[BL] CRAVING HIM: Addicted to His Voice-Chapter 369: Time, Love, and Understanding

~Zayn’s POV~

"I... uh..." I scrambled for a lie, my fingers curling hard around the edge of the table. "It’s the... the gym!"

"The gym?" Liana frowned. "You’ve been busy lately."

"Yes," I said quickly. "I watched some workout videos, then did a bit of personal training last night before I went to sleep."

My father raised an eyebrow, looking entirely unconvinced. "Lunges? You look like you sat on a cactus, son."

"It was a lot of training, Dad," I squeaked, slowly lowering myself back onto the chair, one agonizing centimeter at a time. "World-class training. You wouldn’t understand."

Liana giggled, shaking her head. "Well, remind me never to work out on my own. If I went that intense, I’d just be crying!"

I cleared my throat, taking a huge, distracting gulp of orange juice to hide my burning face. "You have no idea, Liana. No idea at all."

"Well," my father said, leaning back as he watched me. "Those must have been some very intense lunges."

"Very intense, Father," I replied, trying to keep a straight face. "You wouldn’t want to go through a session like that?"

My father chuckled softly. "Sure... but I definitely never want to go through it." He looked at me with a strange glint in his eyes, an expression I couldn’t quite read, almost as if he knew exactly what kind of ’workout’ I’d been doing.

I quickly changed the topic before I turned into a puddle of embarrassment. "Anyway, how are you feeling today, Dad?"

"Getting better," he said, his voice stronger. "I can feel the strength coming back."

"That’s good to hear," I said, setting my glass down. "Because I’m leaving today. Evric is coming to pick me up."

I lifted my gaze to him, my expression turning firm. "After I’m gone, I want you to keep taking your medication—no skipping. Get as much rest as you can, and don’t stress yourself."

Then I turned to Liana. "I’m trusting you with this. Please watch over him and make sure he behaves."

I was in the middle of giving them both a stern lecture when my phone vibrated. I glanced at the screen; it was Evric. "I have to take this," I said, excusing myself and heading back to my room.

"Good morning, babe," Evric’s voice came through as soon as I picked up.

"Morning, baby," I replied, but my smile faded as he continued.

"Listen, Zayn, I won’t be able to come with the driver to pick you up. I’m sending him alone."

I frowned, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Why? Is everything okay?"

"I just have a mountain of work to deal with today," he sighed. "There’s so much to do before the wedding."

"I can wait until tomorrow," I suggested. "I don’t mind staying one more day if it means we can drive back together."

"No, I’ll still be busy tomorrow," he said quickly.

"What if I wait until you’re free? A few days won’t matter."

"Zayn, I have a lot of work. Just follow the driver."

I felt a pang of frustration. "But I want you... I haven’t seen you in..."

"Stop," he said, his tone firm. "Just follow my driver."

"You’re too busy for me now? Even before our wedding?" I muttered, feeling a bit hurt.

"Babe, I just told you, I’m busy."

"Fine," I snapped, my stubborn side taking over. "Don’t bother sending your driver. I’ll find my own way back."

"Zayn, why are you being stubborn?"

"Because it’s you I want to see first! Don’t you get it? Please, don’t just send a driver here alone. Come with him."

"The driver is coming by himself, and you’re going to follow him in that car. Understood?"

I sighed, defeated. "Okay. Fine."

We talked for a few more minutes before he hung up. I walked back out to the living room to finish my goodbyes. "I’m going to gather my bags. Evric’s driver is already on the way."

"That’s good," my father said. "I’ll use the opportunity to thank Evric in person for everything."

"Actually, Dad... Evric isn’t coming. He’s just sending the driver."

My father paused, then nodded slowly. "I see. Okay."

I went back to my room, changed into fresh clothes, and finished packing. Barely ten minutes later, my phone rang. It was the driver; he was already outside the gate. I was stunned. That was incredibly fast. I hadn’t even given Evric the address yet, and he hadn’t mentioned the driver was that close.

I stepped outside with my bags, looking at my father. "Did you send Evric the address?"

He offered a slight, knowing smile. "I did."

"Oh, okay. Well, the driver’s already at the gate." My father nodded and dialed the security number, instructing them to let the car in.

I turned to my father, giving him one last long, meaningful look. "I’ll call you the second I get home," I promised. "And I mean it, Dad, don’t forget a single thing I told you. No stress, no skipping meds."

He smiled, a bit of that old paternal warmth returning to his eyes. "I won’t forget, Zayn. I promise." He started to follow me down the stairs to see me off, but I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "No, stay inside. It’s chilly. Just get some rest."

I picked up my luggage and stepped down the front stairs. The driver was already there, scurrying over to take my bags from my hands with a polite nod. I kept my eyes on the house, waving at my father and Liana as they stood by the door.

Still waving, I reached for the back door handle, opened it, and moved to slide inside. But as I turned my head to settle into the seat, my heart nearly stopped.

Evric was sitting there, leaning back against the leather with a smug, gorgeous smirk on his face. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

I froze for a split second, my hand still clutching the door frame. I wanted to sulk, to be angry that he’d lied to me on the phone, but the moment my eyes met his, all my resolve melted. I lunged into the car, throwing my arms around his neck and burying my face in his shoulder.

"You’re such a liar!" I muffled against his coat. "Why did you tell me you weren’t coming? I was actually upset!"

Evric chuckled, his arms wrapping around me and pulling me firmly onto his lap. "I wanted to surprise you, baby. Did it work?"

"I hate you," I whispered, even as I leaned in to kiss his face. The words meant nothing against the way I melted into him. Our mouths met in a long, deep kiss that felt like a homecoming.

Evric finally pulled back, just enough to meet my eyes. The warmth in his expression faded into something more serious.

"I wanted to test you," he admitted. "But honestly, I wasn’t impressed with how you reacted on the phone. You need to understand this, Zayn, I’m a businessman. I can’t always drop everything and walk out of the office. I’ve already been absent far too much these past two months. Try to understand, babe."

I pulled back a little more, a tiny frown creasing my brow. "But... you promised you’d always make time for me."

"And part of having time for you is being thoughtful enough to arrange for someone to bring you back safely," he countered gently, tucking a stray hair behind my ear. "Just because I’m not physically there doesn’t mean I’m not thinking of you or taking care of you."

I looked at him for a moment, then sighed, the logic winning out. "Okay. I understand."

Evric pulled me back into his chest, his voice dropping to a soft, sincere rumble. "You mean everything to me, Zayn. But you have to understand that I won’t always be able to show up every single time. It doesn’t mean I love you any less." He leaned in and kissed the tip of my nose. "Okay?"

"Okay," I whispered.

"Good. Now, kiss me properly."

I didn’t need to be told twice. I leaned in and kissed him with everything I had, a slow, lingering promise of what was to come once we were finally home.

After a moment, Evric gave me a gentle nudge. "Stay here. I need to properly greet your father before we head out."

He stepped out of the car, looking every bit the powerful, composed man he was as he walked up to the mansion. From my seat, I couldn’t hear a word of their conversation, I could only watch. Evric shook my father’s hand, nodding as he listened, responding with calm gestures and measured expressions. They spoke for a few minutes before finally exchanging farewells.

Evric waited until my father had turned and gone back inside the house before he pivoted and walked back toward the car.

When he returned and climbed back in beside me, he gave the driver a nod. The car pulled away from the estate, and as the...