The Inheritance Game

❃7❃

"Soo... what about your Mum?" I inquired while unpacking the boxes Zayn had carried into our new 'home'.

"Well, considering your parents have covered this house for an entire year, not much will change. And at least Sunshine will have both her parents under one roof, so you can't complain about being a single parent anymore," he replied, giving me a playful wink, causing me to send him an unimpressed look. Leaning down, he scooped up Sunshine, who had been curiously sniffing around the boxes. "Isn't that right, Sunshine?"

Sunshine responded with a soft paw on his chest, making adorable purring noises as Zayn held her close for a moment before setting her down. She meowed, rubbing against Zayn's legs affectionately before darting off to explore the rest of the room. "Which room is ours?"

"Ours?" I squeaked, the word catching in my throat. "Did you forget about our rules?" I moved to grab a box but my foot caught on another one, I stumbled, arms flailing, before landing with a soft thud on the floor. Zayn let out a chuckle, which only fueled my embarrassment. I huffed as I got up, dusting off my designer clothes as I glared at him. "We're sleeping in separate rooms."

"Come on." He tilted his head to the side, stepped closer until there was barely any space between us. "I would sleep a lot better with you in my arms every night," he purred, his voice low and suggestive, yet tinged with a teasing edge.

I searched his eyes for a moment, and found what I was looking for. There was a flicker of amusement dancing in his gaze that told me this was him playing with me yet again. It was like we were in some kind of ongoing game, constantly trying to one-up each other and see who could outsmart and make a fool of the other. And right now, it was pretty obvious Zayn was trying to pull a fast one on me. I could practically see the invisible sign hanging above his head that read, 'Gotcha, Liam!' Rolling my eyes at his antics, I stepped aside, not about to let him win this round. "Nice try, but I'm not falling for your fake flirting anymore." With a shrug, I turned my attention back to the task at hand.

Zayn let out a low whistle, shaking his head in mock disappointment as his eyes followed me. "Damn, that usually works on the ladies."

"I'm no lady," I retorted back. "And as a punishment for misgendering me, I'm taking the room with the balcony." With that declaration, I grabbed hold of one of my suitcases and began rolling it into the room, making my decision final.

Zayn chuckled at my response. "I knew you'd take that room," he said before turning to head to his own room. Just before disappearing behind the door, he added with a grin, "Oh, and there's a surprise waiting for you in there."

I raised an eyebrow at Zayn's cryptic comment but decided to focus on settling into my new room. As I pushed the door open, my eyes immediately landed on the bed, where neatly folded barista hat, shirt, and apron laid. I furrowed my eyebrows.

These were Zayn's, weren't they?

"Zayn? Why are your uniforms in my room?" I called out, turning to look at him as he left his room and approached mine.

He leaned against the doorframe with a smirk playing on his lips. "I'm sorry. Did you forget the one rule I had during this agreement?"

My eyes widened with realisation. "Does that mean..."

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

"You should be ashamed of yourself for making a guy as fabulous and handsome as me work!" I wiped away my fake tears dramatically.

I couldn't believe I was decked out in one of those hideous barista uniforms. I mean, come on! Aren't I the CEO here? Why can't I wear whatever I want?

"There's a handsome guy here?" Zayn looked around the empty shop, and laughed at my annoyed expression, making me seriously consider kicking him in the balls.