CHAPTER 140

**FLASHBACK (continues)**

**WINTER** 

My heart pounded as I crept down the hallway, my breath quick and uneven. 

"Thirty... thirty-one..." Zion's voice echoed through the hallway, slow and exaggerated, dragging out the count like he was giving me extra time. 

I needed it. 

I scanned the hallway, searching for the perfect hiding spot. 

My eyes landed on an open door at the end of the hall office.

Zion's dad was always in there, but right now, it looked empty. 

Perfect.

I slipped inside, moving as quietly as possible, the scent of leather, coffee, and something faintly like cologne filling the air. The large mahogany desk sat near the window, its dark wood polished and imposing. It was the best place to hide. 

I crouched low and slid under the desk, pressing my hands over my mouth to steady my breathing. 

"Thirty-eight... thirty-nine... forty! Ready or not, Snowflake, I'm coming!" Zion's voice rang out. 

I smirked.

"Good luck finding me."

Then—a sound.

I froze, my pulse hitching.

A hushed whisper. A muffled giggle.

My eyes darted toward the slightly ajar bathroom door, a sliver of light spilling into the dim office.

My stomach twisted. I glanced toward the slightly ajar door, barely daring to breathe. 

Through the gap, I saw **bare legs** - smooth, toned, and unmistakably female. 

They were wrapped around someone, and I could see the faint outline of a man's hips, his thighs, as he moved against her. 

A wave of nausea slammed into me, my stomach twisting painfully.

Zion’s dad wasn’t alone. There was a woman with him. And they were…

Oh God.

My mind recoiled in shock as I pieced together the sounds—skin slapping against skin, the woman's breathy, desperate gasps, and Zion’s dad’s low, guttural growls. It was something raw, something I wasn’t supposed to hear, and every part of me screamed in discomfort. 

And then, a low, husky moan cut through the air.

The woman’s voice was breathy, desperate. "Please… deeper. Harder."

My stomach lurched. 

The words, the sounds—it was too much. 

I clamped a hand over my mouth, squeezing my eyes shut as if that could erase what I had just heard.

Zion's dad's response was a low, guttural groan, 

"You like that, baby? You like it when I fuck you like this?" 

The woman's moans grew louder, more intense, as Zion's dad's movements became more frenzied. I could hear the sound of his hips slamming against hers, the wet slapping of their skin, and the woman's cries of pleasure. 

"Yes, yes, yes... oh God, yes." 

Zion's dad's voice was low and rough as he whispered, 

"You're so tight, so wet... I love fucking you like this."

The woman's response was a sob of pleasure, 

"I love it when you talk dirty to me... it makes me come so hard." 

I felt like I was going to be sick. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, what I was seeing. Zion's dad, a man I had respected and admired, was cheating on his wife, and I had stumbled upon it. 

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the sounds, but they only seemed to get louder. The woman's moans grew more intense, and I could hear the sound of the shower turning on, the water pounding against the tile as they... 

I needed to get out.

My breath hitched as I slowly, carefully, crawled out from beneath the desk, every movement deliberate, terrified that even the slightest sound would draw their attention.

My hands trembled as I pushed up onto my feet, legs shaky beneath me. The door felt miles away, but I forced myself toward it, step by step, heart pounding like a war drum in my chest.

And then—I ran.

Bolting from the room, I didn’t stop, didn’t dare look back. I just ran, feet barely touching the ground as I tore down the hallway. My mind raced, my stomach churning at what I'd just seen. 

I was so caught up in my panic that I didn't see him. 

I crashed straight into a solid chest. 

Strong hands gripped my arms, steadying me before I could fall. 

Zion. 

His brows pulled together as he looked down at me, amusement flickering in his dark eyes. 

"You do know how hide and seek works, right, Snowflake?" He smirked, shaking his head. 

"You're supposed to be hiding, not running straight into me." 

I couldn't speak. 

I just stared up at him, breathless, shaken, my mind still reeling. 

Because how the **hell** was I supposed to tell Zion what I had just seen? 

His dad, with another woman, in the bathroom... it was like a bomb had gone off in my brain, and I didn't know how to process it.

Without thinking, I grabbed Zion’s hand and yanked him along with me, my grip tight, desperate.

“Snowflake?” he protested, stumbling slightly as I dragged him through the hallway. 

“Where are we going?”

I didn’t answer. 

My mind was still reeling, my stomach twisting in knots. I just kept pulling him with me until we reached the furthest corner of the house.

Only then did I finally stop, my chest heaving, my fingers still clenched around his wrist like a lifeline. 

"Snowflake." Zion's voice was sharp, breathless from the chase, his free hand gripping my shoulder. 

"You look like you just saw a ghost or something."

I did.

Or worse.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry, my mind screaming at me to shut up and not say it. But my heart was louder. My heart was still hammering with the image of what I had seen.

"I-" My voice cracked. 

"I saw something."

His brows pulled together, confusion flickering in his dark eyes. 

"Saw what?"

I sucked in a breath, my hands shaking as I pulled away. 

"Your dad," I whispered, barely able to force the words out. 

"I was hiding in the office, under the desk. I didn't know anyone was in there, and then-" I broke off, my stomach twisting. How the hell was I supposed to say this?

Zion's brows furrowed. 

"And then what?" His voice was lower now, quieter, 

I hesitated. 

"I saw him," I forced out, my voice shaking. 

"With a woman. They were..." I swallowed, shaking my head. 

"They were...naked...."

For a second, he just stared at me.

And then everything changed.

His hands clenched into fists, his jaw tightening so hard I thought it might snap. 

“Shut up, Snowflake.” His voice was cold, cutting—nothing like the boy I knew.

I flinched, my breath hitching. 

“Z, I swear, I—”

“I said shut up!” His roar cracked through the air like a whip, his eyes burning with something I couldn’t place—disbelief, betrayal… desperation.

"You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about."

"But I saw—"

"No, you didn’t!" He took a step toward me, towering over me, his whole body trembling with fury. His nostrils flared, his chest rising and falling in heavy, uneven breaths.

"My dad would never do that. Ever. Do you hear me?" His voice shook, but his conviction didn’t waver. 

"He loves my mom. He would never—never—betray her like that."

I swallowed, but he wasn’t done.

"He’s a good man, Winter. The best. He wouldn’t throw away his family like that. You must’ve seen someone else—you had to." His voice cracked slightly, but he refused to let doubt slip through. 

"Because if you’re saying what I think you are, then you’re lying. And I don’t want to hear it."

Tears burned behind my eyes. I had never seen him like this before. 

Never.

"It's the truth," I whispered, my voice barely there. 

"I saw them, Z."

His hands came up to his head, gripping his hair, shaking his head violently. 

"No." He sucked in a breath, eyes locking onto mine, burning with something so raw it made my stomach drop. 

"You don't ever repeat this. To anyone. Ever."

"Z..."

He pointed a finger at me, his whole body rigid. 

"If you ever say a word about this, we're done." His voice was ice, sharp and unrelenting.

"But...." 

Zion suddenly grabbed my wrist, his grip firm-too firm. My pulse pounded beneath his fingers as he yanked me closer, forcing me to look at him.

"Promise me, Snowflake." His voice was low and sharp, like a blade pressed to my throat.

"Swear you won’t ever repeat this lie." His grip on my wrist tightened, his eyes burning into mine. 

"You made a mistake. Maybe it was Charles and Annette. They're married, they sneak around—but it wasn’t my dad."

His eyes burned into mine, and for the first time, I wasn't sure if I was looking at my best friend or someone else entirely.

"Zion... you're hurting me."

His grip tightened for a fraction of a second before his gaze flickered down, realization dawning in his eyes as he saw his fingers locked around my wrist in a bruising hold. His jaw tensed, his breathing ragged.

Then, finally, he let go.

I stumbled back, cradling my wrist, my pulse pounding so hard it felt like my heart was trying to escape my ribs.

Zion exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair before levelling me with a look so intense it made my stomach twist.

"You didn't see my dad," he said, his voice low and sharp. 

"You saw someone else. Understand."

I shook my head, my pulse pounding in my ears. 

"But Zion, I know what I saw-"

"No!" His voice cracked, and he dragged in a shaky breath. 

"You were scared; you ran too fast; maybe you didn't get a good look." 

I opened my mouth, but he cut me off, shaking his head violently. 

"It wasn't him, Snowflake."

"But I-"

"No!" His voice cracked like a whip, his eyes flashing with something wild.

"Promise me."

I blinked up at him, my throat dry. "What?"

His grip tightened. "Promise me you’ll never repeat this to anyone," he hissed.

I parted my lips, but the words lodged in my throat.

Zion exhaled sharply, his voice lowering,  

His eyes bore into mine, raw with desperation and fury. 

"My dad wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t. And my mom—if she ever heard something like this, it would destroy her."

His entire body was wound tight, a storm barely contained. One wrong word, one wrong move, and I knew he would break.

I swallowed hard, my heart slamming against my ribs. 

"I promise," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

His grip loosened, but his gaze stayed on me, searching, demanding. "Say it again."

"I promise, Z. I won’t say a word."

Only then did he let go, his shoulders still heaving, his jaw still locked. 

"Good," Zion murmured, his voice low and unyielding. 

Zion's fingers brushed against my cheek, the touch deceptively gentle, yet his eyes burned with something dark, something unyielding.

"If you ever break your promise, Snowflake…" His voice was soft, almost tender, but laced with quiet danger. His thumb traced my cheekbone, a stark contrast to the warning in his tone. 

"I’ll make you regret it."

His gaze locked onto mine, unwavering. "So don’t betray me. Don’t betray us."

The weight of his words settled in my chest, cold and suffocating. Because I knew—this wasn’t just a threat.

It was a promise.

He needed to hear me say it. To believe it.

Zion was my best friend. And his pain… his desperation… it was real.

"...I won’t," I whispered, the words barely escaping my lips. "It wasn’t him."

He took a step back, exhaling sharply, but his eyes never left mine. 

"Good, But remember if you ever go back on your word… if you ever bring this up again…" He tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. 

"You won’t like what happens next."

It wasn’t just a warning. It was a promise laced with something far more dangerous.

Or the first time, I wasn’t sure what scared me more—keeping his secret…

Or losing him.