“No, you don’t,” Adrian says, frowning, his eyes flicking between me and the phone.
I glare at him, the anger bubbling just below the surface. He sighs and slides his phone back into his pocket before walking back to the door.
“You’re usually a prick, but you’ve been worse than a prick lately.” He stops at the door, and I appreciate his common sense for deciding to put physical distance between us before running his mouth. He’s my brother, but I’ve never hesitated to put him in his place—either with my mouth or fist, he doesn’t get to choose.
“I’ll let you stew in it, but whatever’s eating at you won’t go away just by ignoring it,” Adrian says. When I don’t respond, he walks out and slams the door shut.
I’m finally alone. The silence in the room is suffocating, thick with the weight of everything I’ve been trying to ignore.
I pour myself a drink, my hands still slightly trembling from the rush of anger that surged through me moments ago. I take a long sip, feeling the burn of the whiskey slide down my throat, but it doesn’t help. It doesn’t numb the ache that’s still pulsing in my chest.
I told her to stay away. I’m the one who ended it. Told her to never come back.
And yet, here I am, seething with rage at the thought of her with him.
With Jason.
I close my eyes, trying to push the image of them out of my mind, but it won’t leave. Her in that dress, standing beside him, his hand on her back—the bastard—the way he leaned in, the way she let him.
Why does it burn me so much? Why does it make my pulse throb with fury, my blood boiling like I’ve been set on fire?
I shouldn’t care. I told myself I wouldn’t. She’s not mine anymore. She never was.
But I can’t escape it. The thought of her being with another man, someone else touching her, even just for a moment—it drives me crazy.
And I don’t know why.
I down the rest of the drink in one swift motion, the burn a small distraction from the rage that’s still simmering beneath the surface. The tension in my chest doesn’t ease. It only tightens. The anger, the frustration, the unrelenting desire—it all pushes me to the edge.
She was never supposed to matter this much. But now? Now, she’s the only thing I can think about.
I leave my chair and walk to the window, the drink still in my hand. Zoe’s nothing. She was a moment, a fleetingdistraction, a woman who walked into my life and tried to make me feel something I haven’t felt in a long time. I am done with her. I won’t waste another thought on her.
But as I stand by the window, staring out over the city, my jaw clenched tight, I know one thing for sure.
I don’t like seeing what’s mine in someone else’s hands.
I don’t like it at all.
I force myself to look away from the view, because the sight of the city doesn’t distract me this time. It’s just a blur, the lights, the buildings, the streets. None of it matters.
I’m still thinking about her. Still haunted by her.
I never let go. I never forgot.
Even if I told her to leave. Even if I told myself it didn’t matter.
It does, and I don’t know what to do about it.
Chapter Fifteen - Zoe
I stand in front of the bathroom mirror, holding the pregnancy test kit in my hands. It’s been a full month since that first time I tested, and still—nothing. No period. No sign of relief. Just silence, the kind that makes everything feel heavier with every passing day.
I try to tell myself that I’m just being paranoid, that it’s probably nothing. Still stress. That’s all. Just stress from work, from everything else going on in my life. But deep down, I’m starting to realize that this might just be more than that.
I stare at the kit, my fingers trembling slightly as I try to convince myself this is just a precautionary measure. I don’t want to face it. I don’t want to admit that I’m even considering the possibility. But there’s a tightness in my chest, a knot I can’t untangle, and I know that I can’t keep pretending everything is fine.
I breathe in deeply, trying to steady my nerves, and then I follow the instructions, peeing on the kit. My heart is pounding in my chest as I set it on the bathroom counter, the little timer flashing on the side, counting down the seconds.
