Pieces Of Love

♡ Chapter 23 ♡

As the evening wore off and their time at the amusement park came to an end. Zaria dropped the kids back at the hotel, and Aubreyanne had to drop Kathy off who immediately told her moms all about her new friends.

"You two are lucky I didn't kill you today" Zaria had said as she turned to the two teens when Zach and Madi took the toddlers upstairs.

"We were just trying to help your love life," Oliva told her teasingly as Alex nodded along.

Zaria scoffed at them. "What love life? There's nothing between me and my boss" She sighed.

"Oh, your boss. Makes it even more interesting. Workplace romance"

Alex too ignored his sister's comment. "You definitely have feelings for her. I can feel it, and my gaydar is never wrong" He said shaking his head.

"Whatever you say" Zaria chuckled as she ruffled this golden hair then Olivia's fiery one. "Now go up and get some rest"

After she bid them goodbye and promised to come to visit before they left the next morning, Zaria headed back to her apartment. Just as she began heading up the steps to her apartment when her phone began to ring and she fished it out from her bag and keys to unlock the door.

"Hey, Aubreyanne. Everything ok?" She asked fitting the key into the lock.

There was shuffling on the other side before Aubreyanne spoke. "Sorry...I uh I wanted to ask-" She paused and sighed. Zaria just decided to give her a moment as she pushed open the door. "Are you home already?"

"Yea I just got into my apartment why?" Zaria asked setting the keys on the table as she shut the door behind her.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out for boba...I saw a twenty-four-hour coffee shop that opened next to the park on my run a few weeks ago and I haven't tried it out so I was thinking- Oh but if you already have plans since I forgot to ask earlier it's fine"

Zaria softly chuckled. Aubreyanne had taken what she'd said to heart and listen and remembered every time. "No, it's fine. I'd love to get boba"

"We can meet at the park then walk together," Aubreyanne said sounding lighter.

Zaria nodded. "Alright. I'll grab a coat and meet you there" She said before hanging up.

She decided to walk to the park since it wasn't far and soon enough she stood in the cold night air surrounded by all the city lights. The park was basically empty when she arrived and she spotted Aubreyanne seated under a big tree towards the center of the park.

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting long," Zaria said as she approached the bench.

AUbreyanne smiled at her, bundled up in a cream-colored coat. "No, not at all. I ended up stopping by the boba shop to save us the journey" She said stretching out her hand Zaria was surprised but thankfully took the boba with a smile.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while as they slowly sipped their boba tea. "So how are you doing...really?" Zaria asked. her voice was low but in the dead of the night around them Aubreyanne had no trouble catching it.

"Well, I will admit it feels pretty shitty to know he was only with me for the business benefit," Aubreyanne said and Zaria nodded as if she knew this. "He planned to propose, we get married, sign a prenup, and divorce so he takes shares of the company completely for him"

Aubreyanne tilted her head upwards to look at the sky through the branches. "I found texts on his phone from his friends. Talking about how he was crazy for actually trying to pull it off. But other than that...he was very toxic. Like he tried to make me cut off everyone else from my life to focus on him" She said turning her head back down.