Betrothed To An Alpha? I Don't Think So!
Chapter 72: An Explanation

Chapter 72: An Explanation

A stabbing sense of anxiety pierced through her heart.

She let out a shuddering breath, palm coming to rest on her chest. The idea alone was killing her, and she was too irritated to even wonder why.

If he did have a lover, why did it matter? Just like she told him, they weren’t in any form of relationship, so this shouldn’t be any of her business.

But it was.

It felt like it was.

Right?

This hole of emptiness she’d always felt, this form of loneliness that had always just lingered, was burning at the edge now, draining her bit by bit.

"I’m losing it," she mumbled to herself, running a hand through her hair. "I’m losing my mind—"

"Evelyn?"

The sudden sound of a familiar voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she whipped her gaze up towards someone.

Amber.

Her pupils dilated.

"What are you doing here?" Amber walked over to her, a paper cup of coffee in her hand.

Evelyn dated her gaze around, an awkward smile pooling on her lips. She shook her head. "Nothing."

"Nothing...?"

"Yes, nothing."

Amber eyed her from head to toe before narrowing her eyes into a slit, saying, "Then why are you acting weird?"

"W-weird?"

"Yes." She cocked a brow. "Look at you. You’re behaving like I just caught you in an act. I know you very well, Evelyn, and I know you’re hiding something from me. Spit it out."

Evelyn rubbed her temples, trying to play it cool. "I’m not hiding anything. I just came to have coffee, same as you."

"But that makes absolutely no sense."

Amber set her coffee aside on the table.

"Mr. Mancini’s house is far from here and so is your company. Why would you come all the way here to have co...Oh!"

Her sudden exclamation earned a scowl from Evelyn.

"What?" Evelyn asked.

"Mr. Mancini’s company is right over there." Amber grinned. "You’re here because of him, aren’t you?"

Evelyn’s eyes widened and she rapidly blinked, taking a step back. "That’s not—"

Amber’s smile further stretched from ear to ear. "Wow, you’re totally smitten with him. I thought you didn’t want to marry him?"

She stepped into her space.

"Did you change your mind? Ooo, I want to know why. What changed? What happened? Also, why aren’t you going into his company to see him?"

"Because I didn’t come here to see him," Evelyn snapped. "I didn’t. This is all a misunderstanding."

Amber didn’t seem so convinced. "You sound awfully..."

The sudden look that emerged on Evelyn’s face burned the words she had to say. "Evelyn?"

But she wasn’t answering. She was rather staring at something—at someone.

Following her line of sight, she caught a glimpse of Zayne Mancini who’d stepped out of his company, a woman following beside him.

The blondie held a massive smile on her face, never taking her eyes off him even for a second. Zayne was beaming down at her—and for over two weeks now, Evelyn had never even seen him smile, never even seen him look at her the way he was gazing down at the lady.

He didn’t seem to mind even when she went into his arms, hugging him in the warmest of ways you can only hug someone you...love...

"Who’s that woman? Are you two not...like a thing anymore?" Amber asked.

Evelyn felt suffocated.

But she wasn’t willing to admit it.

She hated it. Having to watch him look at someone else like that—something she’d never seen him do before.

Even if she never acknowledged it, she hadn’t failed to glimpse how he noticed no one else except her. Even in a room full of people, she was always the only thing in his line of sight.

How could that all just change so quickly? Was it her fault...?

But it wasn’t like that. She...she...

Flickering her eyes, she took a step back. Amber quickly averted her gaze from her. "Evelyn? Are you okay?"

She tried to approach her, but Evelyn shook her head, muttering, "I’m okay. I’m fine."

She grabbed her bag and walked past her to leave the cafe.

"Evelyn!" Amber tried to go after her, abandoning her coffee. "Evelyn, wait!"

She grabbed her hand, pulling her to a stop. "What is going on? Are you really okay?"

"I am. I am," Evelyn responded.

"No, you’re not. Look at your face. You’ve suddenly gone so pale. What the hell is happening?" she questioned. "Is he hurting you? If he is, then—"

"No." Evelyn shook her head. "It’s not like that. He’s not hurting me or anything. He isn’t like that."

"Then what is it? Why are you like this?"

"I don’t know." She shrugged, chuckling at herself mockingly. "I don’t know what is wrong with me, Amber. And I just want to go home."

"Evelyn."

Amber wasn’t willing to let go of her.

"If something is wrong, you should talk to me. I’m your best friend and I’ll help—"

"It’s not...something you can help with." Evelyn smiled at her. "I’m just confused with myself, that is all. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I just need to figure myself out and everything will be okay."

Amber wanted to persist, to find out what the problem was, but she turned away and began to leave.

"Evelyn..."

Evelyn didn’t answer her. She never even looked back once, not at Zayne who hadn’t even noticed her.

There was nothing Amber wanted more than to confront Zayne, but she didn’t know what exactly was going on between the two.

Not unless Evelyn gave her an explanation.

———

Arriving home, the first thing Zayne noticed stepping in was how quiet the house sort of seemed.

Not that it wasn’t quiet sometimes. But today felt rather different. Not just that, but the air felt so...gloomy.

He ignored it for that day, unsure what it was.

The problem now was that even when he woke up the next morning, it was all still the same.

Evelyn was in the house with him, however...