She knew it. Zamiel would never hurt her. He would never even look at another woman. If Rose had dared to lie to her, Heaven would have choked the truth out of her.

As relieved as she was, she was also confused. What did Rose mean by services? As if it was her job. Heaven had heard once that some women sold themselves, or were sold by other people. Was Rose that kind of woman?

Were someone forcing her to do this? And why did she go to Zamiel if he didn’t buy her services?

She turned to Zarin, who looked shocked. His gaze hardened as he looked at Rose. “Why are you lying?” He asked her. “Then why did he pay you?”

Pay?

Heaven turned to Rose, who remained calm.

“No man has ever denied me, so I tried to pursue him because I didn’t want to go back and tell everyone that a man denied me. My reputation depended on it. Lord Zamiel payed me handsomely just to be rid of me. He said he didn’t want his Lady to misunderstand him.” She explained then she turned to Heaven. “You must be her. You are a lucky woman.”

Suddenly Zarin grabbed her arm harshly, causing her to grimace. “He made you say this, didn’t he? How much did he pay you? What did he offer you to lie?” He shook her violently.

“Zarin, what are you doing?” Heaven pushed him away, appalled by his actions.

Zarin was fuming with anger. “Heaven. She told me something else in the beginning. He probably compelled her to lie. Don’t you see what he is doing?” His voice was getting louder.

Heaven turned to Rose. “Are you alright?”

She nodded, looking down.

“I did lie in the beginning, My Lady. I was just protecting my reputation. I didn’t know I was part of a game.”

“What game?” Heaven asked.

Rose slowly lifted her gaze and looked at Zarin.

Slowly, the pieced started to fall into place. “Did he send you to him?” Heaven asked, despite already knowing the anser.

Rose gave her a weak smile and a slight nod.

“Yes. I did send her, but she is lying. I knew he would…” Zarin began to talk behind her, but Heaven wasn’t listening anymore.

She couldn’t believe it. It felt like the world around her stopped for a moment and when it began to move again; she was burning. It felt like she was set on fire.

“Go back in!” Heaven told Rose.

“Where are you sending her? She needs to tell the truth. She…”

Heaven turned to him and glared at him furiously. He stopped and looked at her warily.

“Heaven. I only did that for your sake. Listen to…”

“Stop!” She yelled, surprising him.

He looked at her wide eyed.

“Who are you?” She then asked.

He furrowed his brows at her question.

“You are not my friend. You can’t be. My friend would never do this to me. My friend cares about me. He wouldn’t betray me, or hurt me, or disrespect me. You are not my friend. I don’t know who you are.”

The confusion in his eyes turned to pain. She knew her words hurt him, but it couldn’t be greater than the pain in her heart. The one inflicted by him. Her childhood friend. The one she used to rely on, look up to and respect. He was not there anymore. Those eyes didn’t belong to him. He suddenly looked like a stranger in her eyes.

“Don’t say that, Heaven. I am your friend. I have always been your friend.”

“Not anymore.” She shook her head. “When you offered your help, I truly thought that you had reflected on your actions and came here to show that you could do better. For the sake of our many years of friendship, I wanted to give you a second chance. I thought if I didn’t that I might regret it. And this is what you do with your second chance? This is how you throw away many years of friendship?”

Zarin shook his head. His sad eyes looking down hesitantly and then looking up at her. “I wish you could see what I am seeing.” He said. “This is not me throwing away anything. This is me taking my chance to save you.”

“From who?!” She yelled again. She was tired of his explanations. “You are the one hurting me the most. At first I didn’t blame you. I just thought to myself that you don’t know what friendship or love is, what caring for someone or supporting them means. But I was wrong. You know all those things. You grew up watching our family love and support each other, respect and care for each other. You grew up seeing the friendship they had. You know all those things. But you chose something else. You chose hatred over love. You chose animosity over friendship.”

“One day… one day you will know I chose you above all.” He said.

Heaven looked at him for a long moment. Those eyes held no regret. “Just leave.” She told him. “I don’t want to see you again.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but she drew her dagger. “Don’t force me, Zarin. It is enough!”

“As you wish.” He said and then vanished.

Heaven put her dagger back and let out a deep breath. Her head began to spin. The anger got replaced by a sadness that overwhelmed her.

The first time she fought with him, she had hope that one day they would be friends again. But now, this time, her friend was truly gone and only the memories of him remained.

Zarin might not have been a very good friend, but he was still her friend. When she was alone he made her smile, kept her company and protected her. He might have been negligent, but he was never a bad person. He never hurt her intentionally. But now, every step he took broke her heart, and he showed no regret. He was not the person used to be. He wasn’t the friend she knew anymore.

She took a deep breath again to calm down, but she felt weak in the knees. Her hand searched for something to grab on to support herself but found none. She stumbled backward but a strong arm came around her waist preventing and saved her from falling.

“My Lady. You don’t look alright?”

Heaven looked up at Ilyas. He looked down at her worriedly.

Taking her hand, he placed her arm around his neck and then put his arm under her knees before lifting her up.

The next moment they were back to the guest room. Ilyas placed her carefully on the bed, then looked at her. “Is there anything I can do for you?” He asked.

Why? Why was this stranger looking at her worriedly while her friend could easily inflict pain on her and even try to explain why he was doing it.

“Why?” She asked him.

He looked at her questioningly.

“Why are you loyal to me? I know you didn’t have a choice to serve me, but I feel you serve me with sincerity.”

He smiled. “If I had any thought of betraying you, Lord Zamiel would know before I could finish thinking.” He said.

“Is that why you are loyal?”

“I have no reason to betray you. You have only treated me with kindness.” He said.

“But?” She felt like he had something to add.

“I don’t want to be bound to someone.”

Heaven could understand him. He wanted to be free. Why would he live serving someone? She wouldn’t be those kinds of Lords who abused their power. If he wanted to be free, she would set him free.

“I free you.” She said. “You don’t have to worry about Zamiel. I will talk to him.”

She couldn’t deny that she felt sad. Having him by her side had made her feel secure.

His pale blue eyes studied her for a moment. “Can I leave now?” He asked.

Heaven nodded, feeling a sting in her heart.

Ilyas smiled. “It is enough for me knowing I can leave.” He said.

Heaven blinked a few times confused. What did that mean?

“I will stay.” He told her.