Secrets of Us A Forbidden Love Romance (Alina) novel Chapter 232

He Is Home

The drive back home is quiet.

I feel the lump in my throat, my mouth dry. It makes my tongue stick to the top of my mouth and I don’t even know how to start this conversation.

Zaid has one hand on the wheel, the other resting on his thigh, and I can see the way his fingers flex every so often. I want to reach for his hand, place it on my lap and caress his

skin.

But I don’t know what he needs from me right now. His jaw is tight. He hasn’t said a word since we left Elena’s. The soft hum of the engine fills the silence between us. Music no longer plays from the speakers, and my thoughts are anything but quiet.

My stomach twists, each turn of the road feeling like it coils the nerves in my gut tighter and tighter. I can’t stop thinking about Elena’s offer and what that means for me and

Zaid.

A full year in Florence, of painting, of freedom, of finally stepping into something that feels like it was made just for me. It feels like a godsend.

I glance at Zaid. The tension in his shoulders, the way he’s chewing on the inside of his cheek. Leaving him now, after everything, feels like the cruelest thing I could ever do.

“Zaid,” I whisper as we turn into the house.

He doesn’t look at me. He pulls into the garage and parks. For a moment, he just sits there. Then finally, he says quietly, “It’s okay. You don’t have to make your decision based

on me.”

Before I can argue, he’s out of the car.

I follow him into the house, my chest tight, my hands useless at my sides. He walks straight to the kitchen, standing at the island with his hands shoved into his pockets, staring down like the marble surface holds the answer to all of this.

I walk around the island, pushing myself between him and the counter until his body has

no choice but to make space for mine. I reach up and cup his face, forcing him to look at

1. me.

1/4

He Is Home

“Zaid,” I say softly. “You must not understand what I feel for you. Everything I do, I take you into account. Every choice, every thought, you’re in there. In my head, in my heart.

Always.”

His eyes close and he leans forward, his forehead pressing gently against mine. He breathes me in, and I watch as goosebumps cover his skin. His hands finally move, wrapping around my waist, dragging me close until there’s nothing left between us.

My chest is against his, my legs pressed with his, our hips touching. I hum, satisfied by the feeling of his body pressed to mine. We’re two puzzle pieces that have finally found

each other.

“I’m going to miss you,” he whispers.

My brows pinch. “I haven’t even decided yet.”

He pulls back just enough to look at me, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. His

“Zaid, what? You’re lying.” I try to laugh it off, but I want to disappear into the ground because no part of me feels like I deserve something else from him right now.