Zaid's POV

I see Zara's expression change completely when she sees what's inside the parcel. It is a large book, it looks like an album. Why is Zara so scared after looking at it, though?

She reads the note, and her expression turns completely blank. The note slips out from between her fingers. I look at her face, worried. She looks like she's about to faint.

'Shit,' I mutter, when I see her fall. Just before she hits the ground, I catch her in my arms.

"Oh crap, is she okay?" The guy who found this parcel asks. I've forgotten his name.

'Clearly not. Ryan, that's your name, right? Bring me a glass of water,' I tell him.

"It's Rayyan," he corrects before heading to the water fountain at the back of Zara's cabin. Rayyan, Ryan, whatever. It's similar enough.

I gently pick Zara up in my arms, bridal style, and carry her over to the sofas. I lay her down onto the large sofa and call her name.

'Zara, wake up. Are you okay? Wake up, please.' No response. What am I supposed to do?

I don't think I've ever felt so worried and afraid before. What just happened to her? Oh yeah, that note. I briskly walk to her desk and pick up the small piece of paper from the floor next to it. I read the note and frown.

It sounds like this note is from an ex. Maybe it's from her ex-fiancé? He wants her back. Like hell will I let that happen. I feel protective towards Zara, not because she works with me, but because we used to be friends a couple of years ago. Although that's changed now, as I left for two years and now she's working for me, I still care about her. And this Hamza sounds like bad news.

"Here," Rayyan brings me the glass of water. I nod, signalling a thanks.

'Zara, wake up,' I call again but again, she doesn't respond. I hope she's okay.

"Dude, you're not going to pour the glass of water on her," Rayyan says to me seriously.

I smirk. 'I'm not stupid.' What's his problem about what I do, anyway? I can do whatever I want.

Okay. Maybe that was my first plan. To throw some drops of water on her face to wake her up. But maybe that's not such a good idea. What am I supposed to do then?

"Zara, wake up!" Rayyan shouts.

'You're going to give her a heart attack, shouting like that,' I mutter. But he doesn't listen. He shouts Zara's name again. He annoys me. I don't like him. He doesn't seem like a bad guy, but I don't like him. How is Zara friends with someone so annoying?

"Zara, wake up!" Rayyan shouts again.

I roll my eyes. 'Instead of shouting, can you suggest something that can wake her up?' I ask him, raising an eyebrow.

He grabs Zara's hand, which again, annoys the hell out of me. He slowly massages the palm of her hand and rubs it. Why is he doing that to her? I don't like him touching her. I don't like him, period.

A few seconds later, I hear Zara coughing vigorously. She's awake. I stand up, going near where she is on the sofa.

Rayyan also stands up, looking worried for Zara. She opens her eyes and squints at the bright light. She looks around and frowns.

'Why are you two staring at me like that?' She asks, her voice a low whisper.

Rayyan bursts out laughing. I also chuckle. "Zara, you fainted," Rayyan tells her.

Her eyes widen, they look like they're going to pop out. I can't help but smile at her expression. 'I...fainted?! Why? How?' She asks, and her expression falls straight away, remembering. 'Oh.'

Rayyan's phone starts to ring. "Hello? Yes, Mum. Okay.... Yes.... Yeah, don't worry..... I'm coming home now."

Zara looks at him worriedly. 'Is everything okay, Ray?' What?! She even has a nickname for this...person?! If he's Ayesha's older brother, that means she hasn't even known him for three months! And she already has a nickname for him, and they seem pretty close. Probably because they're neighbours. She likes him, fair enough. I don't, though.

Zara's POV

"Yes, babe. Everything's fine. I need to get going, though. I'll come to check on you later this evening. I hope you feel better, don't work too hard! Bye, babe! Bye, Mr Malik." Rayyan smiles at me, and nods at Zaid before heading out.

'Bye, Rayyan. Okay!' I say, giving him a small smile. Zaid just nods at him, not even looking at him for two seconds.

I then realise that I am still laying down on the sofa. I'm such an idiot, for passing out like that in front of Zaid and Rayyan. They must think I'm crazy. And they must also know that Hamza is back. Although neither of the two know the truth about what happened with Hamza, they know that I was engaged to him and I broke the engagement.

I sit up, too quickly. My head is spinning really fast. 'Ugh.'

Zaid comes over to me and helps me sit up properly. 'Thanks,' I mutter, blushing. Even at a time like this, I can't stop blushing around Zaid. I'm crazy.

"Take it easy, Zara. You really surprised me, fainting like that. Good thing I caught you before you hit the floor. You would have hurt yourself even more," Zaid says, raising an eyebrow.

I blush a deeper shade of scarlet. 'You...caught me?'

He nods, smirking slightly. "If I didn't, that idiot was too lost to notice anything. He wouldn't have caught you."

'Rayyan's not an idiot, he's a nice guy!' I say, seriously. I can't believe he just called Rayyan an idiot without even knowing him!

Zaid shrugs. 'Whatever. I don't like him.'

"You don't know him, Zaid." He shrugs.

'Zara, what happened? Tell me the truth. You can't say nothing, you fainted. That wasn't for nothing. Your fiancé is back, I'm guessing?' Zaid asks me.

I tense. "He's not my fiancé now. He's no one to me. Please can I have some water?"

Zaid nods and heads to the back of the room, where there is a mini fridge. He takes out a bottle of water, comes back over to me and hands it to me. I thank him and drink a sip of water. I feel better already. Physically better.

Emotionally, I feel drained. I don't know what to do, now that I know that Hamza is back for me. I won't let him hurt me again, but what can I do?

'Hafsa is on her way, I texted her,' Zaid tells me, and my eyes widen. Hafsa is going to freak out.

"Zaid, why did you tell her?! I don't want anyone to know, I don't want anyone to worry about me needlessly," I mutter.

He looks surprised. 'I didn't know what to do when you fainted, I was very worried. I just told her that you fainted, she freaked out and told me she's on her way. I didn't say anything else.'

"I'm going to tell her anyway, I've never hidden anything from Hafsa," I say quietly.

Zaid nods, smiling slightly. 'Zara, tell me. What's wrong? What just happened earlier? Does your fiancé want you back?'

At the word 'fiancé', I tense up. "He's not my fiancé."

'I'm sorry, he's not. If you're afraid because you don't want to go back to him, then I can assure you that you don't need to worry about that.' He says, looking into my eyes.

What does he mean? I frown.

Zaid continues. 'Zara, although you may not believe me, I do care for you. We used to be friends, and I'm with you. You don't need to worry about him as long as I'm here. I won't let you near him.'

I blush. Why is he suddenly being so sweet to me? He's so mean to everyone else. He can't help me though. I won't let him. "I'm okay, Zaid. I don't need anyone's help. No one can help me in this. And don't even try. If you care about me, don't try to help me. Please. You saw the parcel and the note, but please, just forget about it. Please."

'What do you mean, Zara? Why?' Zaid asks, surprised. He looks hurt, too.

I shake my head. I don't want him to get involved in this. He doesn't know how dangerous it can all get, but I do. I don't want anyone's help, because I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me. Especially not Zaid! I wouldn't ever be able to forgive myself if Zaid got involved in this because he tried to help me. Hamza is very dangerous, he can do anything. And I know that he will stop at no limits to get me. I have to help myself, I have to protect myself. Anyone who tries to help me or support me will just end up getting hurt. And I won't let that happen.

"It's no big deal," I just say.

Zaid frowns. 'It's not a big deal, that's why you fainted? It seems like a very big deal, Zara.'

"Zaid, please, just let it go," I beg.

He shakes his head and walks off to my desk. He sits at my desk and continues looking through the files.

I'm such an idiot. He told me that I don't need to worry about Hamza as long as he is here, and I told him to not worry about me. I refused his help, when I need it so much.

'I'm sorry,' I say loudly so that he can hear me.

"No problem. You said that you don't want to go home yet, so you can take a break. Hafsa is coming, so just sit with her for some time or something. You don't have to do work today," Zaid says to me without looking up from the file.

'Okay, thanks,' I say to him. He just nods. He's hurt.

Five minutes later, Hafsa reaches the office. I have a feeling that she doesn't need an appointment here. And I can tell by looking at her that she ran all the way up the stairs. She looks very worried.

'Zara! What happened?!' Hafsa asks, running to me and engulfing me in a hug.

I hug her back, tight. "I wasn't feeling very well."

She breaks the hug and looks at me suspiciously. 'Why did you come to work, babe? You seemed fine yesterday!'

My eyes well up with tears. I can't keep anything from her. Of course I'm going to tell her.

"He's back," I whisper, blinking away my tears.

She frowns in confusion. 'Who's back, babe?' She asks and then looks at me. Her eyes widen in shock. 'No, that's not possible. Please tell me it's not possible.'

I don't say anything. She slumps down onto the sofa next to me and grabs my hands. 'When? How?!'

I shrug. "I don't know Hafsa but I'm scared. I've never been so afraid before!" I start crying and Hafsa hugs me again.

I hear Zaid stand up from his seat and come to us. 'Zara, are you okay?!'

Hafsa replies. "Does it look like she's okay, Bhai?" I just hug Hafsa tighter.

I don't know what to do anymore. Hamza is back, for me. Where am I supposed to hide? I feel so lonely right now, I feel like I'm all alone in the whole world. No one can support me, no one can protect me. Because then, their life would also be in danger. Hamza is very dangerous, and I don't want anyone to get involved because of me. I'm not that important.

I slowly break the hug and quickly wipe away my tears. 'I'm okay.'

Hafsa and Zaid both look at me with a worried expression. "Zara, he can't reach you babe. What if...that's not from him?" She asks, after reading the note.

I shake my head. 'I can recognise his handwriting from anywhere. It's definitely him. He's back...for me.'

Zaid looks confused, and very angry. "Zara, why are you so afraid? He wants you back, but just tell him no."

I laugh humourlessly. 'If only it was so simple.'

"Why can't you just tell him that you don't want to be with him?" Zaid asks me, confused.

'Bhai, she can't,' Hafsa says to her brother, and gives him a look telling him to shut up. Thankfully, he doesn't ask anything else.

"I want to go home," I say. I don't really, but I don't want Zaid to ask me anything else. I'm not in the condition to talk about it yet.

Zaid nods, and Hafsa stands up. 'I'll take you home. And I'll stay with you until Aunty and Uncle come back home.'

I nod and give her a small, thankful smile.

"Zaid, I'm sorry. I'll be at work as normal tomorrow," I tell him.

He nods. 'No problem, Zara. Okay. Take care.'

Hafsa hands me my coat and purse which she has grabbed from the side of the room. I slip into my coat.

"Thank you, take care," I reply to him, giving him a small smile, before heading out with Hafsa.

********

Hafsa takes me home, and stays with me until around 7pm when my parents come back home. She's very worried for me, and she tells me that I should tell my parents about Hamza.

But no. No way. I won't tell them, because he is just too dangerous. I don't want anyone close to me getting hurt. I will deal with Hamza myself. I even told Hafsa to pretend like everything is fine, and not mention anything to anyone.

'Zaid Bhai is really worried about you, babe,' Hafsa tells me before she goes home.

Yeah, Zaid did seem very worried about me, but he doesn't need to be. "Tell him I'm fine, because I am, Hafsa. Honestly, I won't let Hamza hurt me again. I'm not the same person I used to be back then."

She nods. 'That's the spirit. You don't need to worry about him, because he can't hurt you. And as much as you don't want anyone to support and protect you, Zara, there are many people in your life who care immensely about you. They're here for you whether you like it or not, and they're here to stay. You don't need to worry with us here.'

I hug her once more. Honestly, how did I get such a perfect best friend? I sure as hell don't deserve her. "I love you, Hafsa."

'I love you too, babe. Forever. Just promise me, you'll always love me more than any guy,' Hafsa says to me, joking.

I chuckle. She always knows how to make me feel better. "Are you crazy? Of course, Hafsa! I promise! You don't need to ask me to promise you this!"

She grins. 'Good! Make sure you have a proper dinner with your family, and then get some good sleep because you have work tomorrow. I'll call you later. Bye!'

I smile at her and nod. "Yes, Mum. Bye!"

She laughs before heading out. God, I love her so much. She's amazing. I couldn't ask for a better best friend.

********

I am still very worried and afraid because of Hamza, of course, but I feel slightly better after Hafsa left. She always makes me feel so much better. I have dinner with my family, and then tell them that I'm tired so I'm going to bed early. Thankfully, no one questions me. Mum does look slightly suspicious, but she doesn't ask me anything. I'm glad.

I go to my room, change, and get into bed. However, as I knew, I can't fall asleep. I'm scared. Hamza is back, and it seems as though he's back for good. He won't stop at anything to get me. I won't let that happen, though. I'm not a toy, I'm a human being. I don't deserve to be played with, used, and hurt. I'm stronger now than I was months ago when everything happened, and now I will not allow any injustice.

I have work tomorrow, and I'm not sure if even concealer will be able to help with my dark under eyes. It's nearly 2am when I finally fall asleep that night, and of course, I have a terrible nightmare. I dream of a dark, dark room, a low, evil laugh, and pain. Lots of pain.

********

Hi, guys! Another update this week, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter! Let me know in the comments section below what you thought of this chapter, whether you liked it or not. And if you did like this chapter, don't forget to vote! I really appreciate all your votes and comments, they make me so happy and they make me actually want to update!

So, Zara pushed Zaid away and refused his help. What do you think will happen? And do you think Hamza really is back for Zara? What will be his next move? And, what happened to Zara in the past? Why is she so afraid of Hamza? Let me know what your thoughts are!

I honestly love you guys so, so much for reading and supporting my story! I can't thank you all enough for your support! What do you want to happen next in this story? And, who is your favourite character? :)

I love you all, stay tuned for the next chapter which will be up soon! X