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‘See?’ David says, with a satisfied tinge to his voice. ‘Farah hates your guts.’
‘Really?’ Zayan hisses to me. ‘I’m not conceited. It’s called having confidence in my abilities.’
When I shrug back, he sighs and assesses the situation. His gaze roves over The Tragedies, who watch him back with equal calculation, before his eyes meet mine again. Except, this time, there’s no outrage widening his pupils. Instead, an unspoken question sits between us.
Can I really trust them?
I know that there are some secrets I simply won’t share with The Tragedies (or anyone) – what happened with the LSDCATS flashes in my mind, but I bury that deep at the back of my memories. But I trust them enough for this.
I lean into Zayan, and he mimics me, so our heads are bent close together. I ignore the fact that I can see the faint imprint of his dimple in his cheek and focus on convincing him. The Tragedies watch us, each with varying looks of bemusement painted on their faces.
‘I trust them,’ I whisper, and his eyes narrow. ‘Seriously, I trust them. And you’ve got to trust me for this to work, OK?’
He takes a moment; his eyes watch me with such intensity that I want to look away. But I don’t. I let him see that I’m serious about this. That I need him to treat me like an equal in this partnership, and value my opinions as well.
‘Fine,’ he whispers back. ‘But we’re not telling any other friends, OK? The fewer people who know, the better. So, it’s these guys and no one else. Agreed?’
I grin, happy to have won this round. ‘Agreed.’
‘You know we can hear you, right?’ Ben cuts in, brows raised.
Zayan pulls away from our little bubble, turning back to face The Tragedies. ‘Fine, we’re not in a relationship.’
‘Knew it,’ David replies, a smug smile pushing at the corners of his mouth.
‘But,’ Zayan continues, ignoring David’s triumph, ‘we are in the middle of a business agreement.’
‘What?’ Ben asks suspiciously. He turns his attention to me, worry lacing his words. ‘He hasn’t forced you to do anything, has he?’
Ben’s concern warms me inside and out, but it makes Zayan scoff in outrage. ‘Believe me, I don’t think anyone can force Farah to do anything,’ he shoots back, and I grin. ‘In exchange for my participation in your play, Farah has agreed to simulate a relationship with me for the public.’
‘Why should we trust you to follow through?’ Anushka asks, scarily perceptive. ‘What do you have to gain from all of this?’
Zayan looks slightly uncomfortable, clearly weighing up how much he’s willing to share. ‘As you are likely all aware, I’m coming off a particularly bad TV series.’
‘A racist TV series,’ Nur corrects.
Zayan winces, before agreeing plainly. ‘Racist TV series.’
His reaction settles something in me – a part of me had wondered if he had internalized this racism and was OK with the show, but from the sheer pain in his expression it’s clear he didn’t agree with its content either.
It still begs the question, why do it in the first place?
‘The backlash from that has been severely damaging to my career,’ Zayan continues. ‘Bad enough that I’m not getting booked because of the negative press. My agent and publicist believe a new love in my life will engage the public more positively, fix my reputation and divert attention from my mistakes. Hence Farah.’
‘So it’s a publicity stunt?’ Nur asks.
Zayan nods. ‘Essentially, yes. We’ll fake-date, and in return, I’ll star in your play, alongside Farah.’
‘But, of course, I’ll audition for the lead role –’ I interject, not wanting The Tragedies to think I’m getting something I don’t deserve, but Zayan cuts me off.
‘You have to be my co-star,’ he says stubbornly. ‘It’ll look like our relationship came out of nowhere if you don’t.’
I shoot The Tragedies a pained look, even though my heart is thundering in my chest. The lead! That is my dream.
‘Look,’ Zayan continues, ‘I’ll fund your play. I’ll help you not only rival the LSDCATS but beat them too. All in exchange for Farah being the lead and in a fake relationship with me.’
‘And what if we don’t agree to this plan? Do we even need you? The LSDCATS have been dead silent lately – maybe we don’t need you to boost our play at all,’ Anushka says, and heat burns my cheeks.
