Chapter 31

"Now that she looked at the room more carefully, she noticed that this room was hers and Zach's joined together. She had to admit, the interior design was stylish, elegant, and cool at the same time. She shook her head. This ain't the time for her to be admiring this room; she needed to get a little sleep. She turned off the light and went to sleep.

The rays of the sun from the window woke her up. She rubbed her eyes, hating to wake up, but the thought of Anika prompted her. Sitting on the king-sized bed, she yawned and picked up her phone, trying to call Anika, but there was no answer.

Biting her lower lip, she felt really scared. Where could Anika be? After taking a shower and changing, she strolled to the living room, searching for Zach.

Zach was seated on the couch, his eyes as icy and expressionless as usual. He had already ordered food for Ariana. Remembering his conversation with his dad last night, she was sure that he must feel heartbroken, and it made her feel sorry for him.

Finishing her breakfast, Ariana noticed that Zach hadn't moved from where he was sitting. Deciding to talk to him, she approached with a warm smile. Zach glanced at her, then stared into nothing again. He looked really scary; she had never seen Zach like this before. She knew she had to find a way to fix this before it got worse.

"I heard what your dad said to you last night. Let's say I was eavesdropping on your conversation, but I didn't really mean to. What Casey did to you is terrible, and you have every right to be mad at her. But sitting here looking scary isn't going to change anything," she stated.

Zach let out a dry chuckle that sent chills down her spine. "You think I care about Casey cheating on me? I hurt Anika, and I can't reach her. I just hope she's okay," Zach's voice softened, and she saw the guilt in his eyes. She felt sorry for him; this must be the first time he fought with Anika.

She got up and gently caressed his back. Zach was taken aback by her touch, but Ariana gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we are going to find her," she said, trying to assure him. The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," she got up and opened the door, finding a middle-aged man standing outside.

"Good morning," she greeted.

"Good morning, miss. I'm so sorry I'm late."

"Late for what?"

"For your check-up, miss. I'm George, by the way."

"Ariana, nice to meet you. Come in."

"You're late," Zach's icy voice was heard.

"I'm sorry, I was held up by traffic," George apologized.

Ariana sat back down on the couch, and George examined her, giving her some medication to help lessen her headache before leaving. Ariana felt uneasy living in a house with this guy who looked like a monster. She got up and entered their adjoined room. The more she thought about their room being adjoined together, the more her headache grew.

Grabbing her phone and unlocking it, she saw ten missed calls from Anika. She didn't hesitate and called Anika back.

"Hey," Anika said over the phone.

"Where on Earth are you? You got me so worried. Do you want to give us a heart attack?"

"Chillax, I got drunk, and Tyler took me to his villa. I'm fine, no need to worry. So sorry I left you alone last night," Anika apologized.

"No problem. I want to talk about the drink you asked the bartender to give me."

"What drink?" Anika asked with a confused tone.

"Wait, you didn't send that drink to me?"

"I have no idea about any drink," Anika answered.

"If you didn't send that drink, then who did?" Ariana asked herself.

"What drink? What are you talking about?"

"Anika, I'll call you back," Ariana stated and hung up.

She remembered the bartender pointing to the direction of Anika. Could someone be behind Anika? Who could it be? She clicked her tongue and rested her chin on her palm, closing her eyes to visualize what happened the other night. Tyler and Anika were engrossed in their chatting. She squinted her eyes and saw someone who looked like Casey.

"Casey! She did this to me," she scoffed, regretting her earlier suspicion of Anika. She got bored and changed, wanting to go hang out with Annie.

Zach barged into the room without knocking. Ariana thought of leaving without telling him where she was going but decided against it. He was already stressed out about Anika last night.

"Have you heard from Anika? She called me just now,"

"Dad said she's with Tyler," he replied without sparing her a glance and took off his shirt.

"I'm actually heading over to my friend's place..."

"Be back before 5 pm. My aunt is having a family dinner," Zach said, dashing into the bathroom. Ariana sighed and left.

Zane strolled out of the airport where he met his mom's driver. He stopped and took a look around town; it had been a while since he'd been in this city. His phone rang, and he picked it up.

"Zane, where are you?" Alexa questioned.

"Chill, mom. I'm in New York City; I just arrived."

"Thank God. I need you to be home right now."

"No, mom," he stated, handing his luggage to the driver. "Why am I here anyway? I miss China already."

"Because of Zach's engagement."

"Wait, Zach is engaged?" Zane chuckled; that sounded unbelievable to him. He noticed his mom fell silent.

"Really? He's engaged? I thought I would be the first to be engaged," Zane whined.

"Stop whining and get home. I need your help with the gifts."

"Fine, I'm coming," he smiled and hung up. He hopped into the car, and the ride began."