Somebody's Someone - Chapter Three

Yennia found it impossible to completely cut off Zak—no matter how far she moved or how well Khand treated her. There was something about Zak that kept him tethered to her. He wasn’t gentle, but he knew how to play it cool. His slick talk and confidence had just enough charm to make her second-guess what she already knew. Even when he manipulated her, his words sounded like concern; and despite knowing better, she didn’t always act on it. Khand saw through her behavior. He never confronted her outright, but he understood: whenever she ghosted him, it was because Zak had slipped back into her life. She would vanish for a few days, barely respond to texts, then reappear as if nothing had happened. Khand learned not to chase those silences—they always carried Zak's shadow.

Zak had a way of keeping her in his orbit without being physically present. A few sweet words, a guilt trip, or a little pressure, and suddenly Yennia was putting Khand on hold once again. Zak was a master of chaos, and he never had to lift a finger.

Toward the end of her time in Charlotte, Zak took her car—like he always did—and wrecked it. But it wasn’t just any crash; he collided with another vehicle, causing a full-on collision. No pause, no accountability. He grabbed his belongings from the car and left it behind—while the other driver remained inside, unconscious and unable to recall what had happened. Since the car was registered in Yennia’s name, when everything settled, the wreckage—both physical and legal—belonged to her.

By then, she was already on her final warning at work due to late shifts and no-shows, most of which traced back to Zak borrowing her car as if it were his own. After the hit-and-run, she lost her job and her life began to spiral out of control. Zak? He didn’t apologize. Didn’t explain. Didn’t fix a thing.

Their final fight erupted when Zak rummaged through her phone, found Khand’s number, called him, and threatened to kill him if he didn’t back off. That was the last straw for Yennia. Part of her was defending Khand, but most of it was the realization that she was done. She broke things off that night, telling Zak she was moving on with her life.

Zak pretended not to care. He told her he didn’t need her anyway and said she was free to go. At that moment, he meant it—because she had nothing left that he could exploit. No car, no money, no leverage. But Zak wasn’t the type to walk away clean. He planned to watch her from a distance, creating fake social media profiles and burner numbers, ready for when he wanted to reach out again. Eventually, Zak started calling her after she blocked him—relentless, petty, and calculated. Even apart, he insisted on being a presence. For Zak, it was never about love; it was about control, and that was something he missed.

He didn’t miss her spirit, her laugh, or the warmth that used to soften his edges. What he missed was her usefulness and convenience—the late-night sex without questions, her car keys always on standby, and her willingness to pay his phone bill or lend him quick cash whenever he claimed to be between jobs. Zak hadn't lost a woman; he'd lost a resource.

Deep down, he believed she was still his and that when he needed to reappear, she would fold, just as she always had before. But this time, she didn’t.

One of his burner numbers finally got through to her. She answered out of habit, or maybe curiosity; either way, their conversation was brief.

"I'm not yours," she told him flatly. "I'm done, Zak. I've moved on. I'm over you, and you are dead to me."

He scoffed. "Moved on? You didn’t move on from me, Yen. You just moved away."

"Yes, I moved away—from Charlotte and your bum ass as well," she replied.

"Where did you move to then?" His voice took on a friendly tone but carried a sharp edge. "I just wanna know you’re okay."

"Okay, I’m good. Now you know. Anything else?"

He paused. "You don’t think I’ll find you?"

"I know you'll try. Good luck with that, Zak. Now, goodbye and don’t ever call me again."

That ended the conversation, but not Zak's fixation. He didn’t get loud; he became meticulous. It wasn’t a social media breadcrumb or a sketchy tracking app. He baited her location by asking about their mutual friends, casually hinting that he’d bumped into her recently. He claimed he wanted to send her flowers but couldn’t remember where she worked now or why she hadn’t updated her new city or job information on any of her social media accounts. Most people close to Yennia knew better than to give Zak any information, but not everyone picked up on how calculated his questions were. One of their mutual friends' boyfriends, who sometimes hung out with Zak, inadvertently mentioned her new city loosely. He didn’t provide details, but it was just enough for Zak to find her.

Using this information, Zak zeroed in on her. He dug through regional business directories, scrolled through many pages, and reverse-searched tagged locations she had visited months prior. Eventually, he cross-referenced a few subtle online traces and uncovered a business social media page where her name was tagged in a post. From there, it was easy for him to track her down.

Rather than confront Yennia directly, he decided to approach someone close to her. He studied her colleague's routines and habits, weaving himself into their world with the patience of a spider spinning a web. Sliding into their DMs under a carefully crafted persona designed to disarm, he aimed to manipulate the situation from a distance. In her naivety, the girl didn’t realize she was conversing with the storm that Yennia had fought so hard to escape.

The girl mentioned Zak to Yennia casually, her voice laced with enthusiasm as she shared snippets about her new online boyfriend. “He’s just… different, you know? Mature. He doesn’t rush things. He feels stable. I think he might be the one,” she mused, her eyes shining with naive hope and blind trust. The name that Zak had chosen for this profile, of course, was a far cry from his own, and he reveled in the layers of deception.

This was Zak’s new game—not merely to spy on or punish Yennia, but to insinuate himself back into her life, albeit in disguise. If Yennia wouldn’t grant him re-entry, he would encircle her through someone else, weaving a web of influence and manipulation. If that failed, he would take solace in wrapping another individual around his finger, a testament to his power.

Zak had never believed in closure; it was an alien concept to him. Instead, he thrived on the idea of keeping doors just ajar, ready to slip back through when no one was watching. For him, it was not just about revenge or vindication, but the intoxicating thrill of control—watching Yennia, knowing she was oblivious to the storm brewing in the shadows.

🖊️ *Author's Note:*

I deeply appreciate you taking the time to read Chapter 3 of this multi-chapter series. This will conclude the "backstory." Chapter 4 will go into "present day."

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Thank you again for being part of the journey.

This story and its entirety was written by me. AI was used solely as a tool for ideation and refinement.

🎨 *Visual Companion:*

Want to see the characters behind the words? Explore the portraits of Yennia and Khand, and the evolving energy of the story through art:

📲 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/izivne/

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https://www.pinterest.com/ndadirri

The artwork accompanying this story was generated using AI and thoughtfully edited by me to reflect the tone and spirit of the narrative.

Chapter 4 coming soon....