Crises in Love (Zora and Jaylan)

Chapter 39

When I finally dragged myself through the front door, Jaylan was in the middle of an argument with

Zora. He stopped abruptly at the sight of me, surprise etched on his face.

I didn't even bother to take off my shoes before I collapsed onto the couch, kicked off my sneakers and

sprawled out, gasping for breath.

The short walk from the entrance of our residential community had felt like a marathon, and it was a

miracle that I made it home at all.

Jaylan strode over to me, his eyes wide with disbelief. "What happened to you? And your hair...?"

I ran a hand through my freshly cut pixie, shrugging nonchalantly. "What's wrong with it? It saves me

from dealing with hair fall."

I knew Jaylan wasn't a fan of women with short hair. Back when he was a stylist, he never did short

hairstyles. He'd initially been drawn to me because of my long, lustrous locks that fell right down to my

waist. But that was a long time ago; my hair was now dull and lifeless, more straw than silk.

Jaylan stared at me for a long while before turning on his heel and heading upstairs. I couldn't help but

smirk. Who was he to dictate my choices? From this point forward, I decided, it was either him or me.

Zora, seeing Jaylan heading upstairs, came over with Carl in her arms. Her face was a mixture of worry

and anger. "My lady, why did you leave the house? When did you leave? Who let you?"

Her barrages of questions were clearly the result of pent-up frustration from the argument with Jaylan.

Oh, and there were five clear handprints on her face. Looks like someone had gotten a good slap. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I could barely contain my laughter.

"What were you doing out there?" she asked, just as Jaylan came back downstairs with a blanket.

I fixed her with a cold stare, making no attempt to mask my irritation. "I left when you were asleep. Is it

a crime now for me to step out of my own house? Do I need to ask your permission to leave? Even if I

wanted to tell you, I failed to wake you up! Can't you see what I did while I was out? Are you accusing

me, Zora?"

Caught off guard by my retort, Zora could only stare. She glanced nervously at Jaylan, who was now

making his way towards us, and took a step back. Then, her face broke into a forced smile as she tried

to explain. "My lady, I didn't mean it like that, I was just..."

"I don't care if you were sleeping or not," I cut her off, "but next time, don't speak to me in that tone.

You've been here long enough to know your place, haven't you?" I continued, "And if you're struggling

with work, I can hire another housekeeper. You're not here to criticize me."

I then turned to Jaylan. "Did you instruct her to not let me leave the house? And don't tell me it's

because of my health! That's no excuse to deny me my freedom!"

"Jaylan, we need to send Carl to a daycare," I added, "and hire a proper cook. Zora is overworked, and

she deserves a break."

Zora's face turned white. She quickly stepped forward. "My lady, I'm sorry... I was worried about you.

You disappeared all of a sudden, and Jaylan was very upset. I was just concerned for your safety,

especially considering your health..."

I gave her a thin smile. "It's alright, Zora. I won't hold it against you."

I then turned to Jaylan, who was now covering me with the blanket. "Jaylan, I think I need to see a

doctor about my scalp."

"What happened?" Jaylan asked, with concern on his face.

"The hairdresser took a photo and told me there might be an issue," I explained, pulling out my phone

and showing him the picture.