Chapter 178: Chapter 189

Chapter 0189 Hannah 6 +25 BONUS The second I entered the private restaurant, my eyes were already scanning the room critically. Everything had to be perfect for Drake and Zoe’s date–everything. Not even saying a word to the hostess, I moved swiftly to the table in the corner and began nervously smoothing out the white tablecloth, rearranging the candles, and primping the flowers.

“Hannah?” Drake’s voice startled me as he entered. “You got here early.”

I didn’t even bother to look up, keeping my gaze focused on preening the pretty pink rose petals in the vase. “Just making sure everything’s ready,” I replied. “You’re early too.”

Drake nodded as he stopped in front of me, and upon a brief glance I could see his eyes darting around nervously despite his handsome appearance. “Yeah, I... I wanted to thank you again for setting this up. I know it wasn’t easy.”

A pang of guilt twisted in my stomach. “So, um... About that,” I began, biting my lip. “I sort of had to tell Zoe that I had a business proposition for her. It was the only way to get her here.”

Drake’s eyebrows shot up. “What? Why?”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “She’s been looking for a job, I guess. I don’t know... it was the only thing I could think of that would guarantee she would show up.” It was true; I had considered everything. Unless Noah was in the picture, which he obviously couldn’t be for something like this, I was certain that Zoe would have said no to an invitation to meet me for dinner.

“Hannah,” Drake groaned rubbing his hand over his face, “that’s... that’s not good. She’s going to be furious.”

“I know, I know,” I said quickly. “I feel terrible about it. But I promised I’d help you, and... well, this was the best I could do in the amount of time I had.”

Drake was quiet for a moment, then he nodded and smoothed down the front of his suit. “Okay. Well, if she gets angry, I won’t let you take the blame. I’ll tell her it was all my idea.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, not feeling much better. If one of us went down, then both of us surely would. I doubted that Zoe would discriminate with her ire when it came to this.

We waited in tense silence for a while for Zoe to arrive. I kept myself busy by unnecessarily rearranging things, while Drake paced back and forth, clutching a single rose in his hand and repeatedly smoothing his hair in the window’s reflection. He kept his back turned, although whether to hide his terror or surprise Zoe, I couldn’t be sure.

Finally, the door opened, and Zoe walked in. The hostess said something to her and led her across the crowded restaurant, finally bringing her to us. Stopping a few feet away, Zoe looked confused for a moment, her eyes darting back and forth between Drake and me.

“Hannah? What’s going on?” she asked haltingly, clearly suspicious.

Before I could answer, Drake turned around and stepped forward, offering Zoe the rose. “Zoe,” he said, his voice surprisingly steady. “I’m so glad you came.”

Chapter 0189 +25 BONUS Zoe’s eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed to dangerous slits. She looked from Drake to me, her face flushing bright red with anger.

“You,” she hissed, pointing at me. “You lied to me, didn’t you? There’s no job, is there?”

I swallowed, holding my hands out in a placating gesture. “Zoe, Drake has been dying for a date with you,”

I said gently, taking a step closer. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, and we would understand. But this was the only way I could get you here.”

Zoe’s face twisted with fury. “You bitch,” she growled, causing me to flinch. “After all that talk of understanding my situation? After promising me that you would stay out of it? How long have you two been working together?”

I opened my mouth to explain, but no words would come out. Not that Zoe waited for an answer, anyway; she was already turning back to Drake and snatching the rose from his hand.

“And you!” she spat, holding the rose up between them. “I told you that I’m not interested, time and time again. Who the hell do you think you are?” She paused, her teeth grit as she looked back and forth between the two of us again. “I’ll tell you what you are! You’re both dirty little schemers!”

With that, she threw the rose to the ground and stomped on it, grinding it beneath her heel. Drake flinched at the sound of the stem snapping.

“Zoe, please,” he started, but she was already storming out of the restaurant.

Drake and I exchanged a brief, panicked look before I nodded at him and he bolted after her. “Zoe, wait!”

The door slammed behind them, leaving me alone in the suddenly too–quiet restaurant. The nearby patrons had paused their dining, their eyes turning to me. I sank into the nearest chair, burying my face in my hands in the hopes that they would return their attention to their meals.

“Well, that went spectacularly,” I muttered under my breath.

I sat there for a while, replaying the disaster in my mind. Eventually, I pulled myself together and left, climbing back into my waiting car and instructing the driver to take me home–home, where I could finally, blissfully, sink into a hot bath and shut myself off from the world, if only for a little while.

When I finally arrived, the house was dark and quiet. I kicked off my shoes with a sigh of relief, my aching from the heels I had been wearing all day.

feet What a pain; I had been running around like a chicken with my head cut off since early morning, barely having gotten any sleep after helping Noah the night before and spending the day curating the perfect blind date for Drake and Zoe, only to have it explode in my face.

“Hello?” I called out softly into the dark house, hoping I wouldn’t receive an answer.

Silence greeted me–thank the Goddess. I made my way to the living room, flipping on the light switch as I entered.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Noah sitting in an armchair, his face partially hidden in shadow.

“Goddess, Noah,” I gasped, clutching my chest. “You scared me half to death. What are you doing sitting in the dark?”

Noah didn’t answer immediately. He leaned forward slightly, his green eyes glinting in the lamplight.

2/3 +25 BONUS Chapter 0189 There was something in his expression that made my stomach drop, and instantly I knew–he knew.

But how much did he know, exactly, I wondered? I didn’t need to ask, because he answered that question for me.

“I heard about your little scheme today,” he said, his voice low and controlled. A moment passed with neither of us speaking, and finally, he rose to his full height. It was times like this when I realized just how tall he was, just how much he could command a room. Despite myself, I felt my posture shrink a bit beneath his gaze, and it was then that I knew I really fucked up.

Before I could speak, Noah gestured to the chair opposite him and clenched his jaw tightly.

“Take a seat, Hannah. We need to talk.”

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