Nora opened her eyes to see Zuph sitting in the corner still in her room. She did not know when she had fallen asleep, but now she was awake and she was surprised to see that Zuph was still here in her room.
She wondered what he had been doing all the while that she had been asleep. Had he just been watching her or looking as tired as he did in the moment.
"You are finally awake." said Zuph as he smiled and looked up, he had felt that someone was watching him and he was right.
"Yes... Oh, I am so sorry for falling asleep, I do not even know when I did." said Nora as Zuph smiled at her.
"It is alright, it is not your fault at all. If I had cried as much as you did, I would fall asleep as well." said Zuph as he chuckled causing Nora to bury her face in her hands out of embarrassment.
"Oh no, no, no. This is so embarrassing." she groaned to herself while hearing Zuph's chuckles.
She felt so annoyed at herself right now, she had let down her guard greatly around Zuph. He had literally seen her at her weakest. She was sure that he would never see her the same way again.
"It is alright to feel embarrassed Nora, we all do, but you should not feel embarrassed with me, there is no need for that." said Zuph as he smiled and Nora shook her head.
"No, no, not at all, you must think so little of me now." said Nora as she groaned even more.
"No, no, I do not, never say that Nora, I can never, never think little of you." said Zuph so convincingly that Nora could not help but look at him.
"Really?" she asked as she turned.
"Really." he replied with a nod and smile.
"Alright... th...ank you..." said Nora as she stuttered.
"For what?" he asked.
"For being with me, staying with me, taking care of me." said Nora as she looked away.
"You do not have to thank me for that, I am sure that you would do the same for me." said Zuph as he smiled and Nora nodded knowing fully well that she would have done the same.
"So... *ahem*, what were you doing while I was asleep?" asked Nora as she cleared her throat and got out of bed.
"Well nothing really..." he replied as she frowned.
"So you did nothing at all?" she asked as he nodded.
"So you basically watched me sleeping the entire time?" she asked him.
"Well maybe a little bit, you look cute when you are asleep, so peaceful." said Zuph as Nora did not know how to feel about what he just said.
"I... no, that is really a lot to think about... how could you watch me sleep? Surely I cannot look that peaceful." she said as he laughed and stood up.
"Oh but you do, you really do. You just look so peaceful, almost angelic." he said sincerely as Nora scoffed and looked away flustered.
"Oh please, angelic, is too strong of a word Zuph, besides, I am sure that you are just saying that. I look terrible, my eyes are puffy, red and swollen from crying so much, I look like a mess, and I feel so unkept right now." said Nora.
"That may be true, but when you are asleep, it seems like all your cares and worries and thrown away and you can finally rest. Think about it deeply and tell me if you really do not feel peaceful right now." he said while taking a step forward.
Nora paused, she had not thought about it, but yes, she had woken up feeling better than before and she had not felt this peaceful in a long time.
"See, your silence means that I am right." said Zuph as he smiled and took another step forward.
"Alright fine, you are right, but watching people while asleep is strange, very strange." she said.
"I never said that I watch people sleep. I only occasionally watch you alone." said Zuph causing Nora to almost turn red. She could not believe that he could say such intimate things about her without noticing, or maybe he did notice but ignored its appropriateness.
"Ummm..." she said as she looked up to see that Zuph was right beside her. She suddenly felt uncomfortable as she cleared her throat and moved away creating some distance between them.
"You know, I am starving right now." said Nora finally realizing that it was already dark outside, which meant that it was past dinner time.
"So am I, what would you like me to bring you for dinner?" he asked.
"You do not have to do that, I feel well enough to go outside again." she replied.
"Are you sure that you are ready to face all the rumours that are flying around?" he asked as the smile on her face dropped, his words reminding her the reason she had stayed in her tent all this time.
"I did not mean to remind you of your pain, but I just do not want you feeling sad over what you may hear that is being said out there." said Zuph in concern.
"I know you did not mean to do that Zuph, and you are right. I do not think that I am ready to hear the gossip that is being said outside." said Nora as she nodded in understanding.
"Thank you, so what would you like me to bring you to eat?" asked Zuph as Nora actually seemed like she was genuinely thinking about his question.
"Well you can bring me anything, just make sure it has meat in it." chuckled Nora as Zuph laughed in relief seeing her smile.
"Alright, you do not have to worry, I will make sure to get you something you love." said Zuph as he smiled.
"Alright." Nora said with a smile.
"I will be right back." said Zuph.
"Zuph." called Nora right before he left.
"Yes." he said as he turned around.
"Thank you... for everything." she said with a smile.
"You are welcome." he said with a smile as he left.
...
Wura sighed as she climbed into bed. With what happened earlier, she just felt so wrong, so dirty, and yet a part of her felt like she had just hurt someone she had strong feelings for.
Her emotions were conflicted, why did she have to harm the people she cared about the most? Nora was still feeling bad about what happened, and yet she was still meeting Mero and he had given her one final kiss.
She had wished that kiss never happened, it spoke so little of her that she was unable to control her emotions and be strong when she needed to be the most.
"Why am I so weak? Why am I unable to remove you from my mind?" asked Wura to herself as she sighed.
The fact that she still felt this way even though she knew that leaving Mero was the right thing made her already conflicted emotions even more conflicted.
"Does me feeling like this mean that I actually care for Mero as deeply as I do for Liam?" she asked herself, feeling scared and troubled.
"Do I... lo...ve... Mero?" she asked herself shakingly, she did not know how to feel, was it even possible to love two people at the same time??
Was it truly love for both men or was she just indecisive? She was unsure at this point, she just wished that she had someone to talk to, but she had no one. She could not talk to Nora, her aunt or even her mother about this.
She knew that she would be scrutinized and judged for her shortcomings. There was really no one she knew that she could trust to tell them shat she had done and how she had gotten involved with Mero.
She just wished that with what happened earlier, she and Mero could finally move on and everyone could return back to peacefulness and stop gossiping about the mystery woman who had stolen Mero's heart.
"Why is it always me? Why do I always get myself into tough situations brought about by my own doing?" she asked herself in pain. This was not an unusual happenstance, she had a history of doing things that would cause her to later be in regret.
It had happened when she was younger, it had happened when she had met Liam, it had happened when she chose to marry him despite the many chances she had to break it off with him. It had happened when she fell deeply, madly in love with him, and it had happened when she made the mistake of letting Mero into her heart.
She wished that she would wake up tomorrow and this would have all been a dream, but she knew that was too much of a great wish to ask for.