Chapter 5

I froze. My face must have been dark as a thundercloud.

But some people are just blind.

When Zach saw me, he ran over like nothing had happened.

He reached out to hug me, but I instinctively stepped back.

Zach pouted. "Babe, we haven't seen each other in days. Didn't you miss me?"

My eyes drifted to the woman behind him.

She threw a smug smirk my way.

It was her. The woman from the FaceTime call.

Women have a sixth sense for rivals. I could tell she liked Zach.

Did Zach really not notice?

"Let's go," I said. I didn't want to make a scene in public.

On the drive back, no matter how much Zach tried to joke and sweet-talk me, I stayed silent.

Eventually, he lost his patience.

"Babe, I was working so hard on this trip. You can't just freeze me out the second I get back. It's exhausting when you're always mad."

"Zach, do you have any idea how exhausting it is for me when you keep making the same mistakes?" He had the nerve to say *he* was exhausted?

If I weren't driving, I would have kicked him out of the car.

"What did I even do?" Zach genuinely seemed clueless. "I didn't do anything wrong. It was just a work trip!"

"Zach, I told you to think about what you did, and you didn't learn a single thing!"

I was boiling with anger, but he just let my words blow past him like usual.

I dropped him off at his place, didn't say another word, and drove back to my mom's.

My mom knew Zach was returning today. She was surprised to see me walk in alone. "Zach's not with you?"

"He's back," I muttered, sitting on the couch and burying my face in a throw pillow.

I started to seriously question if we were actually meant to be together.

Seeing my state, my mom guessed what was going on.

"Did you and Zach fight again?" she asked.

I put the pillow down and looked at her. "Mom, if I don't want to marry Zach... if I want to call off the wedding, is that okay?"

Our wedding was set for the end of the year, six months away.

To everyone else, our relationship seemed perfect. Everyone thought Zach was deeply in love with me and treated me like a queen.

More importantly, Zach was a notorious player who had finally settled down for me. People kept telling me how lucky I was.

Zach came from a wealthy family; his dad ran a successful business, and his mother was a college professor. Plus, he was stunningly handsome—the kind of guy who could easily be a Hollywood star.

In a way, I really was punching above my weight.

I grew up in a single-parent home. My dad cheated on my mom and divorced her when I was little. I was pretty, but I wasn't some supermodel.

By all accounts, I should have been kissing the ground Zach walked on for wanting to marry me.

At first, I also found it hard to believe he liked me. I hesitated to date him because he was too handsome.

Handsome men always attract trouble.

And my fears turned out to be completely justified.

My mom was silent for a moment. Then she sat beside me, gently stroking my hair. "Chloe, I will support whatever decision you make. Just make sure you don't regret it."

Her words stayed with me for a long time.

I had to admit, I loved Zach.

But whether that love was enough to make me overlook his toxic traits was still up in the air.

I didn't want to make a rash decision. I wanted to give him one last chance.