"Oh you're back!" Doniya smiled when she saw us walking in the living room.
"Yep." Zayn nodded, putting the shopping bag in the kitchen. Everyone was awake and they were all watching television.
Sighing, I plopped on the couch, besides Harry as he turned to look at me.
"Are you okay?" He asked, turning everybody's attention towards me.
I looked at Zayn who was walking inside the living room but said nothing about what happened today so I too decided to stay quiet.
"Yeah, Why?" I chuckled nervously.
"You look stressed." Niall answered for Harry.
"Nah, I'm fine." I reassured them.
"Few minutes before, Zayn Malik" I heard and quickly whipped my head towards the television,"the One Direction member was spotted in London at a Grocery shop with a young lady, Evelyn Payne. Yes, the youngest sister of his band mate Liam Payne. Sources report that Zayn Malik lost his temper and yelled at one of the reporters present there. It is suspected that the reporter tried to stop Evelyn Payne forcefully and that's when Zayn Malik lost it."
I gulped and looked at everyone to find them staring at the television, wide-eyed while Zayn was as shocked as me.
"Sources also suspect that the pair might be together as we've never seen this protective and possessive side of Zayn Malik" The reporter said further,"Though shouting at a reporter might bring some problems for the young star. That's all for now. Stay tuned."
"What the hell?" Liam frowned, turning to me,"Is that all true?"
"Zayn?" Louis asked as I bit my lip and fiddled with my fingers.
"No." Zayn denied,"Everything you heard wasn't true." Doniya walked up to Zayn and comforted him by rubbing his arms.
"Zayn, you very well know you can get in trouble." Liam scowled, moving his hands in the air.
"It can bring a bad name to our band." Harry reasoned.
"Guys, stop blaming Zayn." I spoke up, hating the fact that they were all blaming him when it wasn't his fault,"It wasn't his fault."
"What do you mean?" Liam asked.
"The reporter did try to stop me so that I answer his questions. He grabbed my hands so forcefully that I felt like it would come out." I answered honestly,"And Zayn just tried to help me."
Liam's frown fell and he looked down guiltily.
"Are you okay?" He questioned, engulfing me in a hug.
"Yes." I nodded,"Now stop blaming him."
"I'm sorry." Liam apologised, walking up to Zayn and hugged him.
"Yeah mate, I'm sorry too." Louis said.
"I'm sorry." Harry apologised.
"It's fine guys." Zayn replied, chuckling a little.
"But what about the together thing?" Danielle asked raising her eyebrows. I looked at Zayn to find him already looking at me. "Of course No." I answered, laughing nervously.
"Yeah, that's not true." Zayn added.
°
"The dinner was awesome." Harry grinned, sitting on the chair in the balcony. I smiled at him and inhaled the sweet, fresh air before taking a seat on the couch. We just had dinner and Liam advised us to spend some time in the balcony before we get back home.
"Look at the stars!" Niall exclaimed sitting besides me on the couch while Zayn sat on the either side.
"It looks so beautiful." Doniya smiled and I nodded, looking up.
"Yes it does." Zayn smiled as I turned to look at him and found him looking at him.
I raised my eyebrows at him as he just looked down, biting his lip and then looked up. I chuckled at him and turned my attention back to the sky.
"We should get going." Doniya said after few minutes,"It's getting late."
"Yes." I nodded, getting up.
"Do you need anyone of us to go with you?" Harry offered.
"No, we'll be fine." Doniya smiled,"Thank you though."
All of us walked outside as I grabbed my bag from the living room and stopped in front of my car.
"Take care." Liam smiled, hugging me.
"Mhm." I mumbled in his chest and hugged each and everyone.
"Thank you guys for today." Doniya thanked, getting in her car while I got in mine. Waving at the boys, I started the car and sped off. Few minutes later, we reached our flat and parked our car in the parking lot. Unlocking the door, Doniya turned on the lights and plopped on the couch while I locked the door.
"I'm tired." She mumbled rubbing her eyes.
"cmon let's get to sleep." I said and she nodded before getting up and walking towards her room.
"Goodnight." I smiled.
"Night Night." She said, yawning a little and closed her door.
Changing into some comfy clothes, I plopped on my bed when suddenly my phone rang.
"Why are you calling me at 11 pm?" I whispered-yelled, making sure not to wake up Doniya.
"I need my money." Anthony stated.
"I told you that I'm trying." I sighed,"I don't have money right now."
"It's not my problem." He retorted,"You understand?"
"How long are you going to do this?" I asked,"Just leave me alone and delete that video."
"Give me hundred pound and you'll be free forever. Even I don't want to see your face every month." He gritted.
"Hundred pound?" I shrieked,"Are you freaking nuts?"
"Don't talk to me like that!"
I thought for a little while, trying to find a way to get hundred pound. Maybe Danielle's designer can help me out. But that's only possible when he actually likes my designs. Biting my lips, I paced around the room and sighed.
"You there?" I heard Anthony.
"Hmm." I nodded,"Okay, I'm ready."
"Cool." He replied.
"I'll tell you when to come here." I said and he hummed before hanging up the phone. If this stopped here, all my problems will be over. He won't come to my house ever again and I won't feel unsafe when he's around. I won't even have to lie to Doniya. Nobody knows how sick I feel when I lie to somebody.
On the other hand, I was still scared of being with Anthony under the same roof but when Doniya is there, I feel a little bit safe; He just comes to my room, takes the money and leaves.
With all those thoughts, I drifted to sleep.
The warm air blew through the window as I groaned and got up. I looked at the clock to find it was almost 12pm. Getting in the bathroom, I quickly changed into some comfy clothes and opened my bedroom door to find Doniya in the kitchen, cooking something.
"It smells nice." I grinned, walking in the kitchen.
"Really?" She laughed, handing me a glass of water.
"Yeah." I said before gulping the water,"What are you making?"
"Biryani." She replied, putting some spices over her biryani,"Weekend special."
"Ah, I already love it." I smiled, inhaling the spices.
The doorbell rang when Doniya closed the stove.
"I'll open the door." I said, walking to the front door and opened it to find a tall, handsome man with his brown hair going in all directions. He was carrying a bag on his shoulders
"Who's it?" Came Doniya's voice from the kitchen.
"Hey." The man smiled at me,"I'm Ronald. Danielle's designer."
"Oh hey." I smiled politely, making way for him to come,"I'm Evelyn."
I motioned him to sit on the couch when Doniya entered the living room and saw Ronald.
"Hello." Ronald greeted her.
"Hi." She smiled standing besides me,"Sorry but who are you?"
"Oh, Sorry, I'm Ronald, Danielle's designer." He introduced and Doniya nodded.
"Please sit down." He smiled when he saw us standing in front of him. Nodding, I plopped on the couch while Doniya ran in the kitchen and brought something for him to eat with a glass of water.
"Um, well, Danielle showed me some of your designs." He started and I nodded while Doniya sat besides me,"And I must say, you're really talented. The designs are unique and exceptionally different. The way you design even minor details, really shows how dedicated you are."
"Thank you." I blushed slightly.
"I told her she's great." Doniya chuckled.
"Yeah she is." Ronald nodded,"And that is why I've got something for her."
He opened his bag and rummaged through the belongings before pulling out some papers,"I want you to join me as my assistant. Not officially, I mean just work with me and if you continue making such brilliant designs, I'm sure you'll get an amazing post."
"What." I shrieked in happiness, clasping my hands over my mouth.
"Yeah but only if you're ready." He started,"I heard you're in uni so it might not be easy for you."
"But if you give her a rest in the day and work in the evening, it would be alright to manage." Doniya suggested.
"Yeah that's what I thought of." He nodded," And don't worry, if you make designs and work with me, you'll surely receive money, not much, but you'll get some."
I thought for a little while, debating whether I should say yes or not. If I say yes, then I might be able to pay Anthony but on the other hand, it would be difficult for me to handle uni along with it.
Doniya kept her hand on mine and turned to me with a look that clearly said 'give it a try'.
Taking a deep breath, I nodded,"Okay, I'm in."
"Perfect." Ronald grinned, handing me some paper and a pen. I picked the pen and signed the form before reading it.
"One request." I asked, chuckling nervously.
"Sure." He motioned me to go on.
"Would you please come to my house rather than me going to where you work?" I asked, fiddling with my fingers,"It would take me a lot of time to reach you after uni."
"Yeah, got it." He nodded,"Sure."
After he left, I quickly called Mom and gave her this perfect news. She sounded so happy over the phone. I resisted the temptation to go home and give her a big hug.
°
Few weeks later, Ronald was here again with a project he recently got and wanted me to participate too. Over these few weeks, he visited me multiple times, helping me out in some designs and we got along very well. He was like a brother to me who was guiding me to my destination.
"When do we need to complete it?" I asked him, while he was on his laptop, working out some things.
"We have few days." He replied, typing on his laptop,"six to be honest."
"That would be enough." I muttered to myself.
"Where's Doniya though?" He asked, looking around,"Usually she's surely present."
"Oh she has got out to get grocery." I replied, thinking of some designs. I heard my phone ringing and searched around but didn't find my it.
"I'll be back." I said before running in my room.
Picking up my phone from the bed, I looked at the caller and smiled to myself.
"Hey Zayn." I smiled, waving at him.
"Hello." He grinned, chuckling nervously,"What's up?"
"Nothing much, working on some designs with Ronald."
"Ronald who?"
"Zayn.. I had already told you.. Danielle's designer, remember?"
"Oh yeah." Came the reply.
"Sweeeeetieeee, where are you?"
I heard Ronald from the living room and then looked at Zayn who was looking pissed off.
"What the heck is that?" He frowned.
"Oh in LA.." I again heard Ronald.
"He's talking to someone else, Zayn." I laughed as he blushed in embarrassment.
"Oh right." He muttered.
"Were you jealous?" I blurted out, mentally cursing myself for saying that out.
"What? No.." He laughed nervously,"I mean yes."
"Yes?" I gasped, blushing slightly.
"Yes." He nodded, looking serious,"Well, it's obvious now so I don't need to lie."
I stared at him in shock,"Yeah."
"And that is why." He smiled,"I wanted to ask you something."
"What?" I whispered, feeling the pace of my heartbeat increasing.
"Would you like to have a date with me?" He asked, nervousness smitten all over his face. I looked at him in shock, biting my lip and feeling weird to be asked for a date on a video call. Should I say yes? Or No? I wanted to say yes because it was quite obvious that I felt something for him since a long time but we both were too shy to confess. Now that Zayn has gained up the courage and finally asked me on a date, I should say yes.
"Evelyn?" Zayn asked.
"Yes." I smiled.
"You're saying yes?" He gasped.
"Yes." I laughed.
"Woooohoooo. Mate, you did it!" I saw Louis suddenly appearing on the screen and hugged Zayn.
"Louis?" I laughed.
"Who else would have gotten this idiot to finally ask you on a date?" Louis winked.
"Oh." I chuckled,"Does Liam knows?"
"Hell no!" Louis breathed out,"We don't know how he'll react."
"But if we go out, the news would be all over, he'll find out." I frowned.
"You guys can have a date on your home." Louis suggested.
"Great." Zayn exclaimed and I laughed at his excitement.
"Tomorrow at 6,then?" I asked and they nodded.
"Evelyn?" I heard Ronald calling out my name.
"Coming." I called back before turning to Zayn and Louis,"I need to go. See you guys."
"Bye." They said and hung up the phone.
Smiling to myself walked in the living room and started working on the project
Few minutes later, Ronald left as it was getting late. I cleaned everything and that's when Doniya came back.
"You know, Zayn asked me out!" I shrieked happily as soon as I opened the door.
"What?" She asked, getting inside while I closed the door.
"I know you won't believe." I chuckled,"But that's the truth."
"When did this happen?" She giggled, putting the grocery bag in the kitchen.
"Today." I grinned, telling her everything.
"Wow." Breathed out Doniya,"Congratulations."
"Thanks." I laughed,"But it felt weird that he asked me on a date over a video call."
"I told him so but he was too shy and kept on saying that he'll faint." She laughed.
"Wait, so you knew about this?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.
"Of course." She winked.
The happiness was clearly visible on my face but I wasn't sure if I did the right thing. I felt quiet guilty that I was kind of cheating on Zayn. He didn't know anything about what Anthony did with me and he'll be hurt if he finds out. After what happened with Anthony, I'm too scared to start a relationship but this was nothing like Anthony. I felt safe and happy with Zayn.