<b>Chapter </b><b>51 </b>


    Liz kept her expression neutral. “You’re friends with Zac. He and I already broke up.”


    The message was clear. There was no reason for them to stay in contact, and whether they were on formal or informal terms no longer mattered.


    “I’m friends with him, but I’m also friends with you.‘


    Liz gave a faint smile. “You’re giving me too much credit, Mr. Cooper. I’m really not in your league.”


    Sensing the distance in her voice, Rick smiled politely and chose not to press the matter.


    “At the bar the other night, I forgot to ask something. Are you really finished with him? Completely?”


    Liz looked at him. “We already broke up. Isn’t that obvious enough?”


    Rick studied her calm, detached expression. “But what if one day Zac realizes he made a mistake andes back? Would you take him back?”


    “No.”


    She met his eyes with a steady gaze. “Mr. Cooper, I’m not sure why you’re asking me that. <b>If </b>you’re worried I’ll rum after Zac and beg him toe back, you don’t need to be. I have more self–respect than that.”


    Rick paused for a moment, clearly surprised. “That’s not what I meant. If I offended you, I apologize.”


    “There’s no need for an apology,” Liz said evenly. “I just don’t appreciate being tested. I’ve got things to do, so if you’ll excuse <b>me</b>.”


    Without waiting for a response, she walked past him and left.


    Rick remained where he was, watching her walk away. He let out a quiet sigh.


    She was serious. She was truly done with Zac and had no intention of turning back.


    Just a few days earlier, Zac had been bragging over drinks, saying Liz would eventuallye crawling back to him.


    Rick couldn’t help but wonder what Zac would do once he realized that Liz was really gone for good.


    By the time Liz returned to the private room, the reunion was wrapping up.


    Instead of ending the night there, the group had decided to head out for karaoke.


    Liz nced at the time. It was already close to ten o’clock.


    “It’s gettingte. I think I’ll head home,” she said. “You all have fun.”


    Some of them tried to convince her to stay, but once they saw she had made up her mind, they let her go.


    After saying her goodbyes at the hotel entrance, Liz got into her car and drove home.


    Bút as soon as she stepped out of the elevator, Liz froze.


    Someone was sitting by her front door.


    The sight startled her at first. Then she saw who it was. It was Zac.


    Her brows drew together as she walked toward him. “What are you doing here?”


    The smell of alcohol reached her before he even opened his mouth.


    Zac looked up at her, his eyes ssy and unfocused, his cheeks flushed with booze.


    +15 <b>BONUS </b>


    “Liz, when did you change the door code? I tried so many times, but none of them worked.” He leaned his head back to look at her, his voice carrying a trace of hurt.


    Seeing him drunk and slumped outside her home, Liz’s expression turned cold. She didn’t argue or waste time. She simply pulled out her phone and called the police.


    The officers arrived quickly. After confirming what happened, they escorted Zac away.


    Back inside, Liz took a long, hot shower. Then she put on a movie, hoping to rx. Just as she was about to go to bed, a new message appeared on her phone.


    “Calling the cops on me? That was cold, Liz.”


    So he had sobered up.


    She stared at the text for a second, then deleted it without responding.


    Meanwhile, in the back seat of a ck Maybach, Zac sat brooding. His face was grim as he stared at the message he had sent, still sitting there without a reply.


    Humiliation and frustration twisted inside him. He had been so drunk that he forgot he and Liz had already broken up. He had gone looking for her like nothing had changed.


    Instead of weing him back, Liz had called the police and had him hauled off to the station.


    Just thinking about it made his blood boil.