Chapter 4
To my surprise, when the next day rolled around, Chloe deleted the video.
And to make things even stranger, Adam ordered breakfast for me and had it delivered straight to the pack house.
I looked at the soft, tempting mango cake, smirked, and tossed it straight into the trash without a second thought.
I'd told Adam about my mango allergy on our very first day together.
He never cared.
Yet he always remembered Chloe's pollen allergy.
So, loving or not loving someone was painfully obvious.
But none of it mattered anymore.
Over the next few days, Adam started acting like a completely different person.
For the first time ever, he reached out to me.
He texted, [Storm's coming tonight. Want me to pick you up?
[Got your favorite dessert and had it sent to the pack house.
[I found someone to make you a custom wig. No one will notice at the mating ceremony.]
He sent me more messages in a few days than he had in the past six months.
He even brought up getting our mating license himself.
Two months ago, on our anniversary, I brought it up to him.
He stared at his phone, annoyed. "I've got work. Stop bugging me with this petty stuff. Is mating really all you care about?"
Now, I was busy prepping for the Royal Academy, wrapping up at the pack house, sorting out my documents, and packing my things.
I was so swamped that I barely had time to breathe. I wasn't about to waste time on his little drama, either.
Then one day, Adam showed up outside the pack house.
He didn't say a word. He grabbed me and pulled me into his car.
I didn't want the pack members to crowd around to watch, so I went along with it.
It was time to finally end things.
He dragged me straight into a private room at the Blackstone pack house.
The room was packed.
Most of them were the same people who'd been stirring things up in the comments on Chloe's post.
As soon as I walked in, they all gave me contemptuous looks.
Chloe was there, too.
Her eyes went all wet and sincere. "Zoe, I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to shave your head the other day. I know I messed up. Can you forgive me?"
She also said she'd picked out a gift for me.
"Since you're bald now, and it's freezing out, I got you a hat. It's Hermès," she added.
It was a knit hat in a garish shade of lime green, with a giant pom-pom on top and floppy ear flaps, the kind of thing no one over the age of five would be caught dead in.
The room went quiet for a beat. Then a snicker came out of nowhere.
"Imagine actually wearing that thing," someone said, loud enough for everyone to hear.
All of a sudden, the mocking stares at me felt even sharper.
Chloe acted like it just dawned on her, her eyes welling up. "I'm sorry, Zoe. I was only focused on finding a way to make it up to you. I swear I wasn't trying to make a fool of you. Please believe me."
Her eyes were red, and she looked so wronged.
But I saw right through her. Underneath the act, she was practically glowing, daring me to snap.
Classic Chloe.
She'd bait me until I broke and wait for Adam to put me in my place.
But I was done caring.
"Thanks for the gift. I love it," I replied.
Chloe's face went blank. I smiled, took the hat, and didn't make a fuss.
The Hermès hat was worth several hundred dollars.
Even if I sold it secondhand for half, I'd still come out ahead.
Adam looked like he didn't know what to do with himself.
He grabbed my arm, his eyes frantic. "After what Chloe did to you... Zoe, why aren't you angry?
"Why aren't you screaming at me? Why aren't you losing your mind like you always do?"
I gave him a calm smile. "Why would I be?
"She was just trying to be nice."
He used to always complain about me being jealous and possessive, saying I was too petty and never let anything go.
Now I'd finally learned to let things slide.
And somehow, that made him even angrier.
"Fine," he snapped, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Keep pretending. See how long that lasts."
Then he suddenly stood up, pulled the moonstone pendant from his wrist, and without a second thought, slipped it onto Chloe's hand.
I froze.
That pendant was something I gave it to him.