Zarek didn't say anything for a long while, just standing there somewhat mutely, watching what was unfolding. He could immediately guess what had happened. It didn't take much of a genius, though. The fact Belladoll's body wasn't too far away painted all the picture he needed.
Beyond that, it was his experience that let him guess the rest. But that didn't mean that he knew what to do.
Zarek had already guessed that something like this might happen, but Priya's reaction was far fiercer than it should have been, and it didn't seem to be related to what he thought it would be about either.
If it was about him betraying her, then those matters would be amplified instead. But the way she was acting now…
Zarek knew Priya too well, and he knew that something someone else had done—even if that person was him—wouldn't get her to react like this.
She was a prideful woman down to her core, and he had watched her live a life without him before. She wasn't the sort of person who would break down like this even if he cheated on her.
It was more likely that she would find the most savage murder weapon she could to skewer him and whoever she was. Well, Belladoll's bisected corpse was enough proof of that.
*I see… was this their plan from the start?*
Priya wheezed and heaved for breath, trying to catch air that was seemingly all around her, and yet not there at all.
This wasn't a plan to break he and Priya apart. It was a plan to break Priya, to shred the foundation of who she was apart so that she could never become that woman.
It was vicious in ways that Zarek, quite honestly, didn't see coming. He was so focused on his and Priya's relationship and the guilt he weighed himself down with for how their past lives had gone, that he didn't expect things to go this way.
The deployment of Belladoll was especially clever. The entire time, he couldn't help but think that she was there to press the buttons he hated the most, not realizing that the whole time, she was nothing but a pawn.
They had even sent her and Crux here, happily sacrificing them while Zarek was none the wiser.
Being outmaneuvered was something Zarek rarely faced. He had been ready for everything—or so he thought.
Honestly, he had felt that Jiade was overplaying his hand. But it also made sense.
Jiade had always been a genius, and was one of the few people of this continent that could somewhat keep up with Zarek. But what he had always lacked was an understanding of emotion and socialization.
While he had all the talent and intelligence in the world, he functioned too rigidly on logic. He lacked flexibility; he didn't understand how people could make irrational moves for very rational reasons. And because of that, he always lost to Zarek.
When Zarek saw that Jiade was actually trying to use Priya against him, he actually felt that it was too little, too late. It was like watching a baby deer try to walk for the first time.
Jiade lacked the maturity and depth to understand that Priya and himself would likely come out stronger from his petty tactics, not weaker.
All of the worry Zarek held had almost nothing to do with Jiade in the first place, which was why he always planned to give Priya the Time Fractal to begin with.
But it seemed that Jiade's plan had a layer deeper than he was imagining.
*No. This is not Jiade.*
Zarek's gaze sharpened.
No one could fool him so thoroughly. He understood Jiade's character like the back of his hand, and that wasn't something that could be easily faked over four lifetimes and more than a millennia of time between them all.
*Suki.*
Zarek came to the conclusion instantly.
There was one thing that most people in the world had never understood: why did a man with all the talent in the world like Suki choose to follow someone else rather than raise up his own cohort?
Many thought he was using Jiade, and that made sense since Jiade was a Rebirther and Suki was not. There were advantages that Jiade would always have that Suki couldn't access without him.
If not for Jiade, how could Suki possibly plan all of this?
This felt like the most logical answer to Zarek as well. But now, he was starting to doubt it.
There was a deeper relationship between Suki and Jiade, one that was difficult to jump to because of the vast chasm between the two. Even now, knowing that it was likely Suki that had set this up, Zarek was still unable to jump to the conclusion.
---
"You really are worthless."
…
The words cut through Priya like a knife. Her head shot up, looking for Zarek, but she couldn't find him at all.
"After everything I've done for you, you end up in the same, sopping mess every time. I don't know what you don't understand. How many attempts do you need? How many different ways can I try to steer you for you to end up in the same pathetic corner?"
Priya began to hyperventilate. She didn't have a rebuttal for the words, but every syllable cut at her again and again.
"Why I bother is beyond me. Do you have any idea the number of women who've thrown themselves at me? There's royalty among them. There's more than one triple S Class Talent amongst them. A few pornstars I've been watching since I was a kid.
"I could have been DROWNING in pussy, I tell you, DROWNING. But I stayed loyal—for the most part—to you. What the hell was I thinking? Maybe I'm as retarded as your father anyway.
"They say girls with daddy issues usually fall in love with men that mirror him, but I didn't think that'd be an insult to me of all people."
"Stop! Stop! Zarek would never say this! You're not real!"