I have to admit

The past few days went on peacefully, or at least that what Nora would say if you asked her.

She had to admit that for the past four days, she had felt happier than before. It was as if her life was finally going back to the normal. The kind of normal she felt when she and Mero had not been in a relationship.

Sure there were some boundaries she refused to cross because she knew it would involve Mero, but it did not bother her at all, she was prepared to make sure her life remained as peaceful as it could.

But there was one thing she had to admit, which was the fact that she loved the time she spent with Zuph. She was always so comfortable when he was around, and she found out that she could talk about anything and everything with him without the fear of judgement or misunderstandings.

She did not know if Zuph felt the same, but she had a feeling he did. They both laughed longer and harder when they were together and it made her happier during the days. Even Wura how noticed how cheerful she had been as of late.

Zuph also had to admit that the best part of his day was when he got to see Nora every evening. At this point, neither of them considered it strange that they met frequently every evening, it just felt like a normal part of their lives.

Although Zuph made sure to not forget his main mission, which was to find the woman Mero was currently involved in. He had tried his best over the past few days to watch Mero closely and gain some sort of information, but there was a feeling at the back of his mind telling him that Mero was being overly careful even though they were working closely together.

Zuph was still trying to pretend like everything was alright between them, but he just could not help that every single time Mero turned his back, his frown deepened.

By now, the others had understood what exactly he was up to, and they tried severally to warn him to leave it be, but he refused, he was stubborn and he insisted on going through with his plans.

In the end, all they could do was leave him be. They were not going to report him to Mero, neither were they going to support his intentions. They decided to remain neutral in all of this, especially Elihu who knew Zuph's main reasons for doing this.

"You know Zuph... I have to admit that, I have missed your company." Mero said turning to him as they both rode their horses during a watch.

Zuph was silent for a while, his reply was conflicted. On one hand he was still furious with Mero, yet on the other, these past few days of his interactions with him reminded him of the times when they used to be friends.

Back when he respected him fully and would easily lay down his life for his fellow brother in arms. He truly admired Mero, he did. It was just sad that their close relationship of respect was ruined because of Mero's inability to be truthful to a woman that cared for him deeply.

"I will say that it is a nice familiar feeling for us to be working together again." Zuph replied as Mero continued to look at him.

"To be honest Mero, I am truly sorry for raising my fists to you, but you have to understand that what you did to Nora is unacceptable." Zuph sighed, he was never one who could keep his emotions to himself for long and Mero knew that well.

"I do understand what you mean Zuph, I really do, and there is not a day that goes by that I do not want to go and apologize to Nora sincerely, but I cannot since she refuses to see me." Mero sighed.

"I cannot tell if you are being honest or you are saying that just because you know what I want to hear." Zuph scoffed.

"I am truly being honest, I did care for Nora, even though everyone seems to think otherwise." Mero replied.

"I was sincerely interested in her in the beginning... but things happen." 

"Hmm, how convenient that it was you things happened to instead of her." Zuph replied.

"Honestly Zuph, if I could go back and change the way things happened, change my feelings. I would be with Nora." Mero said frankly.

Zuph could tell that Mero was being completely honest with what he said, however, he could not help but feel that if Mero and Nora were still together, he would have no chance with Nora, even though they were not together now, his only hope was when she was alone.

It got his mind thinking, Nora still loved Mero, so if Mero truly had a change of heart and chose her instead of that other woman, he had a feeling that she would take him back. That thought caused him to be dismayed.

"So you are saying if you asked her to forgive you and take her back and she did... you would go back to her?" Zuph asked looking Mero in the eyes.

"In different circumstances, yes, I would." Mero nodded.

"What is that supposed to mean? I want either a yes or a no answer." Zuph said.

"Well unfortunately, this matter does not have a yes or a no answer." Mero replied.

"Truthfully speaking, my heart belongs to another woman, and even though we can never be together, I still love her and no one else." Mero said.

"That was why I ended things with Nora, it would be wrong for me to continue a relationship with her while my heart belonged to another."

"Just imagine Zuph, if the only woman you ever loved is unreachable, unattainable, and even though your heart remains forever with her, you have to move on and be with someone else you do not love." he said.

Zuph looked off into the distance. If there was any woman he said he loved, it would be Nora, and if she was with someone else and he could never be with her, then he would rather be alone.

"I get what you mean." Zuph said.

"I knew you would... everyone is looking at it the wrong way, if anything, me ending things with her was the best for both of us. I am not a liar, not once did I lie to her about my feelings, the only thing I am guilty of is not telling her sooner that someone else was in my heart."

Mero felt like he had to be open with Zuph. He knew he cared for Nora, and as strange as that made him, he prioritized protecting Wura's image first.

He knew Zuph and he would stop at nothing in order to find the truth he was looking for. The sooner he got him to understand his side of things, the sooner he would stop looking for answers that he would not like to know.

"Love is a surprising thing, and sometimes we end up falling for people who are above us." Mero sighed.

"But I guess it is part of being human, it is an unchangeable experience." he said.

"I understand how you mean, and most times, you do not even know how you fell in love with the person you love, but you did, and now you suffer when you are without them and even when you are with them because you can never bring yourself to tell how you truly feel." Zuph sighed.

"Exactly." Mero replied.

"You explained it perfectly, it seems you have more experience in this than I thought you did." Mero chuckled.

Zuph laughed, he could not believe he had just said all his heart to Mero, but it felt good afterwards. His heart felt lighter, and he understood Mero's decisions a little bit better.

"I do not..." he replied.

"Right... yet a man who has never experienced hopeless love would be able to describe it so personally." Mero teased.

"I do not know what you are talking about." Zuph insisted as they both laughed.

"Mero, may I ask you a question?" Zuph asked as Mero nodded.

"Go on."

"If you ended things with Nora for the woman you love, how come you are not with her?" Zuph asked.

"Well... we can never be together, it is that simple." Mero replied.

"And why is that?" Zuph asked confused.

"Because both have duties to people other than ourselves and letting people suffer because of what we feel for each other is unfair." Mero replied.

"Do I know her?" Zuph asked.

"Yes, you know her." Mero replied looking away.

Zuph wondered who Mero was referring to, who could be such a woman that Mero would fall helplessly for?

It made no sense to him, honestly, but one thing was certain, the fact that this woman was still hidden today was not a good sign at all.

"Thank you for explaining things to me." Zuph said.

"No, thank you for listening and always being a friend I can count on." Mero replied with a smile.

For some odd reason Zuph now felt guilty that he was still trying to fool Mero into revealing the truth.