Betrothed To An Alpha? I Don't Think So!
Chapter 66: Is He Your Lover?

Chapter 66: Is He Your Lover?

Zayne pulled back from the kiss first, breaking the illusion. Reaching up, he touched Evelyn’s lips as she stared at him, stunned.

He had his eyes on her, but—

"Valerio. It’s good to see you."

—His voice, deep with a dangerous tinge, gave Valerio nothing more than a bone-chilling feeling, one he couldn’t seem to understand.

It almost felt like he had the devil towering over him...and he wasn’t even sure why.

Zayne turned toward him and outstretched his hand. Valerio received the handshake, but when he tried to snatch his hand back, he found himself unable to do so. He lifted his eyes to meet Zayne’s gaze and the man used the opportunity to pull him into his space, closer, leaning in until he could whisper,

"She. Belongs. To me."

He stepped back.

His expression was simple, almost blank, yet it had Valerio dilating his pupils.

Pure distaste was hidden behind it, and it caused so much uneasiness to overwhelm him.

What the hell was his relationship with Evelyn? Were they dating?

He glanced at his hand which Zayne had let go. His brows creased in a bit of pain. It was heavily bruised and slightly swollen from his grip alone, and he couldn’t even understand how.

With a forced smile playing on his lips, he turned to Evelyn, saying, "We’ll...talk another time."

"Wait," Zayne said, an eye-crinkling smile appearing on his face. To everyone within that room, the barely audible conversation between them seemed like a rather friendly one. "I didn’t hurt you, did I? My apologies if I did. I’m just a tad bit protective, I suppose."

Evelyn pulled secretly at the edge of his suit jacket.

Valerio glanced between both of them and stalked off, crushing his teeth together, veins popping all over his neck, and jaw.

Evelyn swallowed down the anxiety crawling inside of her. She turned to face Zayne.

"Zayne..."

But the look in his eyes made her words trail off. He wasn’t really thinking any of that was true, right? She could explain, she had explanations and it wasn’t like she’d personally invited Valerio.

But she knew he heard everything, every single word that Valerio had sputtered. It explained why he’d kissed her like that, as if he were putting a claim on her.

"Zayne—"

"Shall we go home?" he asked, though his voice was as cold as ice.

Was he mad at her? And why does she care this much that he was...?

Her chest was pounding. She couldn’t possibly hate the fact that he might be misunderstanding her...right?

Him grabbing her hand and interlocking their fingers was the snap-out-of-her-thoughts she needed.

"Zayne..." She let out puffs of breath, completely letting him drag her along with him to leave.

The entire event seemed to have completely come to an...

...End

—————

The moment Zayne stepped through the door, he tossed his jacket on the sofa, grabbing the buttons of his waistcoat. He really was angry with her.

What was she supposed to do? She’d been taken aback seeing Valerio there, and the things he was saying, it wasn’t like it was her fault or that any of it was exactly true.

She stared at his back that was turned towards her, the tension making her feel sick. It isn’t a big deal. She kept repeating to herself in her head.

"It was a good event, huh?" What the heck am I saying?

He wasn’t talking. Why? Why wasn’t he talking? He had to say something at least. He’d been silent like this throughout the ride home. If he was just going to be this way, why didn’t he just leave without her? Why did he bother bringing her home?

The longer she had to stand, watching him unknot his tie or pop open the buttons of his shirt, the antsier she got.

Why was she even being affected this way? Who cared if he was mad at her? It wasn’t like it mattered or anything...

Evelyn swallowed.

But she cared.

"So uh, the thing with Brandon, why do you think he did that? I mean, he’s with Preston and he did pull out his shares in the first place."

She bounced back and forth on her feet, nervous like she’d never been before. If he wanted, they could even talk about what happened. Though, she’d prefer not to converse about Valerio.

But this was making her sick.

"Are you going to be quiet like this forever?" she asked, hands balling by her side. "You haven’t said a word to me since we left the event. Not even when I make conversation."

Zayne still didn’t utter a word. He rather tossed his tie on the sofa, leaving himself in just his slacks and unbuttoned shirt.

He didn’t even make eye contact with her as he turned, walking past her to leave the room.

Where was he going?

The guest room? For what?

Evelyn kicked off her heels and began after him, face creasing in a deep scowl the more she hurried after him.

The man stepped into the room, and she moved right after him, slamming the door shut behind them.

"Evelyn, please get out," he said, voice devoid of any sense of warmth.

"Oh, so now you finally decided to speak?" she bit at him, hands clenched by her sides. "What even is your problem? If you have something to say, go ahead and do so."

Zayne froze.

The air dropped between them.

"You two sounded close," he said. "Awfully close."

Evelyn’s back stiffened. This was about Valerio. She absolutely knew this was about Valerio.

"What are you trying to ask me?" She’d rather not talk about him—the only man she’d ever been head over heels in love with. The one man she dared herself to confess to a year ago, only for him to shut her down. In a sort of...humiliating way.

Bile burned at the back of her throat, threatening to have her bent over and puking.

"I don’t think you need me to make it clear, Evelyn," Zayne said. "Maybe you don’t need to answer. I think I got the picture."

"The picture of what?" She knew. She knew damn well what he was implying, but for some reason, she just didn’t want to jump on that ride with him.

"Evelyn..."

"Just spit it out." She ground her teeth. "If you’ve got something to say, just say it and quit beating around the bush."

"Fine. Is he your lover?"

"He’s not my lover."

"Don’t you lie to me..." He sounded like he was on his last nerve.

Why did it matter? "He is not my lover!"

He turned to face her, head tilted lazily with a look in his eyes that did nothing but piss her off. "Do you love him then?" he questioned.

Evelyn drew her head back, stiffening. "What...?"