Of Him and Her
Chapter 7 – Of the Unfaithfulness
And it kills him inside
To know that I am happy
With some other guy
I can see him dying
"Ethan, are you sure?" But Zhen already knew the answer.
"Yes." He nodded, proving her right. "You should know I am."
"I don't understand you." Declan cut in from his seat in the far corner of the room. "You better of all know that an agent can't have a normal family!"
"That's exactly why I'm leaving the field job."
"But what about you career, man?" Luther came closer to look straight at his long-time partner. "Have you forgotten all the things you've been through to get what you have now?"
Ethan kept saying his explanations, even excuses sometimes, but Zhen caught herself not listening anymore. What scared her the most was not that her friend was leaving them but that for what he was leaving, abandoning them. For love, family, normal life. Would she be able to do this someday? And if no? Would she be a slave of her own job for the end of her days? That thought scared the hell out of her…
"Guys!" She called for the three auguring men. "Come on, save it. It seems like you've made up your mind…"
Ethan nodded, a sad smile playing on his lips. Zhen hugged him and he hugged her back, careful not to not to put pressure on her still sore ribs:
"Thanks."
That night the four agents went out for a little celebration. Although no one wished for Ethan Hunt, the best agent ever known to MIF, a friend and just a good guy to leave but it seemed like inevitable…
The club was packed with people. Some conversing behind the tables, others dancing on the dance floor. Some drunk, others sober.
Zhan and Declan took a place behind one of the tables while their friends went to get the drinks to one of the bars.
As Declan grew to realize that it was impossible for him to stay close to the slender Asian woman near him and not get the urge to touch the side of her face, caressing her flawless skin, he tried not to stay alone with her. It wasn't really hard because she just recently left the hospital wing. But now…she was so close…
"There you are!" They both turned to see Luther and Ethan with the glasses.
"To Ethan!" Zhen suggested, taking her cocktail.
"To Ethan!" Luther and Declan agreed while the man in the question shrugged, smiling 'thanks'.
"Sorry, miss…" The four of them turned to see an attractive man in his late twenties with dark hair, carefully styled with gel, and emerald eyes bend down to Zhen's level. "Can I have this dance?"
She looked at her friends unsure but reaching the Irishman's cerulean eyes, nodded and left with the man a second later.
"I'll go get another drink." Declan declared after another twenty minutes, he's lost Zhen in the crowd of dancers and wanted to resume the eye contact he's had.
Making his way through the large groups of people he felt some kind of an invincible force tug him into the other direction. He fallowed the call and found himself face to face with the picture he never in his life wanted to see…
In the dark corner of the huge club two figures were kissing passionately as if there was no tomorrow. Something the visitors did occasionally. But it wasn't what they were doing that stunned Declan, it was who the they were…
The eye contact was made and he knew she was looking straight into his eyes when the man she was dancing with only minutes ago started trailing kisses along her collarbone, holding her by the waist.
How could he be such a fool to let himself think that something changed between them after their capture a couple months ago? No…
Zhen knew he was watching. Hell, she started this act only because he was watching. She had to let him think that anything between them was impossible. And she did. Everything that could have happened shattered in front of her eyes.
Any emotion involved and you're burned. So is the one you're having those relationships with.
Yes, Luther's words kept playing in her head all through the night and then this voice inside her mind couldn't stop repeating them even afterwards…
And to feel her heart actually break…she thought it was just a figure of speech.
