Zoya’s P.O.V
“I'm sorry,” I began. “You didn’t need to see all that. The last thing I wanted was for you to get involved in my drama.”
"I didn't like seeing them bully you," he said nonchalantly, shrugging his broad shoulders like it was no big deal. "You didn’t involve me in anything; I just wanted to help."
I couldn't help but smile at him. He was such a kind and caring person. And I know that what he did was merely out of sympathy, but it still warmed my heart to know that both humanity and chivalry were still alive in this cruel world.
“My…ex-fiancé cheated on me with my cousin.” I told him the truth, taking a sip of my coffee, letting the scalding beverage take my mind away from the incident. “But somehow…I was blamed for not being able to keep him…not being able to be the perfect fiancé.”
I opened up to him about my insecurities and doubts, finding it incredibly easy to speak to him about my life. Maybe it was the fact that he had been my knight in shining armor or that he had stood beside me while talking back to Tania and Ravi…I didn’t know. All I did know was the fact that he made me feel at ease like I had never felt before. Not even with Ravi.
“I did not want any sexual relations before marriage,” I admitted to him, “even with my own fiancé. Trust me, it’s not because of some notion that I wanted to reserve my virginity until I was married or something like that. I just…wasn’t ready.”
I realized what I had said only after the words were already out.
Fuck! Did I just confess to this near-stranger that I was still a virgin?
But even if Ezra heard my words…he didn’t pay much attention to the fact. And it had relief flooding through my veins almost instantly. I didn’t know if he did it on purpose or if he didn’t want the situation between us to get awkward…but I was immensely thankful for his silence then.
“I…really don’t know when it started, my cousin and Ravi. All I know is that on the day that was literally the worst day of my life, I walked into my apartment that I shared with my cousin…and found them together in bed, naked and all.” I sighed, rubbing my fingers on my temple. “And I understand that men have their needs, so I also might have been partly at fault for the cheating and our breakup-”
“If anyone thinks that a cheating needs to be justified, then they’re the ones in need of a doctor.” Ezra sighed, cutting me off. “I knew something was off when they first approached us. Your cousin’s remarks kinda gave away that she had played a large part in the said ‘breakup’. But if I knew what had really happened, I wouldn’t have gone so easy on them.”
Ezra didn't let me wallow in self-doubt and it was something I was incredibly grateful for. “It's not your fault at all, Zoya. Cheaters will always be cheaters. Don’t let one bad experience make you doubt yourself. You're an amazing person, Zoya," he said, placing his hand over mine where it rested on the table. "Don't let anyone make you think otherwise. You deserve a lot more that what he had to offer you."
His words made my heart swell with gratitude. It gave me a shocking realization that in a few instances, I had opened up to him in a way I could never even open up to my family.
All this time, while my mother made me feel like I was lacking something that drove my fiancé away from me; while Tania and Ravi made me feel like my morals and my wants were the reason why I was now left with no one by my side…I had never actually stopped to think that I may not be the problem.
That I may just be the actual victim who was just being blamed for the shitty things that others were doing just to feel validated.
Ezra seemed to be the first person to have pointed that out.
He understood me, understood my perils like no one ever had. This new friendship that I was creating with him, it seemed much more meaningful to me than any friendship I had created my entire life.
“Thank you.” I told him gratefully, my heart swelling from the weight of all the emotions. “For reminding me.”
“Anytime.” He smiled. “If you ever forget just awesome you are, let me help remind you. You save lives for a living and you never once let your patient’s down.”
He removed his hand after a light squeeze, and I felt the loss of the heat almost immediately. But I was glad that he had done as much, held my hand when I needed it the most. He had done way more than my fake friends ever had when I was still working at the New York City Hospital. And it brought on a sharp contrast to the life I was living now vs. the life I had when I was still in the city.
Even though this city was bustling with energy, the life I had here had never been warm or comforting. But the warmth I had felt in the last few days after moving to the Sapphire Mountains? That had been an eye-opener.
They had welcomed me with open arms and I had felt the warmth of their friendship even when I had known all of them for only a couple days.
Ezra and I ate in comfortable silence as our food arrived, occasionally commenting about the difference between the prices of the food in the city and in the mountains. There was no awkwardness between us, not even after I had bared my heart to him and shown my scars.
He hadn't trampled on them. Rather, he had offered a helping hand that felt like the start of my journey towards healing. In a blink of an eye, everything between me and Ezra had changed.
He was no longer the man who seemed to hate my guts two days ago. He was my new friend, my hero, my knight in shining armor that had a potential to become something more.