"So, how are we going to do this relationship thing?" Dream asked, as Zayn finished making the cocoa and handed her a mug.
"We draft an official contract, and you sign it. Don't worry, we don't need to see each other in private. Just in public."
"You've still not told me your name. What do I call you?" She collected the mug from him, and their hands briefly touched.
Her lashes dropped, as her gaze went to the spot they were touching.
Zayn pulled away first, leaving her with the mug.
He cleared his throat before he answered. "Adam," he lied.
She scoffed. "You even have a boring name. It's really true that our names are a reflection of who we are." She shrugged as she brought the mug to her lips.
He watched as her lips parted slightly and she drank from it.
His eyes lowered to see the liquid pass through her throat into her body.
The corner of her lips maintained the residue of her first sip, and he eyed it carefully, fighting the urge not to drag his fingers to it and wipe it off.
"You've gone mute again. Lord Jesus," she shook her head, and dropped her mug on the counter, as she turned away from him, and walked to her phone. "Oh, looks I have five percent now," she chirped.
Zayn continued to watch her switch on the phone, and proceeded to make a call.
"Thank goodness, Crys. Where are you?" She asked as soon as Crystal picked up.
"Your parents have been blowing up my phone, Dream. They want to know where you are."
"Please tell me you came up with something good," a look of horror passed through her eyes as she asked.
"I had to tell them we were on our way, and then faked an absence of signal. I managed to leave the traffic too. Where are you?"
"Uhmmm– it's a long story I can only explain in person. Just know the gifts are on their way to me. Don't go to the mansion first until we go together. And if my parents call again– oh shit!" She brought the phone to her eyes, and saw her dad's name on the screen. "Dad is calling. I'll call you back."
She ended the call, then silenced her phone.
"Dad," Zayn thought. "Ace Atticus. The one dad hated."
He chided himself for almost forgetting the trauma the family of the girl who was currently standing in his kitchen, caused his entire family.
The twisted plan he had in his head suddenly came to the forefront, and all he could think of was revenge.
His phone rang, pulling him out of his wicked thoughts.
"I'm almost at your house. Should I—"
"No, Mosley will get it from you," he said, remembering that whilst he couldn't be seen in public as Zayn Bass, Nathaniel could be as himself.
If Dream saw him, she would recognise him as a part of Bass Holdings.
"Seriously? So I'm just—"
"Goodbye." He ended the call and lifted his head to see Dream had returned for her mug.
"Your package is almost here."
Her eyes widened in excitement. "That means I should get ready to go home. But how will I get home?" She asked.
"I'll have a driver take you. The rain should have subsided already," he said.
"Oh, that's very nice of you, boyfriend," she laughed heartily.
His heart raced at her calling him her boyfriend, but then he remembered it was all part of their deal.
"Hey, could your driver just drive me to my friend so I'll go with her to the house? We already have a story that wouldn't work if we don't arrive together."
"Sure." He shrugged.
"You might be a man of few words, and a dry man too, but at least you're resourceful. Your girlfriend would be proud of you. So who is she? A model? Heiress? Princess?" She asked, as she sipped from her cup. "This is good by the way." She gave him a thumbs up.
"A teacher," he replied.
"Teacher?" Her face creased.
"Why that face? You think teachers are beneath you?"
"Are you kidding me? We treat our staff, all of them like family. I grew up with the value of respecting everyone irrespective of their position in life, greatly instilled in me. I just thought your kind of guy would prefer the flashy kind of women."
"Like you?" He eyed her.
"Oh darling, no one is like me. But yeah, in a way. I am a heiress anyway." She shrugged, not shy to brag a little about how lucky she was in life.
"You're weird," he muttered, causing Dream to smile.
"And that's the best thing you've said to me since we met."
She drank again, and the other side of her lips caught the stain.
Zayn found himself now trying even more to fight off the desire to wipe them off.
Just as he was about to lose control, Mosley walked in with a package in his hand.
"Excuse me boss, Master—"
"Bring it here," Zayn said, not even wanting Nathaniel's name to be mentioned.
Dreams' eyes lit up as the two packages were delivered by the housekeeper.
"Thank you so much!" She jumped into the man's body as soon as he dropped the package.
Alarmed, Mosley staggered. Dream laughed as she pulled away from him.
"You're frail, but your heart is strong. Thank you sir!" She saluted him, before bending to access her packages.
Mosley looked at his boss and saw he had the same shock as him in his face.
"Good luck," he said in his mind, before walking out of the room.
Because from the little he had seen, his boss was about to have a very exciting life if she was staying.
"Everything is as it is! I can't believe it's really here. Thank you!" She leaped to her full height, and went around the counter to hug him.
Before she could, he lifted a hand to stop her. "No touching," he said.
She froze on her feet, as the smile on her face washed away.
"The driver is here to take you away. Tell him wherever you want to go. When our contract is ready, I'll send it to you," he continued as if he hadn't just been very rude to her.
"And how will I get the contract?" She asked in a dazed voice.
"You will. Goodnight Dream." He turned away from her, and walked out of the room.
Dream couldn't believe her eyes. For the first time in her life, she had been both rejected and bothered.
"What the actual hell?" she thought, as she turned around, and walked straight to the living room to grab her purse.
Ten minutes later, the exchange from Zayn's car to Crystals was seamless.
As they drove back to her parents mansion, Dream narrated everything that went down to Crystal.
When she was done, Crystal's mouth was wide open.
"Where are your clothes?" She asked after she took out a couple of seconds to process the information.
"Oh shit! I left them in his bathroom!" Dream exclaimed, only just realising she. was still putting on his clothes.
"Dreamy! So you're his girlfriend now or what? I don't understand."
"Heck no! I only agreed to that because of the position I was in. That weird guy is never seeing me again."
"Dream! He helped you!"
"Well I offered to pay him back and he refused. I'm not paying a man back by being his girlfriend. That's loser behaviour. We're never going to see each other again, and I'm happy about that," she smiled confidently.
Crystal didn't know what else to say, so she just shook her head.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the mansion, and the gate was opened for them.
Immediately Crystal drove in, she cursed under her breath.
"Oh we're dead," she said.
Dream looked up, and standing ahead, was none other than her beautiful mother, Fay.