After they finished the meal, Harrison reached the car first, waiting for Gwyneth.
Gwyneth went to fix her makeup, already considering how to repay him. She stepped out of the restaurant with eager energy, and her pace quickened when she spotted Harrison waiting by the car.
Across the street, a Rolls–Royce glided to a stop. The passenger window descended, revealing Bella’s athen face.
“Zachary, is that Gwyneth Bella’s voice quivered.
Zachary turned just in time to see Gwyneth’s radiant smile as she approached another man. His hands clenched the steering wheel until his knuckles bleached white.
“Wait, that’s Harrison, right? The guy who just got married? Bella gasped dramatically. “Why would he bring Gwyneth to that romantic couples‘ place? You don’t think she’s….
Her fingers fluttered to her lips as she grabbed Zachary’s arm, her eyes wide and shiny with tears. “I thought she was just trying to make you jealous with some random date, but Harrison? Oh god, Zachary, has she really…
The accusation hung between them. Gwyneth watched as Zachary’s eyes darkened with rage.
“A homewrecker?” he thought, his hands clenching at his sides. Has she really left me so quickly only to become someone’s kept woman?
When Bella first cold me the rumor, I refused to believe it and even defended Gwyneth. But now? Now she’d rather sell herself as some man’s mistress than he my wife.
The thought burned through him. Before he could stop himself, he got out and slammed the door hard behind him.
Gwyneth barely reached Harrison’s car before Zachary blocked her, his fingers closing like a vise around her wrist. “Gwyneth, have you completely lost your mind? His voice cracked like a whip.
She was startled at his sudden appearance. Wrenching her arm free, she rubbed the tender skin where he’d gripped her. “Since when do I need your approval to have dinner? What’s gotten into you?”
“Dinner?” He barked a humorless laugh. “Since when does dinner involve cozying up to another man! Since when do you trade your dignity for favors!
He closed the distance between them, each word heavy with betrayal. “Gwyneth.. this isn’t you
He’d known her since childhood. The thought of her becoming someone’s kept woman turned his stomach.
The implication hit Gwyneth like a slap. He actually believed I threw myself at Harrison? That I was hunting him?”
She sidestepped his reaching hand with cool precision. “I don’t need your approval, Zachary. Since we’re strangers now, please stay out of my life.”
“Stay out of your life?” His voice broke. “I’m trying to protect you! If you needed money and connections, you could’ve come to me.”
Zachary wanted to tell her she didn’t have to do this. He could have helped her. Even now, after she’d walked away, he couldn’t forget their thirteen years together. No matter what, he still worried about her.
Worry
rry lines creased his forehead as he moved closer. “Gwennie, Zachary murmured, voice thick with concern, “I just… I care about you”
There was a time when Gwyneth would have collapsed into Zachary’s embrace, letting his comfort soothe her troubles. Now she retreated with rach of his steps forward, maintaining careful distance.
Harrison k
i kept quiet, watching. This was something between Gwyneth and Zachary, and he wasn’t about to step in. After all, Gwyneth had already picked him to be her husband husband
“Five minutes.” Harrison’s clipped words sliced through the charged air before he disappeared into the car.
