Bloom stayed mute and stared into space like she was in a trance. She could see Mr. Grayson's lips moving but she couldn't hear anything. It felt like her soul left her and only her flesh was standing there frozen in space.

She pushed every thought away and tried not to think about anything. It was better this way, she wasn't ready to feel the pain.

"I'm really sorry, Bloom. I got the news this morning and I know he was like a brother to you. I have a feeling your dad is responsible for his death." Mr. Grayson said but got no reaction from her.

"Take all the time you need to grieve and if you need anything let me know." He told her touching her arm, but still got no reaction from her.

"Bloom," Zayn called noticing how still she was, there were no tears in her eyes or any sign of pain.

"Hey," he whispered taking her hand but she only met his eyes and looked away.

"She will be fine, I will call Max to take her to her room and keep an eye on her. At the main time, we need to talk." Mr. Grayson said and gestured for Max to come in.

"I can't leave her like this, she is in pain," Zayn argued.

"She will be fine, she has friends here to comfort her."

"Seriously? I get that you want that asshole gone as much as every one of us but I need to be with her, not my friends."

"We don't have much time, remember our deal?" Mr. Grayson reminded him.

"I have been keeping to my end of the deal and I only ask for a day or two to be sure she is okay."

"Max will keep an eye on her and he will tell you everything you need to know." Mr. Grayson said.

"Do you even care about her or how she is feeling right now? She has gone through so much because of that psychopath, her nanny who is like a mom to her is in a coma and the one person that she trusts and loves was just murdered. What do you think is going through her head right now? I don't want her to be alone." Zayn flipped with his hand clenched in anger. He tried to keep his voice down but failed.

"I do care about her and I feel sorry for everything that has happened to her. Don't forget who calls the shot here."

"She needs me and I wanna be here for her, I need you to trust me. I'm still working on it, it will be done soon." Zayn said calmly.

"The last time I trusted you, people got killed and expensive weapons were seized."

"I'm not changing my mind, I'm sorry," Zayn said and took Bloom's arm. He guided her out of the office knowing the consequences of what he was doing. If Mr. Grayson was going to take back his word about protecting her, he would do anything possible to keep her safe.

He took her to her room and sat her down on the bed. She was still quiet and just stared into space like a lifeless being. He squatted in front of her, placing his hands on her knees.

"It's okay to cry, sunflower. You're human, it's okay to feel pain." He said rubbing her knees softly but got no reaction from her.

"Bloom?" He called and she looked down at his face.

"Cry it out, don't hold it back. I know you're hurting, it's only gonna kill you inside if you hold back." He said softly raising one hand to touch her cheek but she looked away. He knew silent tears held the loudest pain and he needed to get it out of her.

His phone beeped indicating a text, he stood up and picked up his phone. It was a text from Nicole asking what happened. He texted back telling her about Damian and the situation, soon there was a knock on the door.

He took a glance at Bloom, she was lying on the bed and staring at the white wall. He bit his lip and exhaled before going to open the door.

"Oh my God, Bloom," Nicole ran past him to the bed. The others walked in but he stopped Tyra.

"Why are you even here?" Zayn asked Tyra.

"Tell Bloom I say sorry for her loss." She said and walked away.

He shut the door and joined the others.

"Is she okay?" Liz asked as Nicole hugged Bloom and tried to assure her she was going to be fine.

"She is holding back, I have been trying to get her to cry it all out but..." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair to brush the stray curls covering his forehead back.

"Is there anything we can do to help, she is clearly in pain," Nicole asked pulling away from Bloom.

"I know someone who is really good in therapy," Taylor said.

"It's fine. Can you guys give us some time alone?" Zayn asked.

"Sure, call us if you need anything," Nicole said and moved closer to give him a hug.

"Thanks," he said hugging her back.

He watched them walked out of the door and locked it when the last person left. He turned to look at her and walked closer to the bed.

"Come on, sunflower, I know you can hear me." He groaned.

He stayed with her for almost an hour trying to get her to say something.

"Don't make me do this," he said with his arms folded on his chest.

"Please, say something."
He begged her.

He dropped his hands and took her hand. They left the room and he took her to the Antisam gym. He grabbed some boxing gloves and put it on for her. He took off his shirt and threw it on the bench at the corner.

"I want you to channel all the pain, every emotion, and hit this punching bag like it's the reason for all the shit you're feeling right now." He said standing behind the punching bag and holding it.

She stared at him like he wasn't making any sense but he was making progress.

"Come on, do it." He urged.

He smiled when she raised both hands and positioned her body so she could punch the bag.

"Picture that thing you're angry at, how angry do you feel? Imagine this punching bag is the reason for all the pain and anger, show it how angry you are."

He said and saw her expression harden as she stared at the punching bag. She sent the first blow.

"My girl doesn't punch like that, you can do better."

He said and she sent a harder blow.

"Again, let it all out."

Her jaw hardened and she fixed her dark gaze on the bag. She sent multiple blows to the bag not stopping to catch a breath.

"Damn! That's it, let it all out." He said holding the punching bag tightly.

She screamed as she sent each punch. He saw the tears, she kept screaming and punching nonstop.

"Okay, that's enough," he said but she didn't stop.

"Hey," he called letting go of the bag and grabbing her arm but she tried to push him away.

He put his arms around her and tried to calm her down, she stopped struggling and broke into deep tears.

"It's okay, cry it all out, don't hold back. I'm right here." He whispered stroking her hair. She didn't hold back, she cried for a long time till her head was aching and her eyes were swollen.

Zayn took her back to her room and tried to get her to eat something but she refused. He undressed her and bathed her. He wore her one of his clean shirts and dried her hair with a small towel.

He tucked her under the covers and stroked her hair soothingly to make her go to sleep.

"You're not going to leave, right?" She asked with her eyes closed.

He took a glance at the time and climbed the bed, he laid next to her and she snuggled closer.

"No, I'm right here." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and held her close.

"You promise?" She asked opening her eyes.

"I promise," he said with a smile.

There was a brief silence between them before she spoke again.

"You know, I was mad at Damian and refused to forgive him. He tried to talk to me but I was so angry and shut him out, now he is just gone." She said and stayed quiet.

"Oh my God he is gone and it's all my fault. If I had just listened to him or maybe I shouldn't have called him that night, I can't believe he is gone." She broke down again.

"Hey, it's not your fault. You didn't do anything, it was all your dad's fault."

He said pulling her into his arms, she buried her face in his neck and cried till she went to sleep.

He sighed in a low tone as he stared at her, she didn't deserve any of this. No one was worth every tear she shed, it hurt every time he saw her cry. He looked away and stared at the ceiling, he thought of her father and how he deserved the cruelest death. He just needed the perfect plan.

||

He brought her breakfast to eat the next day. She only ate the toasted bagel and drank some water.

"The guys are asking if they can come," Zayn told her.

"No, I'm not sure I wanna see them today. I just need more time to myself."

"Okay, you want me to leave?" he asked as he texted Nicole back.

"No!" She replied sharply.

"So what do you wanna do?"

He asked putting his phone away, he sat next to her on the bed with their backs resting on the wall behind them.

"I don't know, a part of me feels so empty." She said in a sad tone.

"How about we watch a movie? Romcom maybe or chick lit, choose."

She smiled at him. "Thank you for being here," she said resting her head on his shoulder.

"And I love sci-fi," she added and he shook his head in disapproval.

"No, people always die in sci-fi movies and you are grieving."

"Fine, romcom." She said rolling her eyes.

||

Bloom agreed to join the others in the cafeteria the next day to have dinner. Nicole pulled her into a tight hug immediately she saw her, Liz joined in the hug. She smiled and hugged them back.

She sat next to Tyra who didn't say a word to her.

"How are you?" Taylor asked.

"I'm getting to the last stage, acceptance I guess," she said and he smiled at her.

"I will be right back," Zayn whispered and left the cafeteria. Bloom watched him, scared she might not see him again. His company meant a lot to her, she didn't know how she would have handled the news without him.

Bloom looked relieved when Zayn returned but he looked annoyed. He smiled when he met her eyes. She stood up and told him they should return to her room, everything felt better in there with only two of them and she didn't want it to end yet. They told the others goodnight and left.

She held onto his arm as they walked down the empty hallway, she took a glance at his face. He looked worried but was trying not to show it.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I only went to see if I could speak to Mr. Grayson but he is very busy."

"Is this about the deal?" she asked.

"Kinda but it's been two days and no one has come at you, so I guess the deal is still on."

"You're not going to return to avoiding me again, are you?"

"No," he said with a genuine smile.

"You missed training this morning," Max said from behind them.

"I'm taking some days off, Mr. Grayson is aware of that," Zayn said and faced him.

"You could've at least showed up for one minute. I get that your girl is going through some stuff but don't forget you swore allegiance to this organization and..."

Bloom stepped forward and punched him on a pressure spot on the neck that knocked him out cold. He fell on the floor with a loud 'thud'

"His voice was starting to give me a migraine."

She said staring at his unmoving body. She looked behind her at Zayn, he looked impressed.

"How long is he going to be out?"

He asked putting one arm around her shoulder and pulling her away with him.

"An hour or two."

She locked the door immediately they entered her room. Zayn took a seat on the bed while she changed from the black jean and tank top to his t-shirt he gave her.

"How are you, for real?" He asked her as she slipped the shirt on.

She walked to where he was sitting and climbed on his lap, straddling him on the bed.

"Honestly, like shit but I will feel better when that devil is gone for good."

She said and sighed heavily. "It's so hard to believe Damie is gone and I never got to say goodbye or reconcile with him."

"I told you to stop putting the blame on yourself," he said placing one hand on her thigh.

"You know what I have learned?" She asked putting both hands around his neck.

"Value every moment and the people around you, you never know how important they are in your life till they are gone and it sucks that you're never getting them back."

"I learned that when I was 12." he said moving his hands to her waist, she gave him a sad smile.

"I'm really sorry about your pa..."

He pressed his lips against hers to stop her from finishing her sentence. He pulled her closer and bit on her lips softly till she opened her lips and returned every kiss.

She ran her fingers through his soft curls as she followed the movement of his lips. She missed being this close to him, she missed this feeling of safety and love.

He moved one hand to her head and brush his fingers through her silky hair. She moaned against his lips as his other hand gripped her hip. He pulled away and showered her with wet kisses from her chin to her neck, dragging her skin smoothly between his lips.

He wrapped one arm around her and dropped her on the bed, he moved his hips brazenly against hers and kissed her passionately. She tugged at his shirt so she could take it off, he pulled away and stared at her.

She reached to take his shirt off but he stopped her, she gave him a confused stare.

"We should stop, you're still grieving and I don't want us to rush our first time."

He whispered and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. He moved away and laid next to her.

"Wait, our? You're still a...you've never..." she stuttered not sure of what to ask.

He smiled and closed his eyes pretending to go to sleep. She stared him not sure she should believe him, there was no way he stayed a virgin just for her to be his first. Was she also his first kiss?

"You're really a virgin?' She asked leaning closer to his face till he could feel her warm breath on his face. He didn't say anything.

"Zayn?" she whispered poking him on the ribs.

"Do you have a stapler?" he asked opening his eyes.

"No? Why do you need a stapler?"

"To shut you up, I'm trying to sleep. I have training tomorrow," he grunted and closed his eyes.

She smiled and laid back on the bed, she blushed as she took a glance at him.

||

Bloom spent the day with the girls while Zayn trained the whole morning. Nicole tried to cheer her up by giving her a spa treatment.

"So, did Zayn tell you about his plan to capture your father?" Liz asked as she painted her nails.

"No, why?" Bloom asked.

"He won't tell us either, it seems is just between him and Mr. Grayson this time." Nicole frowned.

"Do you know when next Mr. Grayson is coming?" Bloom asked.

"I heard he will be here today. You wanna see him?" Liz replied.

"Yes, I have an idea that might work," Bloom replied.

"I'm sure Zayn can find a way to get you an appointment," Nicole told her.

There was a knock on the door, Tyra groaned before walking to the door.

"You," Tyra grumbled and walked away.

They all looked at the doorway at Max.

"Mr. Grayson is waiting for you," he said to Bloom and sent a wink to the others.

Liz and Nicole smiled at her, she wore a pair of fluffy slippers and followed him. It was like her wish was granted to her instantly.

"Where did you learn to hit like that? My throat is still hurting."

Max asked but Bloom only smiled at him. Mr. Grayson smiled at her when he saw her, he came to hug her.

"How are you dear?"

"Still on the recovery road."

"I was worried and wanted to see how you were doing."

"Thanks," she said with a smile.

"How is Aunt Matilda?"

"She is still in a coma, your Dad has the whole place guarded. He thinks you might come back to see her."

Bloom scoffed and shook her head.

"So, how are you planning on telling everyone the truth about that imbecile?" she asked.

"We are still working on that, we'll get him soon."

"What exactly are you planning to do?" Bloom pressed.

He hesitated at first but when he looked her in the eyes he decided to tell her.

"We have someone that's been trying to hack his phone so we can have access to his contacts, phone conversations, and emails. Hopefully, we'll have enough evidence to use against him. We almost had him last year, Zayn succeeded in hacking his email account but everything was wiped off before we could get anything."

"Are you gonna kill him?"

"We are not killers, Bloom. We only want justice. Once I have enough proof, I will send it anonymously to Congress."

"I have an idea, just an opinion though," she told him.

"Sure, go ahead."

"How about I go live, I will tell everyone the truth and the reason I ran away. I'm his daughter, people won't question my credibility."

"We'll still need some proof to go with it."

"Then I can do it after you gather enough evidence and send it to Congress. You can even publish it online, so everyone can see it."

She said and he smiled.

"That sounds good. I always knew you were smart, I love the idea."

"About the deal, you made with my boyfriend, I want..."

"It's fine, I shouldn't have done that. He should be there for you, my word remains the same about keeping you safe."

"Thank you."
She said with a big smile.

||

It was late in the night, Bloom and Zayn laid wide awake in bed talking about random stuff they found stupid.

"What did you and Mr. Grayson talk about?" He suddenly asked in the middle of their conversation.

"He was checking up on me."

"That was all?"

He asked kissing her neck, he kissed his way up to her ear lobe and nibbled on her skin.

"Tell me the truth, what did you talk about?"

He asked close to her lips.

"My Dad."

"Uh-hmm?"

He muffled against her neck.

"I wanted to know how you guys were planning to catch him...and...and I gave my own opinion and he liked it."

"What opinion?"

He asked propping himself up on one elbow to look at her face.

She stared at his lips and met his eyes in the dim room, she pushed herself up and took his lips between hers.

"We can talk about that tomorrow," she said pushing him back to the bed. He smirked and stopped her before she could kiss him again.

"Nice try, tell me."

He said in a demanding tone. She sighed and decided to tell him everything.

"I told you I don't want you to involve in any of this."

He said looking upset.

"But I can help, think about it, Zayn. People will believe me if it's coming from his own daughter who he kept hidden for years."

"You know I'm the head of this mission, right? It might seem safe to you but you could be a target. Your Dad won't hesitate to kill you."

"You're the one trying to hack his accounts."

"Yeah and I'm close," he said facing her.

"I can help, I know a few of his usernames. He has many but we might get lucky."

"Okay," he said and jumped down from the bed.

He grabbed his laptop and she came to sit next to him on the couch.

"Just tell me the usernames," he said placing the laptop on his lap.

They stayed up for an hour trying to get access to his accounts and messages. Bloom drifted off to sleep on the couch while Zayn was glued to the laptop not giving up.

"I got it," he said and took a glance at her.

"Hey," he whispered tapping her gently. She woke up with a scowl.

"I got in! The last username worked!"

"Really?" she sat up quickly.

"I'm transferring everything to my flash drive before it disappears."

"You did it!"

She exclaimed and jumped on him. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.