C7 Seeking for Reassurance

Jayme stood at the door with a bouquet, holding it out to Zanara. There was no intention whatsoever, not even to seduce her into choosing him over returning to her ex-husband. It was purely for comfort.

However, Jayme's good intentions did not seem to be well received. As usual, Zanara impassively greeted and asked Jayme's purpose for coming to her apartment.

"What did you come here for? Haven't you had your fill of playing with Marion? What now?" Zanara hissed sharply. However, she maintained her intonation and volume so as not to be heard directly by Marion.

"Zee ... don't take this the wrong way. I want to talk to you. May I?"

"What about now? I'm not in the mood to talk about that stuff you keep asking me about, romance or whatever." The woman looked the other way, not wanting to look at Jayme directly. Zanara was only human; after all, Jayme could put on a pathetic face, and Zanara would eventually melt.

"About us."

"There it is again," she complained, looking bored. "Talk about it with another woman, Doctor Demir."

Zanara closed the door and nearly broke Jayme's hand, deliberately blocking the door from closing. And stupidly, Jayme did that with his hand.

"Akkh!" Jayme quickly pulled his limb away from the door, which only aggravated his pain.

Don't ask how Zanara reacted. She was not a cold-hearted woman as one might expect. She also had feelings and compassion. Seeing a man's stupidity that ultimately led to his loss, Zanara was naturally displeased.

"What are you doing? Do you want to lose your hand?" Zanara rushed in and came out with a box of medicines.

Zanara painstakingly and deftly took out whatever was needed to treat the wound, which was just a slight abrasion. It did not affect Jayme, who had felt even more pain than this, and he could endure it. However, when else could he come into contact with this woman, if not now?

That woman never allowed himself to touch him, even if it was a handshake. And one more thing that made Jayme willing to be a crybaby for a while, the attention and care Zanara gave to him, was a very rare thing.

Jayme looked at the woman who was now applying cream to his wound. He did not notice that there were other wounds that Zanara was aware of. It could have been dislocated or some other injury. So Zanara took an elastic bandage and placed it on the man's hand.

Although she always wore a cold mask on the outside, Zanara was still a kind-hearted woman to Jayme. She will always be a kind-hearted woman because that is her character.

Don't ask Jayme where he got that from. Being a psychiatrist for several years, he can see the other side of a person from how they speak, body language, and even just a wink can be a means for Jayme to read other people's minds.

He wasn't psychic, of course. Just an ability that people who deal with other people's psyches must have.

"You're very good at it. Thank you," Jayme said, trying to break the ice as he could see that Zanara was now feeling nervous.

The woman didn't stop what she was doing, nor did she lift her face to stare into Jayme's brownish irises. She kept her head down and focused on the tools in her hands.

"Don't get big-headed. I'm used to doing this, so not just you; I'll probably do this to anyone."

"Including that guy?"

Zanara was distracted this time by Jayme's words. She stopped what she had been doing, and her eyes stared blankly. Only for a moment. Because in the next second, she had already returned to tending Jayme's wound and accelerated her hand to tie the bandage that had wrapped Jayme's hand perfectly.

"That's it. You can go home now."

"Wait, Zee! I'm serious. If this happened to that guy—I mean, your ex-husband, would you do everything for him too?"

Of course. However, that was not what made Zanara hesitate to answer. The man Jayme mentioned was the man she had been avoiding for over two years. So, maybe Zanara wouldn't have done what she did to Jayme if it was Mark who had that misfortune.

Not because Jayme was special but purely because of the past.

"Doctor Demir, please. Aren't you tired of going on like this? How long will you approach me when I've already told you I'm—" Zanara sighed heavily. "Never mind, it's all for naught. Just do whatever makes you happy. I'll go in first."

Jayme did not seem to want to give up so easily. He did not let Zanara go. His hand quickly grabbed the woman's arm. It was too sudden to make Zanara stagger and fall into Jayme's arms.

Jayme wasn't looking to take advantage of the incident. If his arm hadn't been wrapped around Zanara's slender body, the woman would have fallen to the floor. Jayme certainly didn't want that to happen. However, it seems that Zanara misinterpreted his good intentions.

The woman pushed Jayme's body spontaneously. Her breath was slightly out of breath as if she had run a marathon. Then again, Zanara was just an ordinary woman, after all.

She had missed Mark, even until a few hours ago when the man came; Zanara wanted to run into Mark's arms, which would always be open to her. However, she restrained herself. Many wounds had not healed, and falling back on Mark would be suicide.

"I'm sorry. I just—"

"Go home, Doctor Demir. I don't have what you need. I can't give you what you want and ask for. Don't come to me anymore."

"Is it because of that man? Are you going back to him?" Jayme quickly cut off Zanara's sentence before the woman could leave.

Zanara turned around. Hearing Jayme's question made her blood boil. She didn't like the accusatory question Jayme was asking her. Did she look so pathetic that she considered returning to Mark? Did Zanara look so thirsty for caresses that she would accept Mark again?

Is that so?

"This is none of your business, Doctor Demir. And if you think I will fall again for the man who hurt me once, you're sadly mistaken. I will never let anyone who has hurt me come and do it again."

"That's good. I just wanted to hear that," Jayme replied, looking calm after hearing the words of the woman of his heart. "Then, as for my feelings—"

Zanara shook her head slowly. "Please, Doctor Demir, find another woman who is more compatible with you and loves you as much as you love her. I'm sure you'll find plenty of women who are much better than me."

Jayme did not want to interrupt Zanara's words even though he desperately wanted to silence the woman's words with a peck. He wanted to, but he prevented himself from doing so. Jayme widened his eyes wildly, trying to find the woman's hazel eyes, hoping to lock onto it and say as much right then and there.

Before Jayme could realize it, Zanara turned around and almost left.

However, Jayme did not want to let the woman avoid what she had to face. Jayme had waited long enough, at least, for an answer that he could continue to be by Zanara and Marion's side. He held Zanara back and said what he had to say.