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Zayn returned to his desk, his mind still half-occupied with the meeting. The moment he sat down, he let out a small sigh and reopened the files he had been working on before the meeting. His fingers moved across the keyboard swiftly, but something tugged at him.

He glanced at the time.

Ari would be getting out of school soon.

Zayn picked up his phone and dialed.

“Hey, Rhys,” he said, adjusting the phone between his shoulder and ear.

“Hey, Zayn. Everything good?” Rhys’ familiar voice came through with a slight background of music playing.

“Yeah... where are you right now?”

“I’m at home. Why?”

Zayn hesitated for a second. “I was just wondering… could you maybe go pick up Ari today? I’m stuck here with a bunch of work and I don’t think I’ll be able to leave in time.”

There was a pause on the other end.

“okay, i am going .”

Zayn nodded slightly, forcing a small smile that no one could see. “thanks."

“Yeah. I’ll wrap up soon and head out."

Zayn sighed and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes for just a moment before he stood up again.

He saved his progress, grabbed his coat, and murmured to his colleague, “I’m stepping out early, something came up.”

“Got it, see you tomorrow,” they replied.

And with that, Zayn headed toward the elevator his heart already warming at the thought of Ari’s face lighting up when he’d see his mommy waiting for him.

---

Zayn walked out of the tall Alaric Corporation building, his mind swamped with work, files, and Ari. The overcast sky above mirrored the weight in his chest. His bag swung over his shoulder as he stuffed the remaining documents into it, the phone pressed between his cheek and shoulder.

"Rhys, leave it. I’ll go pick Ari up myself," Zayn said, walking faster, weaving through the crowds.

He was in such a hurry, so lost in the endless spinning of his thoughts, that he didn’t notice someone standing ahead. The next second, he crashed hard into a body.

The files in his hand scattered across the pavement.

"Oh, shit! I’m so sorry," Zayn muttered quickly, bending down, heart racing, still half on the phone. He didn't even look up, simply grabbed the papers, his fingers trembling. The voice from the phone kept calling him.

"Zayn? Zayn, are you there? Hello?"

But Zayn didn’t answer. Because the moment he stood up, eyes finally meeting the person in front of him his entire world paused.

A man stood there.

Perfectly tailored black tuxedo. Black sunglasses. Still. Composed. Familiar.

Zayn’s heart dropped.

Elior Blackwood.

Zayn couldn’t breathe.

Time folded. Six years collapsed into nothing.

Zayn stood frozen, his limbs locking up, the phone sliding from his hand and hitting the ground with a soft clatter.

And just like that He heard it again.

The laughter. The humiliation. The betrayal.

"He deserved it!" "Did you see his face?" "An omega like him should've known better."

It echoed in his ears as if the people were all around him again, laughing. Pointing. Mocking.

His chest began to tighten. His hands pressed over his ears.

"Shut up," he whispered, eyes wide.

The hallucination worsened. He saw Elior as he was that day, cold, cruel, unmoving. His lips repeating those words over and over

"Today, my revenge is completed."

"SHUT UP!" Zayn screamed, covering his ears, dropping the bag entirely, staggering backwards into the crowd.

People were watching. Some simply stared.

The voice from the phone continued to echo faintly on the ground.

Rhys.

Rhys had heard enough. Panic flooding his voice, he immediately called the one person who would know what to do.

Adric.

"Something’s wrong with Zayn! Now! Come out he’s outside your office. Something’s wrong, Adric!"

Within moments, Adric burst through the building’s doors, eyes darting left and right until he spotted him.

Zayn was running.

Not even aware that he was heading directly for the busy street.

"ZAYN!" Adric shouted, sprinting after him.

Just as Zayn was about to step onto the road, lost in the noise, the pain, and the ghosts of the past, Adric’s hand shot forward and caught his wrist.

With all his strength, he yanked him back.

Zayn’s knees gave way. His body shook uncontrollably. He clutched his ears and kept mumbling,

"Shut up. Shut up. Make it stop... please... make it stop..."

Adric knelt down, grabbing his shoulders firmly.

"Zayn! Zayn, look at me! No one’s here. No one’s laughing. You're safe, okay? It’s just me... it’s just Adric..."

Zayn’s vision was blurry with tears. He blinked again and again until Adric's face finally registered.

Zayn threw himself into his arms and cried.

"Adric... Eli... Elior... he..."

Adric froze.

Elior?

But before Zayn could say anything else, his body collapsed in Adric’s arms, unconscious.

Adric’s own heart nearly stopped.

"ZAYN!"

He scooped him up without hesitation and raced toward his car.

Behind them, a short distance away, hidden among the crowd

Elior stood.

His hands were trembling. His throat dry.

He had seen the whole thing.

Zayn breaking. Zayn collapsing.

And hearing his name from Zayn’s lips after six long years

"Z...Zayn..."

He whispered, the sound almost broken from his mouth.

---

Inside the car, Adric kept glancing at Zayn through the rearview mirror.

His brother looked so fragile.

The same Zayn who had grown strong, raised a son alone, built a life from pieces was now breaking again.

Adric clenched the steering wheel. "Just hold on, Zayn. Please... hold on."

Back at the apartment, Rhys was already pacing by the door when Adric arrived.

"What happened?" Rhys rushed forward as Adric carried Zayn in.

"He collapsed. Elior was there... he saw him. Zayn saw him."

"No... no," Rhys whispered, tears in his eyes as he looked at Zayn’s pale face.

They laid him on the bed.

Later, after the doctor left having reassured them that Zayn was stable, and the baby was unharmed.

Rhys sat silently by his bedside. Adric paced.

Neither of them spoke.

---

Meanwhile, Elior sat alone in his apartment.

The city lights outside flickered, but all he could see was Zayn’s face.

The way he clutched his head. The way he screamed.

It wasn’t victory. It wasn’t revenge.

It was pain.

Elior Blackwood felt guilt cut through his chest like a knife.

The haunting truth of what he had done.

And the terrifying realization...

That maybe just maybe

He had made the biggest mistake of his life.

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