Chapter <b>148 </b>
Sean ced Charlotte gently on the bed, brushing a strand of hair from her flushed face. “You’re tired. Get some rest. I’ll go check who it is.”
He opened the door, and his expression instantly hardened. Zac was standing there.
He had almost forgotten that Zac was also in town. “This is getting interesting,<b>” </b>he thought.
Fresh from a shower, Sean wore only a towel wrapped around his waist. Faint, fresh marks were visible on his neck and corbone–evidence of his time with
Charlotte<b>. </b>
The sight seemed to detonate something inside Zac. His jaw tightened, and his <b>fists </b>clenched. His face went pale, and a storm brewed in his eyes.
<b>“</b>What did you do to her?” Zac’s voice was a low, furious growl, his entire body taut with anger.
Sean chuckled, leaning casually against the doorframe. “We’re <b>a </b>couple. What do you think?”
The wordsnded like a final blow. A crushing weight settled in Zac’s chest, his blood felt like it had turned to <b>ice</b><b>, </b>and a splitting headache pierced his temples.
He had always feared this might happen and had tortured himself with the thought. But seeing it with his own eyes was something else entirely.
His vision blurred for a moment, his pulse pounding in his <b>ears</b><b>. </b>His mind raced with anger and regret, drowning in disbelief.
A split secondter, Zac snapped. He lunged forward like a wild animal, eyes zing with fury.
Sean stepped back, smoothly sidestepping the attack. Then, with lightning speed, his fist crashed into Zac’s face<b>, </b>followed <b>by </b><b>a </b>swift<b>, </b>powerful kick.
A sharp, searing pain exploded across Zac’s cheek. His vision blurred, and a loud, relentless buzzing filled his head.
He staggered backward, mming into the hallway wall with a heavy, dull thud.
<b>“</b>Zac,” Sean’s voice was sharp<b>, </b>cold. “I gave you a chance<b>. </b>Three years ago, I told myself <b>if </b>she was happy with you<b>, </b>I’d step back. I’d let you have her. But you<b>… </b>how did you treat her?”
Zac felt like an invisible hand was squeezing his heart, crushing <b>it </b>over and over again<b>, </b>making it impossible <b>to </b>breathe.
But Sean didn’t <b>give </b>him a moment to recover. He leaned in, his voice cold and sharp. <b>“</b>Zac<b>, </b>what right do you have <b>to </b>question me<b>?</b>”
The words <b>were </b>like a de, cutting <b>deep</b>.
For a moment, Zac stood there, dazed.
He couldn’t answer. What right did he have?
He was the one who had ruined his rtionship with Charlotte<b>. </b><b>He </b>was the one who had pushed her away.
Sean’s gaze was filled with cold contempt, his eyes carrying a hint of mockery<b>, </b>as <b>if </b>he <b>were </b>staring at something pathetic.
There was nothing he despised more than a <b>man </b>who only realized the value of what he had after losing <b>it</b>. <b>Love </b>that came too <bte </b>was worthless. It was no better than weeds growing wild.
“Who’s Zac trying to fool with this sudden disy of regret?” Sean thought.
<b>But </b><b>just </b>as quickly<b>, </b>the daze in Zac’s <b>eyes </b>vanished. <b>He </b>seemed to cling to a single desperate thought<b>, </b>one that felt like his only lifeline.
A twisted smile stretched across his lips, the smear of blood making him look wild and unhinged.
“I do have the right because <b>I </b>love her!” Zac’s voice was fierce, almost desperate. “No one will ever love her more than I do!”
Seanughed<b>, </b>a cold<b>, </b>mocking sound. “Love? Your love is so worthless even a dog would turn away.”
Zac’s <b>lips </b>parted, but before he could speak, another voice cut through the tense air.
“<b>Zac</b>, what are you doing here?”
Charlotte’s voice was sharp, her re so intense it was as if she were staring at a mortal enemy.
Hearing her voice, Zac looked up.
The first thing that caught Zac’s eye was the unusual flush on Charlotte’s face and the lingering warmth of passion in her eyes.
Then his <b>gaze </b>traveled lower to the pale skin of her neck, where <b>a </b>ring<b>, </b>urunistakable mark stood out.
In <b>that </b>instant, Zac finally understood what it meant to feel like his heart was being tom <b>apart </b>
Just moments <b>ago</b>, when he had heard Sean’s words, a small part of him had clung to the desperate hope that it was all a cruel lie <b>a </b>twisted <b>game </b>meant to hurt
him