"Who is Ethan?" Zara asked herself, her voice barely audible, making sure they wouldn't hear her mutter a word.
She had followed Zayden after hearing they had a visitor. She expected to see Mr. Reed and was ready to pounce on him, but to her disappointment, it was someone unfamiliar.
"He must be intent on getting his father's property," Zara heard Zayden say.
She leaned against the stairs to listen to their conversation properly, hoping Mr. Reed would be mentioned.
"That isn't the point. You know if he gets married before you, then he has the possibility of taking over the company," Alex said.
Zara noticed the serious expression on Alex's face, realizing they were discussing something she never expected them to mention—Mr. Reed's name.
"It's his father's company. He can play around," Zayden said with a smirk.
Alex had often heard Zayden say that, but most times he just questioned why he would say that, only to end up with a headache. If anyone should inherit TechCrest Corporation, it should be Zayden, and that was why he was supporting him, even when Zayden had set up his own company and became No.1 in city Y.
"An... and he's getting married in three weeks," Alex said, his eyes darting to Zayden's relaxed face.
"Why are you so relaxed? If he manages to get married, don't you think it's over?" Alex pressed, moving closer to Zayden.
"Rest assured, Alex. Even if he does get married before me, his father won't give him any part of the property. He knows his son better than anyone. He can't manage them," Zayden said and sighed for the umpteenth time.
Zara wondered why he was referring to his father as "his" when he could have used "my." Wasn't he his son?
It seemed serious judging from Alex's face, but when she looked over at the devilishly handsome man, his face looked so relaxed that she wondered if they were even talking about the same thing.
"Have you looked into why Ethan went to meet..." Zayden asked, trying to remember the name as he tapped his forehead.
Nevertheless, they didn't talk about Mr. Reed, and she was about to stand up and carefully return to her room. But when she heard the name she'd been waiting for, her footsteps faltered.
"You mean Mr. Reed?" Alex reminded.
"Mr. Reed?" Zara shouted unconsciously and stood up, furrowing her brows.
Zayden and Alex's heads swiveled in unison toward where Zara stood.
He creased his brows immediately after he saw her. He seriously needed to teach her how to stay put and always listen to him, he grumbled.
"Who is this?" Alex asked, gazing at Zara from head to toe, his face showing shock and happiness.
"Are you getting married, too?" he immediately asked, his thoughts going wild, but maybe that was only wishful thinking.
He circled his hands around Zayden's neck in happiness, ruffling his hair like he was a shaggy dog.
Zayden gave him a sharp glance, and Alex immediately stopped ruffling his hair and removed his hands from his neck.
He ran toward Zara, startling her. From a closer look, Zara saw that Alex was also handsome, but not as handsome as Zayden. She almost smacked herself on the head for thinking Zayden was handsome.
"I'm Alex, Zayden's friend," he said, stretching out his hand toward Zara with a smile.
Zara unconsciously bit her lip as she heard his name for the first time. She called his name in her heart, and for the second time, she felt like smacking her head again.
What was happening to her?
Zara shook his hand back without offering any reply about who she was, which earned her a raised brow from Alex.
She cleared her throat.
"I am Zar...Zane," she corrected herself, almost spilling her real name. Hoping they wouldn't detect the lie, her heart thumped fast.
Her main concern was how they knew Mr. Reed. If they were plotting with him to kidnap her, she needed to start planning her escape.
First, pretend to be who they think you are. Secondly, I don't know what next. She almost groaned from the inner thought, but if she did, they would know she was lying, so she managed to keep her frustration in check.
"She is my surrogate," Zayden revealed, uncrossing his legs and walking toward them.
Instead of receiving a stunned look from Alex, he got an overjoyed one.
"Was that why you were so relaxed? I knew you had a plan. Ethan would be so surprised when she gets pregnant," Alex said, playfully hitting Zayden on the shoulder. Zara couldn't help but cough.
Who was his surrogate? One thing she'd come to realize was that they were mistaking her for someone—someone who looked like her.
"But why does she look so familiar?" Alex asked, his gaze sweeping over her from foot to head.
Unknown to him, his actions ignited a raging fire in Zayden's heart.
"You must be Zane Sawyer, that popular actress. I'm a fan of yours," he said excitedly.
Wait, I'm an actress? Zara thought, confusion clear on her face.
"You should get going, Alex," Zayden said after offering Zara a cup of water.
Alex nodded, misinterpreting Zayden's words, assuming he wanted private time with Zara.
"I haven't gotten any information on Ethan and Mr Reed but have some fun," Alex said, waving goodbye to Zara before darting out in jubilation.
As soon as Alex left, silence fell over the room. Only Zayden's piercing stare bothered Zara, and she thought he wanted to confront her right then.
"Hm, who is Mr. Reed?" Zara asked, her gaze settling on Zayden's face.
Zayden's brow creased at the mention of Mr. Reed. He hadn't expected her to pry into his matters.
He knew he couldn't trust her, but he wanted to figure out what she was thinking. Everything from their first meeting until now seemed suspicious.
Her father had once been his father's spy, and as they say, blood is thicker than water. He trusted neither Zane nor her father.
"Why did you ask?" Zayden questioned, raising a brow.
"I think I've heard that name before," she lied smoothly.
Zayden walked into the dining hall, and Zara sighed in relief, but the moment he reappeared, her heartbeat quickened again.
He seemed angrier than when he had left and stopped just inches from Zara.
"My number one rule as my surrogate is, do not think of any other man's name apart from mine, Zane. I hope you can comply with that," Zayden said, lowering himself to her level.
Zara felt her heart pounding rapidly, her face flushing red from his words. She didn't know what was happening to her, but she hoped it was something good.
Or was this one of the symptoms?
Ever since she'd met Zayden, her heart had been racing, her face flushing red at his words, making her overly conscious of her body, mind, and even her thoughts.
"Answer me, Zane," he said again, interrupting her thoughts.
"Yes, Mr. Zay–" Zara started, batting her eyelashes, but Zayden's smooth, low voice cut her off.
"It's Zayden, no need for formality," he said, his piercing gaze still locked on her as he grasped the sleek handle of the staircase.
Zara's heart skipped a beat, pounding against her ribcage like an old animal desperate to escape. She tried to calm her racing pulse, but it was futile.
Her eyelashes fluttered involuntarily as she met his gaze, her cheeks warming with a gentle blush.
"Yes, Mr. Zay... Zayden," she corrected, his name rolling smoothly off her tongue.
"She should call me that more often," he thought, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
He never knew his name could sound so good, but hearing it from Zara brought an inexplicable warmth and comfort.
"Good," he said, pressing his lips into a thin line to suppress his smile.
After regaining his composure, he lifted Zara in a bridal style.
Zara was about to protest, but Zayden quickly said, "Don't be silly. Stay still."
She complied, staying in his arms as he carried her into a bedroom and gently placed her on the bed.
She recognized it as the bedroom where she had kissed Zayden earlier, and a flushed red spot appeared on her cheeks.
She watched as Zayden opened a drawer and pulled out a red file. He sat beside her and removed a white sheet of paper.
He handed it to her, and she wondered what it was until her eyes fell on the word written at the top of the page.
Her eyes widened like saucers, her mouth agape. Her heart pounded like a time bomb. She couldn't tear her gaze away from the single word scrawled on the page, its meaning surging through her like adrenaline.
Did she misread it? No, it didn't make sense.