Chapter 11
Liz’s unruffled expression totally killed Zac’s mood. He snorted dismissively and headed for the kitchen.
In his mind, all this fake understanding was just her way of locking in the marriage. Once they were actually husband and wife, he figured the drama would come out full force.
Back in the bedroom, Liz opened her laptop. After collecting herself, she went right back to work.
The next few days passed in a blur of meetings and late nights. Liz was swamped with work and barely home before dark. When she did come in, Zac was either sitting in the living room going through paperwork or hadn’t returned at all.
They lived under the same roof, but barely exchanged more than a handful of words.
In the past, Liz would never have been able to stand that. She would have been the first to cave and try to make peace. But now, she felt strangely at peace. It didn’t bother her in the slightest.
Zac noticed the difference. Since he moved back in, Liz had grown noticeably colder.
She only cooked for herself. She stopped leaving the lights on for him. If he came home late from a business dinner reeking of alcohol, she didn’t bother making him anything to help sober up. If he didn’t come home at all, she didn’t ask where he had
been.
They were like two roommates stuck living together because they couldn’t afford to move out. They stayed out of each other’s way and rarely crossed paths.
Zac didn’t mind. In fact, he preferred it that way. He didn’t love Liz anymore, and he didn’t have the patience to pretend
otherwise.
The weekend rolled around, and Susan showed up in person to join them for their wedding photo shoot.
After the first outfit change, Liz sat in front of the mirror while the stylist worked on her makeup. Zac lounged behind her on the couch, glued to his phone.
Just as her makeup was finished, Zac’s face suddenly shifted. He stood up abruptly. “We’ll have to reschedule the shoot. Something came up.”
Before Liz could say a word, Susan snatched the phone from his hand. Her voice rose in frustration. “What could possibly be more important than your wedding photos? Is your company going bankrupt?”
Earlier, while sitting next to him, she had noticed the constant messages from a contact named Xena popping up on his screen. Even though he didn’t reply, his growing agitation was obvious to anyone watching.
“Mom, give me the phone,” Zac said sharply. “Xena’s threatening to jump. Are a few photos more important than someone’s life?”
Susan scoffed. “Jump? Then let her. A shameless little mistress who destroys other people’s relationships? The world’s better
off without her!”
Zac’s expression turned cold. “Mom, that’s enough. If you don’t let me go today, then I’m calling the wedding off.”
Susan stared him down, her voice low with fury and disappointment. “Zac Lincoln. Say that again.
The two of them locked eyes. The room went silent.
The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. No one dared to speak. Even the staff instinctively held their breath as the silence stretched on.
Then, the sharp click of heels broke through the stillness.
1/3
Liz stepped forward and stopped beside Susan. Without a word, she reached out and gently took the phone from her hand.
“Liz… what are you doing?” Susan asked, startled.
Liz didn’t respond. She didn’t even look at her. She turned and calmly held the phone out to Zac.
“You can go,” she said quietly.
Her tone was steady. Her face was composed. No yelling, no tears, not even a trace of disappointment. When she looked at Zac,
her eyes were empty.
It was as if she were looking at a complete stranger.
Zac froze for a moment. His breath caught in his throat. But he took the phone from her without a word and walked out of the
room.
As she watched his back fade into the distance, Liz suddenly thought of that winter night when her own family kicked her out. It had been freezing. His hand had been dry and warm as he held hers and led her away.
She had looked at his back the same way then, thinking he was the one person she could rely on from that day forward.
But now, all she could do was stand there and watch him walk away toward another woman.
And this time, she didn’t try to stop him. She didn’t even want to.
Susan turned to Liz, guilt and heartache written all over her face. “Liz…”
But Liz gave her a soft smile and spoke before she could continue. “I know what you’re about to say. But really, it’s fine. We already got one set of photos done. That’s enough.”
“I just feel like this is so unfair to you.”
“It’s not,” Liz said gently. “It honestly isn’t.”
She no longer had any expectations when it came to Zac. And without expectations, there was nothing left to be hurt by.
Susan let out a long sigh, unable to shake the feeling that she might have made a mistake. Maybe she never should have used a life-saving favor to push Liz into giving Zac another chance.
But it was too late to regret now. Things had already gone too far.
After seeing Susan out, Liz turned to a nearby studio staff member. “How many wedding photo sets do we still have left?”
The staffer pulled up the booking details. “Miss Smith, you originally scheduled four outfits, and we included an extra one as a bonus. That means four sets haven’t been shot yet. Would you like to come back another day to finish them?”
“No need,” Liz replied. “Let’s finish them all today.”
The staff member hesitated. “Will you be shooting alone?”
“Yes,” Liz said simply. “And for the set we already took, please edit him out. Just retouch it as a solo portrait.”
“Oh… alright. And for the rest, would you like them styled as individual portraits too?”
Liz nodded. “Exactly.”
She had spent weeks comparing studios before choosing this one. She wasn’t going to let all that time and money go to waste.
By the time the shoot wrapped up, it was already after six. Liz grabbed a quiet dinner at a nearby restaurant before heading
home.
2/3
As expected, the apartment was completely dark when she walked in.
Exhausted from the day, she went straight to the bathroom, took a long hot shower, and went to bed early.
The next morning, just as she was about to head out the door for work, Zac stopped her.
“Liz, we need to talk.”
She paused, checked the time, then looked at him calmly. “I’ve got five minutes. What is it?”
“I’ll marry you,” Zac said. “But only if you stop interfering with Xena.”
His tone made it sound like he was making some huge sacrifice.
Liz almost laughed.
She had been so pathetically accommodating in the past that maybe he really believed she would never walk away, no matter how badly he treated her. Maybe that was why he thought he could still say something like that.
“Zac,” she said evenly, “the day after we had dinner with your mom, she came to my office. She brought up how she once saved my life and asked me to give you another chance.”
Zac’s expression shifted, but Liz kept going like she hadn’t noticed.
“I told her that if you could completely cut ties with Xena within a month, I’d forgive you.
“I know you don’t want to marry me. And I don’t want to be the woman who comes between you and Xena. There are still twenty days left in that one-month window. You can keep seeing her if you want. When the time’s up, we’ll break up.”
Zac let out a cold laugh. “Liz, can you stop pretending? All this talk is just a way to pressure me into dumping Xena.
“I already said I’d marry you. What more do you want? Isn’t the title of Mrs. Lincoln enough?”
He didn’t believe a word she said. With the wedding just around the corner, there was no way she actually meant to walk away. He thought it was just another tactic to force his hand.
Seeing the look of annoyance on his face, Liz felt a sharp pang in her chest.
“Zac, I never cared about being Mrs. Lincoln.”
What she had wanted was the love he used to show her back in college.
But that version of him was long gone.
And even if he still existed, he clearly didn’t care anymore.
Zac narrowed his eyes, his voice laced with sarcasm. “If you didn’t care about the title, then why go to all this trouble to force me into marrying you?”
“I already told you,” Liz said softly. “When the month is up, we’re done.”
Today’s Bonus Offer
GET IT NOW
3/3
