Zachary smiled. "How'd you know?"
"You were acting very strange," Erin replied. "There's either something bothering you, or you're just crazy."
Zachary was speechless. "You're just a girl. Don't you have any respect for your brother?"
Erin could roll her eyes right then. What even made him her brother?
Zachary remained serious as he broke it down for her. "Isaac, James, and I are as close as brothers, right?"
Erin nodded. "Yeah."
She knew that all too well.
"And of us three, Isaac is the eldest and a brother to you, but I'm older than James. Whether it's because of your connection to Isaac or to James, I'm a brother to you and should be addressed as such."
Erin was speechless.
The man made sense, but having to call him 'brother' was too cringeworthy!
"Can I call you something else?" Erin asked.
"What then?" Zachary asked in return.
Erin thought about it.
Brother was definitely not going to cut it, just as 'uncle' was wrong.
"I think I'll just stick to 'Zachary'," Erin said.
Zachary waved in refusal. "I've already explained everything to the letter. That definitely won't cut it!"
"Well, I'm not going to address you as my brother," Erin said, refusing to discuss it—somehow it felt like he was getting one over her!
"Then respect like you would Isaac…"
"You don't hold that much weight in my mind," Erin said, not giving an inch at all.
Zachary was speechless and deliberately put a hand on his chest as if his heart hurt. "You're just a kid, but you really know how to break a heart."
He was already lost in love and was now being abused by a kid.
Life was suffering!
And when that happened, Erin would not show sympathy, even call him useless.
The noble impression he had in her mind would crumble!
That said, if Erin knew what he was thinking, she would tell him in no uncertain terms that he never appeared noble to her!
Zachary cleared his throat and said, "Do you really want to know? I can tell you, but you have to call me 'brother' first."
Even as he spoke, he wondered what sort of a story he should give her…
"Brother," Erin said then.
Zachary was left gaping.
He finally knew how James managed to bewitch Erin—she was just too naive, believing him just like that!
As he suddenly smiled, Erin stared at him and asked, "What's that smile for? You were dumped, weren't you?"
"He wasn't dumped—his brain is just malfunctioning," someone scoffed coolly behind him.
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