, hoping not to spook him out.

"Hello" He stutters.

The curly turned his head to face him, his eyes masked by dark sunglasses, and his expression flickered like the light of a candle, going from realization to shock.

"I saw you on TV"

Zayn manger to say and watched as emotions pass over the curly's face, like shadows from the clouds racing over a plain. He knit his brows in confusion, wondering if had something on his face when the curly continued staring at him with emotions that gradually began dissipating until all that's left is a calm evaluating gaze.

"You will get your baby back" He continued, assuring the curly with a small smile.

"I'm sure those idiots didn't know he was in the car"

The curly flashed him a strained smile and nod but said nothing.

Zayn felt fuzzy seeing those pink lips stretching into a smile because of him and blushed, scratching the back of his back awkwardly.

He stole a glance at the ring finger of the curly to see if there's an engagement or wedding band wrapped around it and when he saw nothing, the corners of his mouth curve up into a smile that could melt ten feet of snow in a blizzard.

The curly turned his head to avert his gaze, but the sudden flush of his cheeks gave him away.

Zayn's smile widened, knowing he has a chance. He cleared this throat lightly and began to speak.

"There's a coffee shop down.....

He didn't finish talking when the curly shook the head, flatly rejecting his offer.

A look of disappointment flashed across his face but he's not one to give up easily. He watched as the curly try to get up to in a standing position and lost his balance. Instinctively, he rushed forward and wrapped his arms around the curly in an instant, anchoring him before he could fall backward at the sudden disorientation.

The curly tensed at his touch and quickly pried himself away from his arms. "Tha-thank you" He whispered, without looking at him.

Zayn nodded mutely, not quite trusting his words but smile regardless. The curly started to move past him but Zayn blocked his way. "Wait, are you going home? Let me take you home"

The curly looked up at him with a small frown. "No, I can .....

"I insist, you didn't bring a car right? I'm not sure you can get a bus at this time of the day. Please let me take you home. Please" Zayn cuts him in mid-sentence, with a pleading look.

Mixed emotions crossed the curly's face as if he wasn't sure how to answer and after a moment of silence, he nodded his head. Zayn felt a sense of relief, and if he had a tail it would be wagging non-stop.

Gathering his thoughts, he gestured his hand toward his truck. "Um okay this way" He said with a smile.

They walked together, side by side not saying a word to each other until they reach the truck. Then Zayn hurriedly went around to the passenger side door and opened it for him.

The curly met his eyes briefly, causing him to smile like a fool in love.

Wordlessly, the curly climbed into the passenger seat then Zayn gently shut the door, striding around the front of the truck and slide behind the wheel.

"My name is Harry"

Zayn glance at him with a surprising look. He wasn't expecting the curly to tell him his name yet.

"My name is Zayn, Zayn Malik" He said, accompanying his words with his signature charming smile.

A faint blush feathered Harry's cheeks then he cleared his throat and looked away, wrapping his hair in a messy bun, revealing the delicate cut of his features. Zayn quickly averted his gaze from the exquisite sight and gulped down, praying he doesn't get an erection.

He took in a deep breath before veering the truck from the beach to the main road and stopped when they approached a red light. Harry began giving him directions to his house and as he was speaking, Zayn's eyes wandered over his face then to his nicely-shaped pink lips. Imagining how they would taste like.

He was startled by the loud honking of the car behind him, snapping him out of his daze.

He cleared his throat awkwardly then flicked his head up and realized the traffic light had turned green. He moves the truck down the road, glancing at Harry who seems to have caught on with what he was thinking and was looking out of the window to avoid the uncomfortable situation.

He groaned inwardly and bit his lower lip, cursing himself for having such thoughts. The last thing he wants is to scare Harry away with his bad-boy persona.

The little devil appeared on his left shoulder with an amused look and rolled his eyes.

~ A beauty like him is worth salivating over, don't beat yourself up ~

~ And don't worry about scaring him away. Good boys are always, and will always be attracted to hot and sexy bad boys like us, with tattoos and leather jackets, right my love? ~

The little devil murmurs and turned his gaze to the little angel sitting on his lap.

The little angel looked up and hums in response, swirling his tongue around the blunt tip of the popsicle he was holding and sucked it into his mouth.

The little devil gaze up with a smirk and winked.

Zayn pushed the mental image from his mind and shortly afterward, they arrived at the familiar neighborhood Louis and he drove by a day ago.

"That's my house"

Harry pointed out the house which Zayn obviously knew and parked the truck in front of it. He turned off the engine and they both sat in silence, with an occasional glance at one another.

"Thank you" Harry spoke up with a faint smile and Zayn returned it.

"Can I come back?" Zayn asked.

Harry tilted his head quizzically.

"You know, to um check on you and maybe we could get together for coffee or dinner"

"No, I'm okay. I'm fine on my own" Harry spoke in a flat, tired voice.

"Oh," Zayn murmured and felt himself slip a little deeper into despondency. He raked his fingers through his hair, debating what to say next. He has never been rejected before.

And just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, the front door of the house creaked open.

They both whipped their gaze towards the porch of the house and saw an attractive brown-haired man around twenty-eight years, standing on the porch and eyeing them with a skeptical look.

Zayn assumed he must be Harry's boyfriend and MJ's father.

Harry didn't utter a word afterward and flashed Zayn a tight smile before opening the door and sliding out of the truck.

Zayn watched as Harry walked towards the man, who had his arms opened wide, for Harry to come in for a hug. Not wanting to see something which will physically hurt his heart, he started the truck and drove away.

Harry walked into the arms of the man and hugged him.

The man hugged him back. "Where were you? I got worried when you didn't answer my calls or replied my texts"

Harry broke their embrace, but not fully, and pushed his sunglasses up to his hairline, exposing his bloodshot and weary eyes. "Why did the police called? Have they found him? Did they call for a ransom?" He asked, with a shaky voice and a hopeful look.

"Not yet"

Harry bit his lower lip, nodding sadly.

"Hey, we will find him okay. I promise" The man assured him, rubbing his back gently.

Harry nodded with a sigh. "Sorry Liam, I want to be left alone for a while" He muttered and let out a shaky breath.

Liam nodded in understanding.

"Okay, but who's that guy?" He asked with a curious look.

Harry hesitated, his expression pensive as he met Liam's gaze.

"Bear's other father" He whispered, chewing his lower lip.

Liam's eyes widened, his mouth opening wordlessly with a questioning look on his face.

"He doesn't know," Harry said with embarrassment seeping into his voice.

"He doesn't remember me or that night"

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I had to write and delete so many times. Then I was like fuck it, I'm done. 😂

I hope it's okay. 😅

Do you like the little angel and little devil?

It's a story idea in my drafts and I decided to incorporate it into this chapter to see if you guys will like it.

Hopefully, you'll do🙈

Four more chapters to go before this book comes to an end.

Thoughts on the chapter

Thoughts on Zayn

Thoughts on Harry

Thoughts on Liam

Thank you so much for reading ❤️