Who’s the Dog Now? novel Chapter 159

"Are you trying to get back at me?" Zebulon asked, dodging the real issue.

"All four of our parents are in there. If you make me say something like that, you're just setting me up to get in trouble with them."

"Naomi, I don't care if you're playing hard to get or if this is some new tactic you've come up with. I haven't said this is over, so you don't get to quit."

He tightened his grip on her hand, a confident smile spreading across his face. "Now, we're going back in to eat. My parents came here to see you out of kindness. Don't embarrass me."

Naomi's heart felt like it was being torn apart.

She had so many questions.

She wanted to ask him what the point of all this was.

He had hurt her in so many ways before. Now, just because he didn't feel like letting go, was she supposed to play along with this game of happy families?

What about all the pain she had endured?

"Zebulon."

Naomi's sudden call of his name made him frown.

He hated the tone of her voice right now.

It was lifeless, as if she were carrying a heavy burden that could crush her at any moment.

Zebulon narrowed his eyes, studying her closely.

She looked the same, but the light in her eyes seemed to have been extinguished.

A cold feeling settled in Zebulon's stomach.

He realized he had been overlooking something crucial—there was truly no trace of him left in her eyes.

Before, just being around him would make her ecstatic. Now, it seemed like being with him was a form of torture.

Zebulon's grip on her wrist tightened.

Naomi's skin was naturally delicate, and the pressure instantly turned the area a deep red. But one of them was too numb to feel the pain, and the other was too lost in his own indignant anger to notice.

She knew she might never be free, but at the very least, she wanted to find some peace.

The union was something both families wanted, and Mr. and Mrs. Hughes weren't particularly difficult people.

All she needed now was an answer from Zebulon.

Zebulon's heart hammered in his chest.

In fact, the moment she asked the question, his mind had already begun to stage their wedding.

But he quickly shut down the fantasy.

A man couldn't show his feelings so easily. The first one to say "I love you" was the one who lost.

So this was her endgame. All that time playing coy was just to bait him into this one moment.

A corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. Half exasperated, half sincere, he replied, "Do I have a choice?"