Chapter Seven:CRACKS IN THE ARMOR

Tiana had never been the kind of girl who let things go easily.

And she wasn't about to start now.

The next morning, she found herself at the kitchen counter, stirring her coffee absentmindedly. Her mind was spinning—still stuck on last night. On Zayden. On the way he shut down just when she was getting close to the truth.

She glanced up when she heard footsteps.

Zayden walked in, shirtless, looking like he hadn't slept much. His hair was a mess, and his jaw was covered in light stubble. Great. Even exhausted, he still managed to look annoyingly good.

Their eyes met.

Neither of them spoke.

The tension between them was thick.

"Morning," he finally muttered, reaching for a glass.

Tiana exhaled sharply. "Are you ever going to tell me the truth?"

He stilled, fingers tightening around the glass.

"Tiana—"

"No." She cut him off. "You don't get to shut me out again."

Zayden's jaw clenched. "It's complicated."

She laughed bitterly. "Wow. That's original."

He sighed, rubbing his temple. "What do you want me to say?"

"The truth, Zayden."

A beat of silence.

Then, finally, he met her gaze. "The truth won't change anything."

Tiana's chest tightened.

Because that sounded a lot like a warning.

And it only made her want to push harder.

************************

A summer night. A quiet street.

Tiana stood outside Zayden's car, confused and frustrated.

"You're not making sense," she said, voice shaking. "Yesterday, everything was fine. And now you're just… leaving?"

Zayden's hands were tight fists at his sides. He wasn't looking at her.

She stepped closer. "Zayden—"

"I can't do this." His voice was low, almost pained.

Tiana froze. "What?"

His eyes finally met hers.

And for a split second, she thought she saw regret.

But then he turned away.

And just like that…

He walked out of her life.

****************************

Tiana wasn't sure why, but she found herself walking through Zayden's old neighborhood later that afternoon.

Maybe she needed answers.

Maybe she just needed to remember.

She stopped in front of a familiar house. His childhood home.

It looked… empty.

Run-down.

Something wasn't right.

She glanced at the neighbor's yard, where an elderly woman was watering her plants.

"Excuse me," Tiana called out. "Do you know what happened to the people who lived here?"

The woman looked up, studying her for a second. Then, she sighed.

"The Reyes family?" she said. "They left years ago. After what happened with Zayden's father, they had no choice."

Tiana's heart stopped.

"…What happened with his father?"

The woman hesitated. Then, she lowered her voice.

"Oh, sweetheart," she said softly. "You really don't know, do you?"