Do We Let Go?

22| Tempers Running High

The adoption is for the best.

He deserved the emotional space he needed to focus on his career. She needed to focus only on her goals.

Most importantly, the baby needed a set of parents who'd love it with all of their hearts and never resent it. Parents who are ready for it. He's okay to never get to know his first-ever child if it means the child would get the best parents Zach and Zara would choose later on.

With a sigh, he stands up and leaves her room.

***

Zara wakes up hours later. Exhausted.

He didn't ask her all of the questions he's burning to. He didn't understand this--this need to know her. To understand her. To ease her pain. He just knew he feels it.

During dinner is when they talk.

"Hey.", Zara said as she sits down for the meal. She looked better than she did in the morning.

Zach took a seat across from her. "How're you feeling?"

She shrugged. "Fine."

He opened his mouth to say something, to tell her she can talk about it.

"Look, Zach, I know what you're going to say and the answer is no. I don't want to talk about it.", her lips turned in a thin line, she already seemed done with the conversation, so he just nodded, respecting her wishes.

He realized that while he's more open with his emotions, she isn't. It takes her time to open up to people, or maybe perhaps just him. Either way, he wanted to get to know her, he couldn't wait for that day, yet all he could do was wait until she's ready.

So the days passed and before he knew, it had been another week. They never talked about her mental breakdown. She didn't have any drastic mood swings, but she was definitely short with him.

Like when he'd made chicken for himself and she'd asked for a bite of it. Surprised, he'd asked her, "But I thought you are a Vegetarian?", he had asked very politely and good-naturedly, but she made a face at him.

"Fine! If you don't want to share it then don't. Why do you have to bring my eating preferences into the conversation?"

He hadn't expected her to be this defensive, but realizing how high her hormones must be running in her bloodstream, he didn't say anything, just simply shrugged and offered her some of his meal. But she denied it then.

Then one day, they'd had Lasagna for dinner. Zara chewed the first few bites and frowned in confusion.

"There's something different in it.", she'd said.

Having found no difference whatsoever in the taste from the last time he'd made it, Zach didn't know what could be missing.

"But we made it exactly the way I've always made it.", he said.

Zara glared at him. "So I am lying?" He gulped his bite with difficulty. When the fuck did he say she's lying?

"N--No I just meant I don't find anything different in it--"

The scraping sound of the chair against the floor cut him off. Zara had stood up, abandoned her food. "Well, I do! I can't eat this.", she whined, yes, she literally whined and left for her room.

Mouth agape in shock, he was stunned to silence for a good few minutes before he could move again. He'd never, in a million years, anticipated that Zara--Zara!--could behave like this. She resembled like a spoiled brat to him.

The mood swings were doing a real number on her, weren't they?

Suffice to say, it had been a long week.