Chapter 19

Meanwhile, Zayn immediately started testing people after work, urging them to join him at the bar. When Ulama and I arrived at the private room, the first thing I saw was Zayn drinking straight from the bottle.

Annoyed, Hans walked over and snatched the bottle from his hand. “What’s going on here? You called your friends over just to watch you drink?”

Zayn had already had quite a bit to drink, and the alcohol had him visibly intoxicated. He kicked the coffee table in frustration. One after another, they're all condemned. Hamisa was on the couch, swinging his legs and placing his feet on the coffee table. “So, what now!”

Instead of responding, he grabbed another bottle and kept drinking.

Stewart, who had come with Hamisa, looked at his cousin with concern. “Hans, what’s going on with him?”

Hans answered nonchalantly, “What else? He got dumped.”

Stewart was surprised. “Huh? Didn’t he break up with Julie?”

Clearly, Stewart didn’t know about the situation between Daya and Julie.

Hans nodded, but before he could say anything else, Zayn suddenly stood up, shouting, “Don’t mention her name! Do you still want to be my best friend or not?”

Stewart sighed and tried to calm him down. “Zayn, you’re drunk. Stop drinking and let’s go home.”

Zayn shrugged off Stewart’s hand and yelled, “Go home yourselves! I’m not going anywhere!”

He grabbed the bottle and continued drinking.

They all knew Zayn’s temper. Once he decided on something, it was impossible to change his mind. In the end, Stewart and Hans managed to get him home after he was completely drunk.

Hans brought him to the apartment where he usually stayed to avoid worrying Martha, then, placing the drink Zayn had on the couch, Stewart suggested, “Should we call Julie?”

“They’ve broken up. If we’re calling anyone, it should be his new girlfriend.”

Hans unlocked Zayn’s phone with his fingerprint and found Megan’s number. The moment the call connected, a sweet, syrupy voice came through. “Zayn, why are you calling me so late?”

Her overly saccharine tone gave Hans goosebumps. He hadn’t expected Zayn to be into a woman like that.

Clearing his throat, he replied, “This is Hans.”

There was a brief pause. “Hello?”

Her tone immediately shifted to something more neutral, which Hans found much more tolerable.

He got straight to the point. “Zayn’s drunk. Can you come to take care of him?”

“Huh? Right now?” Megan sounded hesitant.

“What’s the problem?” Hans asked.

“Well… to come right now, it’s already past curfew.”

“If you can’t come, then forget it,” he said, hanging up before she could respond. “She’s not coming!”

Hamisa nodded. “What now? Let him handle it himself?”

Stewart thought for a moment. “What about calling Julie—”

Hans cut him off before he could finish. “They’ve already broken up.”

Stewart paused for a moment before nodding. “Uh, Hans, maybe you should head back. I’ll stay here and look after him.”

“Alright, I have a meeting tomorrow morning anyway,” Hans replied before leaving.

After he was gone, Stewart sat on the couch and lightly patted Zayn’s face. “Zayn, wake up. You’re drunk.”

Zayn swatted his hand away and mumbled, “Julie, stop messing around.”

Stewart had thought his cousin had truly moved on from Julie. He sighed and asked, “Zayn, should I call Julie?”

Zayn murmured something, but Stewart couldn’t make it out. Still, he picked up his phone and called Julie.

The phone rang and rang, but no one answered.

Stewart didn’t give up and tried again ten minutes later. This time, the call was finally answered after a long wait.

“Hello?” Julie’s voice came through from the other end.

Stewart, suddenly hopeful, straightened up. “Julie, my cousin’s drunk.”

There was a brief pause before she replied, “Stewart, we’ve already broken up.”

While saying this, Julie realized she had accidentally taken Lucian’s scarf back to her dorm. Looking at the scarf in her hands, she hesitated, unsure whether to return it to Lucian.

Meanwhile, Stewart’s pleading voice came through the phone. “Julie, please help us out. I have to go back to school and can’t take care of him. I’m begging you.”

“Doesn’t he have family members at home? Where’s Agnes?”

Agnes Wright had been the family’s housekeeper for years.

“I don’t see her around. Please, Julie, I’m begging you.”

Half an hour later, Julie arrived at Zayn’s villa. When Stewart saw her, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Julie, you’re finally here.”

She glanced inside. “How is he?”

“He’s on the couch, passed out drunk. Julie, I’ll leave him to you. I have to go back to school!”

Stewart slipped out quickly without waiting for Julie’s response.

Chapter 19

The next morning, Zayn woke up in bed, still in the same clothes from yesterday. Julie was a clean freak. She would definitely be disgusted if she were to see him like this.

He dragged himself up and went to the bathroom for a shower. Afterward, he felt much more awake.

He had a dream last night. He dreamed that Julie had returned, made him hangover tea, and stayed to care for him all night. He looked around the room, but it was cold and empty. So, it had been just a dream.

For a moment, he had actually believed she had returned.

Dragging his hangover self to the living room, Zayn frowned when he saw the hangover tea on the coffee table.

“Agnes?” He called toward the kitchen.

Agnes, who was making breakfast, poked her head out. “What’s wrong, Mr. Fuller?”

Agnes paused momentarily, taking a while to understand who he meant by “he.”

“Are you asking about the tea, son?”

Zayn hummed faintly, emotionless.

Agnes answered, “I’m not sure, but judging by the hangover tea in the kitchen, it’s the kind Ms. Samers used to make.”

Zayn stood up and went to his bedroom, grabbing his phone. When he turned on the screen, he saw a message from Stewart sent last night at 9:00 pm.

“I’ve done all I can. The rest is up to you.”

Next, he called Hans. “Hans, was it you and Stewart who brought me home last night?”

“Did Julie come over last night?”

There was a pause on the other end before Hans answered cautiously, “Why are you asking?”

Impatient, Zayn pressed, “Just tell me. Did Julie come over or not?”

“You were drunk last night. Stewart and I brought you home, but we called your girlfriend to take care of you.”

Zayn frowned. “You called Megan?”

“Yeah, we asked her to come over.”

Zayn let out a disappointed hum before hanging up and tossing his phone aside.

There was no way it could have been Megan. Even though he was drunk, he had felt that it was Julie. He even remembered seeing her in the kitchen, making tea for him. Could he have been so drunk that he imagined it?

The more Zayn thought about it, the more agitated he became. He changed his clothes and prepared to head to the office.

Seeing him about to leave, Agnes called out, “Mr. Fuller, you haven’t had breakfast yet!”

“I’ll skip it.”

With that, Zayn walked toward the door.

As he opened it, he saw Megan standing there, looking up at him with a faint smile.

Zayn was a bit surprised. “Meg, why are you here?”

“Your friend called me last night and said you were drunk. I was worried.”

“You came over last night!”

Megan hesitated for a moment before giving a vague nod.

She carefully watched his expression. Noticing no particular reaction from him, she added, “I actually left earlier, but couldn’t stop worrying about you, so I came back.” Her words carried a hint of guilt.

The fact that it was Megan who had taken care of him left Zayn with complicated emotions.

When he stayed silent, Megan softly said, “Since you’re fine, I’ll head back to the university now.”

She started to leave, but Zayn reached out and grabbed her hand.

Her hand was cold, and he frowned. “Why are your hands so cold? How long were you waiting at the door?”

He touched her cheek. Her face was cold too.

“Not too long,” she lied softly.

“Why didn’t you knock?” Megan lowered her head nervously, avoiding his question and mumbling incoherently.

“Come inside,” Zayn said. “You look cold.”

She giggled and shook her head. “I’m not cold. Seeing you warms me up.”

Zayn couldn’t help but smile faintly at the warmth in her eyes.

“Zayn, you have no idea how worried I was about you last night.” Megan said, clinging to his arm and pouting playfully.

Zayn affectionately patted the top of her head. “Isn’t your dorm’s curfew 10:00 pm? How did you get out?”