Who’s the Dog Now? novel Chapter 115

Naomi had no idea she was nearly the subject of a betting pool.

But just before bed, she received a text from Zebulon.

“You haven't even asked how my birthday preparations are going? Naomi, don't you think you're being unreasonable?”

Naomi felt like Zebulon was a ghost she couldn't shake.

Just like that, her good mood for the day vanished into thin air.

She replied perfunctorily: “How are the birthday preparations going?”

Then she went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When she came back and picked up her phone, she found over a dozen unread messages.

A quick scan revealed it was just Zebulon, spiraling.

He complained her question was too dismissive and condemned her for not caring enough.

He asked if she had prepared a birthday gift.

He sent the address for his birthday party, mentioning there would be an after-party following the main family event.

Finally, he warned her: “Naomi, this is my birthday party. I expect you to be sensible. I expect not to be disappointed.”

Naomi had initially planned to reply. After all, their families were intertwined, and they couldn’t completely cut ties, so maintaining a semblance of civility was necessary.

But Zebulon’s last sentence extinguished any desire she had to respond.

It seemed that no matter how much time passed or what she did, Zebulon would always be hopelessly self-centered.

How much more “sensible” could she be?

Did being sensible mean she had to grovel at his feet with no self-respect?

Why was it that in their relationship, she was always the one who had to bow her head and make peace?

Naomi felt a profound sense of exhaustion.

She switched her phone to airplane mode, pulled the covers over her head, and fell fast asleep.

He angrily hung up and started a solo queue.

As luck would have it, he ran into the same player thirteen times in a row and was utterly destroyed every single time.

“Damn it!”

Zebulon threw his controller, his face flushed with anger.

He instinctively reached for a glass of warm water but found nothing.

He froze for a moment, then remembered: Naomi hadn’t been here once since she started avoiding him.

Before, she would always quietly place a glass of warm water on the table when he was gaming, so he could cool down when he got too worked up.

Now, there was no warm water, and in fact, all traces of Naomi were slowly vanishing from the apartment.

Zebulon shot up from his chair and rushed to the balcony, where he saw that the few plants Naomi had kept to “cultivate tranquility” were dead.

The withered plants seemed to be an omen.