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3rd POV
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"Is he worth it?"

Annie took a sharp inhale, subduing the tears stabbing the back of her eyes as she watched a sad and sobbing Sara tend to Z/Jack's wounds on the large screen in her office.
Standing next to the closest friend she had, she let out the breath she had been holding in, relaxing all the muscles in her body as well.

"Why can't you let it go? You know too well that WSG would never let him live after the huge losses he caused the-"

"He's alive!" Annie cried out, suddenly offended by Paul's ever-discouraging statements. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second, then gazed up at the screen...at the unconscious Zack.

"And you think that this bastard will give up anything helpful? If you ask me, he-"

"I don't want to hear it!"
Her fierce glare was quickly dashed at him, before the rest of her body turned to him. "I'll wait for him for as long as I can. He'll come home, he will." Her tone made Paul's heart clench. He could detect the desperate hope she was trying so hard to cling to. He could see the pain ever present in her brown eyes whenever anything related to Jack was brought up.

He wondered, how could she love someone so deeply.
But the answer lay in his own heart as well.
Even though he had gotten himself a girlfriend, Annie was still the woman Paul could see whenever he fucked her. It was unhealthy, toxic even. And yet...

"What if he never-"

"Paul?!" She called firmly. "Could you please, for the love of God, just stop tormenting me? I finally have a lead. Zack will eventually slip. I'll make sure he spills every detail of that night."

They shared a moment of pure silence, just searching in each other's eyes for a truth neither of them had. He looked away first, unable to bear the weight of diving in too deep in her eyes. His love and longing for her still burned in his heart, a fire that had burned for years, slowly growing with the hope of Annie realizing that she had no future with Jack.

He was waiting for her to 'come to her senses'.

Paul nodded wearing a brief smile.
"Okay. I'm sorry... I...I just don't want you to keep waiting for..." His own sigh cut in in his words.

Annie looked away as well, ignoring the yearning glow that had filled Paul's eyes a moment ago. She knew that he still liked her more than just friends, but she couldn't afford to lose him. He was the only person who had helped her in her dark times.
He had allowed her to use him for her vengeance. It made her feel selfish whenever she looked back.
She, took away Paul's college life and dragged him deep in the underworld with her.

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The sound of wine pouring in a glass was the only thing that could be heard in the brightly lit office.
After monitoring Z/Jack And Sara for ten minutes without any useful conversation from the other side, Annie had turned off the screen and opted to have a drink with Paul instead.

He sat on one of the gray couches facing the large glass wall. From his position, he could see the busy streets and other towering buildings close by.
If he squinted his eyes enough, he would be able to catch sight of the tree tops standing tall in the city park.

The view was calming, especially how attractive the crimson sky appeared.
The silence.
The sight.
They all made him slip out of reality and unknowingly, dozed off.

Annie came around holding two glasses of wine, but seeing Paul sound asleep, she backed smiling to herself.
At least her was displaying signs of fatigue given how hard he had been working. That was enough to forgive him of his constant negativity towards Jack's reappearance.

Walking back to her desk, she chugged one of the two glasses and then set both on the desk.
With Paul asleep and no work, she decided to check on Z/Jack. There was a strange pull she had felt towards him. But she had dismissed it as the need to end his useless life.

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He laid on a small bed, just enough to accommodate at least two people.
The bandage was fresh and unstained, indicating that Sara had changed it as well, what a caring girlfriend.
It irritated Annie even more seeing him look so pitiful. So innocent. So, attractive.

She wanted to destroy his face so he would cease carrying around Jack's dashing appearance.

She picked up his hand, saw the bandage around the finger she had broken.
"She indeed does love you," Annie murmured dropping his hand.

With hatred darkening her eyes, she circled the bed, stopping on the other side.
Her right hand moved over the swollen whip marks all over his abdomen and chest, making her heart shake a little.
"You disgust me so much. And yet..." The hand slid up to his face and cupped his jaw gently. "I can't stop doubting whether you're the Zack I met," she whispered lowering her face down to his.

Keenly, Annie observed Z/Jack's every feature, from his hairline, to his short beard, and finally, his lips.
"I'd give fate anything as long as time and people could be reversed. I wish it was Jack who had shown up and not you."
She paused to shut her eyes, pushing back the hot tears threatening to break loose.

He may have looked a lot like Jack, but there was no connection between them other than hatred and vengeance.

Staring at his calm face, she lost concentration and her alert sense quietly shut down, making her miss the hand that suddenly jerked up, grasping her wrist.
The attack came suddenly and silently.
One second she was standing on the floor, the next she was swinging through the air before being subdued by two strong arms.

The air in her lungs was locked in by her lack of breathing to counter Z/Jack's grip.
The scuffle had them roll off of the bed and  thudding on the floor carelessly.
Z/Jack let out a rasped grunt after cushioning Annie's fall unwillingly. But that didn't hold him back. He fought against the strong tiny woman and finally managed to pin her under him with her wrists above her head and his body buried between her legs to prevent her from attacking him with her knees.

Her breathing hiked according to the pounding of her heart just like that of the man glaring down at her dangerously.

"Surprised?"

"Not really," she said in a strained breath.

"Good. Now that I have you under control, you will do as I say."

Annie scoffed mockingly.
"Are you dumb or just-"

"Shh!" He smirked pressing a finger on her lips. "I can kill you right now and save the world from a maniac like yourself," Z/Jack whispered.

She quickly shook off his finger from her face to hiss, "Do it! Neither you nor Sara will leave here alive."

Z/Jack chuckled looking straight into her eyes. "She's not my problem."

"They're watching. They'll storm into this room any second." But she knew too well that nobody was monitoring this damned room. Not after she asked them to turn off all the cameras.
Yet somehow, a strange voice was whispering that he wouldn't dare hurt her.
Whether true or not, she still wanted to play the game safely.

"Killing me won't stop Dark Shadows from fighting WSG."