I Walked Away And He Lost His Mind (Zephyra and Steven) novel Chapter 838

“We used to be so close. Can you really bring yourself to cut me out of your life completely?”

My hand tightened into a fist. For so many years, my closest friends had been Horace and Rachel. The thought of cutting them off for good was definitely painful.

“Where should we meet?”

Rachel’s voice brightened with relief. “I know this new coffee shop that just opened in the suburbs. The atmosphere is amazing. We could have a really good talk there.”

I hesitated. A trip to the suburbs would take an hour or two.

“Rachel,” I suggested, “how about we meet downtown instead? The suburbs are a bit far, and this way we’d have more time to talk.”

Rachel sighed. “Zephyra, it's not just about the coffee. I really need to get away for a bit, clear my head. Do you have any idea how draining it is to take care of Horace? He’s like a different person now.”

I knew exactly what she meant. We had all seen the drastic change in Horace.

“Alright,” I conceded. “Where are you now? I can come pick you up.”

“No, don’t!” she said quickly. “You’re pregnant, you shouldn’t be running around. Just send me your address. I’ll come to you, and we can go from there.”

Before I could say anything else, the line went dead.

She sent a text asking for my location, and I sent her my live location pin.

Less than half an hour later, Rachel arrived. She looked worn out and much thinner than the last time I’d seen her. She must have been pouring all her energy into Horace.

After a brief greeting, Rachel grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward a taxi waiting at the curb. “Zephyra, let’s get in the car. We can talk once we get there.”

Not thinking much of it, I got into her taxi. When Tess reached for the front passenger door, Rachel grabbed her wrist. “Zephyra and I are going to talk. Why are you coming?”

Tess glanced at me, her expression serious. “I need to accompany Madam. She can’t be left alone right now. If there’s an emergency, you won’t be able to handle it by yourself.”

Rachel’s face darkened. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you suggesting something will happen to Zephyra while she’s with me?”

Maybe it was my imagination, but I felt a sharp, hostile energy coming from Rachel.

“Rachel, just let Tess come along,” I said, trying to mediate. “It’s her job. Don’t make things difficult for her.”

Rachel whipped around to face me, her voice laced with indignation. “Zephyra, what is this? Don’t you trust me? Do you actually think I would hurt you?”