Chapter 3

I spent the whole night getting all the paperwork ready for the Royal Academy.

I was so focused that I didn't even notice when Adam came back home.

It wasn't until he stood right in front of me that I finally glanced up.

Then I looked back down and kept working.

Adam's expression went cold. "Zoe!"

Before, the second Adam walked in, I would have run straight to him.

But this time, I didn't even take another look at him.

He thought I was ignoring him on purpose, and his face went even darker.

I kept working, barely acknowledging him with a casual reply.

"Oh, you're back," I said, without glancing his way.

Adam froze. For a second, he just stood there, like he didn't know what to do with a version of me that didn't fall apart without him.

He'd never gotten the cold shoulder from me before. His jaw tightened.

I didn't get what he was so upset about.

Just because I didn't question him about coming home late and make a scene like before?

"Zoe, seriously? Are you still hung up on the hair thing? Why can't you just let it go?" Adam growled.

Out of nowhere, he went off on me.

If it were the old me, I would have fought back. I would have screamed and made sure he knew exactly how much he'd hurt me.

But now, I smiled.

I said, "You misunderstood. I'm not upset. I'm focused on getting my things ready."

My words shut him down completely.

He pressed his lips together, and for the first time in a long while, he actually tried to explain himself.

"I was dropping Chloe off, and that's why I'm late," he said. "She was drunk. I couldn't leave her alone. Don't get jealous over nothing."

I furrowed my brows and shot Adam a look.

"I'm not mad. You don't need to explain yourself to me," I said.

Adam went still. His brows pulled together.

"You... you're really not mad?" he asked, his voice uncertain.

I let out a small laugh. "You and Chloe grew up together. Of course, you'd help each other out."

For a moment, Adam looked completely lost.

I didn't wait for him to figure it out.

I walked past him toward the study.

His voice came sharp from behind me.

He demanded, "Zoe, what are you doing?

"I tried to explain everything to you. Why are you still giving me attitude?"

I turned back, genuinely confused. "What did I do?"

All I wanted was to grab a file.

But Adam looked like he was about to lose it. His hands clenched at his sides.

He snapped, "I really thought you'd changed. But I was wrong.

"You stay here and figure out what you did wrong. Until you admit it, don't even think about showing up at the mating ceremony."

I almost laughed.

There wasn't going to be a mating ceremony.

I couldn't even remember how many times we tried to make it happen.

The first time, Chloe burned her hand, and Adam dropped everything for her, canceling the whole thing.

The second time, she gave me cake with mango, knowing I was allergic. I passed out. The ceremony turned into chaos.

The third time, she "accidentally" cut up my dress...

Every time, I told myself it would be different.

Every time, I was wrong.

So when Adam brought up the mating ceremony again, I didn't book anything.

And I didn't tell anyone. I let it sit there, empty, waiting for something that was never going to happen.

Turned out, I made the right choice.

Adam scoffed. He stood there for a few more minutes, like he was waiting for me to break, to beg, to give him the fight he was used to.

I didn't. Then he slammed the door behind him and stormed out.

I knew exactly what he was pissed about.

For once, he'd offered me a chance to smooth things over, to pretend none of this mattered.

And I hadn't taken it.

I gave a calm smile and finished organizing the documents.

I was about to send them to my father when my thumb slipped, and I opened Chloe's Instagram.

She'd just posted something new.

In the video, Chloe was straddling Adam's lap, their arms linked like they were sharing a mating toast.

She was so close, a breath away from pressing her lips to his.

The caption read: [Once you drink my wine, you're mine.]

Adam had liked it.

Their friends from the pack were in the comments, hyping them up, throwing around congratulations like it was the most natural thing in the world.

I watched the video like I was watching strangers.

Then I tapped the screen and left a comment: [Save me a seat at your mating ceremony.]