Chapter 50: Chapter 52

Chapter 0052 Hannah I stood there, frozen in Drake’s arms as the chaos around us dissolved into normalcy-or at least, something akin to it.

The warm amber lights bathed the room, revealing the haunted house for what it truly was-nothing more than an intricate set, complete with masked actors and special effects.

As I pulled away from Drake, my heart still pounding in my chest, my eyes lingered on Noah across the room, his arms wrapped protectively around Zoe’s trembling form. She was crying, her shoulders shaking with quiet sobs as she clung to him.

Drake simply shrugged when I glanced at him, his expression one of mild amusement. “Shall we?” he asked, inclining his head toward Noah and Zoe.

I nodded mutely, trailing after him as we made our way over to the two of them. Noah looked up as we approached, his features hardening ever so slightly.

“What’s going on?” I asked, frowning at the sight of Zoe in such a state. Although, whether I was frowning more at her apparent upset or at the fact that she was in Noah’s arms, I couldn’t quite tell, “It’s nothing,” Noah replied gruffly, tightening his hold on Zoe. “Just too much stimulation for her, I think.”

Zoe let out a m***ed whimper, burying her face against Noah’s chest. My brow furrowed with concern and a twinge of something else, something sharp and unpleasant that gnawed at the pit of my stomach no matter how hard I tried to bite it back.

“Are you sure she’s alright?” I pressed. “Maybe we should call it a night.”

“An excellent suggestion,” Drake piped up from beside me. “I think we’ve all had enough excitement for one night. Wouldn’t you say so, Zoe?”

At the sound of Drake’s voice, Zoe’s head snapped up, her gaze zeroing in on him with a look of pure venom. Then, with a strangled noise of distress, she wrenched herself out of Noah’s grasp and stumbled away, one hand pressed to her mouth as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.

Noah watched her go, his expression unreadable. For a long moment, the rest of us simply hovered there in awkward silence, unsure of how to proceed.

Then, with a low sigh, Noah turned and strode after Zoe without a word, leaving Drake and me alone together once again.

“Well,” Drake said, arching one brow at me. “That was certainly... dramatic”

I shot him a withering look, but didn’t bother responding as I hurried to follow after Noah and Zoe.

I found them just outside the entrance to the haunted house, Zoe hunched over with her hands braced on her knees as she gulped in deep, shuddering breaths. Noah hovered beside her, his hand resting on her back in a soothing gesture.

As I approached, Noah looked up, his gaze finding mine. I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong, but he simply shook his head, silencing me.

+25 BONUS Chapter 0052 “She’s alright,” he murmured. “Just overwhelmed.”

I frowned, my arms crossing over my chest as I studied Zoe’s trembling form. Then, grabbing Noah’s arm, I pulled him away. He resisted, but one venomous look from me made him let go of Zoe and follow me over to a secluded comer.

“What’s really going on, Noah?” I asked in a low voice, shooting a cautious glance at Drake, who had wandered up to Zoe in the background. “I mean, first the dinner, and now this...”

Noah passed a weary hand over his face, exhaling slowly. “Zoe’s been under an incredible amount of stress lately,” he admitted quietly. “With the divorce and everything going on with Drake...” He shook his head, his expression pained. “Tonight was just too much for her, I think.”

Ha. Stress, I thought to myself. I was bloody stressed, too, but my stress didn’t seem to matter.

Still, a pang of guilt twisted in my gut as I watched Zoe struggling to catch her breath, her shoulders still shaking. I had been so caught up in my own hurt and anger that I hadn’t even really taken the time to consider what she might be going through tonight as well.

Zoe lifted her head then, swiping furiously at the tears streaking her cheeks as her gaze landed on me. Hannah, I’m so sorry,”

she gasped out, her voice trembling. “I never meant to ruin your evening like this...”

I took a step toward her, my arms dropping to my sides. “No, Zoe, you didn’t ruin anything. I...” My voice trailed off.

Before I could second-guess myself, I closed the distance between us and pulled Zoe into a fierce hug. feeling her stiffen with surprise before slowly melting against me.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured into her hair, squeezing my eyes shut against the fresh wave of guilt washing over me. Tonight felt like my fault-my little arrangement with Drake had gone further than I expected, and I never meant to hurt her. It had been entirely self-serving and cruel of me to conspire with her ex-husband to win her affection back.

We stood like that for a long moment, Zoe’s shoulders trembling in my arms as Drake and Noah watched with surprise from the sidelines. When we finally pulled apart, Zoe managed a watery smile.

“Thank you, Hannah,” she said softly. “I feel better now.

I smiled back, giving her arm a gentle squeeze before glancing over at Noah. His expression was inscrutable, his green-eyed gaze flickering between Zoe and me with an intensity that made my stomach twist into anxious knots.

The four of us began making our way toward the parking lot then, yet another silence falling over the group. As we reached the cars, Drake cleared his throat, drawing our attention.

“Well, ladies,” he said, “this has certainly been an eventful evening. Zoe could I give you a lift back to your apartment?”

Noah opened his mouth to retort, but before he could, Zoe shrugged and nodded at the same time. “Sure. I guess.

With that, Drake and Zoe headed off on their own, leaving Noah and me alone in the amber-lit parking lot. An uncomfortable silence stretched out between us as we watched them go.

Chapter 0052 +25 BONUS Finally, unable to bear it any longer, I turned to Noah and blurted out the words that had been burning in the back of my throat all evening.

“Did you hear me calling for you back there?” I asked, my voice coming out shakler than I would have liked. “In the haunted house, when that man with the chainsaw showed up... I called your name.”

Noah’s expression softened ever so slightly as understanding flickered in his gaze. But then, just as quickly as it had softened, it hardened once again. “Yes,” he said, turning to unlock the car. “I heard you.”

I stared at the back of his head, feeling my hands ball up into tight white fists at my sides. “Then why didn’t you come for me?” I demanded. “Why was Zoe the only one who mattered in that moment?”

As the bitter words hung between us, I could see Noah’s jaw tighten, his features hardening once more in the reflection of the car window as he opened the door. When he spoke, his tone was clipped, devoid of any warmth.

“Zoe needed me.” was all he said.

White-hot fury lanced through me at his simple words. couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“You still love her,” I hissed, pressing my hand into his car door and slamming it shut right in front of him. before he could get in.

“Don’t you?”