Chapter 24 - Zoe
The faint clatter of dishes filled the kitchen as I loaded up the dishwasher while Lydia was busy boxing up the rest of the cake and putting the leftover food away.
It was quiet compared to the busy afternoon with everyone around, creating a stark difference I had to get used to at first. But the two of us worked slowly and peacefully as we appreciated the time we had spent with the others.
"Today was nice," Lydia eventually said with a pleasant smile on her face. "I really appreciate everything you did and all the hard work you put into this. I was genuinely surprised.”
I grinned back, touched by how happy the whole day made her. Knowing that kind of thing was always sure to uplift her mood, it was well worth the effort every time. “Of course. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't throw you the best baby shower?"
Lydia hummed her amusement. "Well, I can say you certainly threw a best friend-level one. You pulled all the stops, huh? It was even bigger than the first one."
I shrugged, not making too big of a deal out of it despite feeling proud of how it all turned out in the end. "Sebastian got everything started, and I had Ezra's help."
Lydia cocked a curious brow at me to match the interested grin on her lips. "He did, huh? It sounds like someone was far more invested than he initially let on."
Unable to hide my bashful grin, I nodded. There was no doubting that.
While I still felt bad for not telling her everything about Ezra and me sooner, I was at least glad that she knew and that I didn't have to keep anything from her. It made me feel so much lighter.
"I guess we both were and just didn't know how to act on it properly."
Lydia snickered. "Don't worry, most people don't seem to know how. At least, there are usually a lot of hiccups involved. But how has everything been?"
My smile lingered as I added more dishes to the top rack. After checking in on Callie in the next room, she came over to give me a hand to ensure she was still asleep. Luckily, the little one didn’t make a peep. She, too, had been worn out from the busy day.
“Everything’s really good...probably the best it's ever been. We're finally seeing eye to eye, and he seems to be genuinely trying. We still have some progress to make, but overall, he seems different than he used to be.”
Lydia gave me a genuine smile, but the faintest hint of reservation was behind it. "I'm glad to hear it. But...I don't think Sebastian has been handling it all that well. He’s trying not to show it, but he’s been tense.”
I sighed and absently rubbed my forehead, taking a short break from the task as I considered her words. "I was anticipating he wouldn't, but I had hoped he'd prove me wrong..."
She nodded her understanding with an empathetic expression. Unfortunately for her, she was caught in a difficult place of wanting to support both her best friend and her mate. "It's just the idea of one of his best friends sneaking around with his sister and having that bond...it's been a lot for him to try and wrangle. I’ve been telling him to give it a chance and to trust you with this, but I know it's weighing on him.”
A sense of guilt scurried through my system regardless of how I tried to rationalize it all in my mind, and I knew it wasn't the easiest situation to put him in, either.
But still, I just wanted him to understand. I didn't want there to be any tension.
Before I could say anything, I paused, perking up at something in the distance—a faint commotion that became clearer the longer I listened. The sound eventually split into two voices.
We both stopped then as I looked at her curiously. "Do you hear that?"
She focused for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, it sounds like shouting."
Pausing to try and look out the window, hoping to see what was going on, I furrowed my brows but couldn’t find what I was looking for. "Who is that?"
Then, with his perfect timing, Sebastian nearly flew in through the front door, looking furious.
The two of us were immediately caught off-guard, glancing between us before focusing on him. I opened my mouth to speak.
"What the hell—"
"You," Sebastian uttered, pointing at me with his features tight as he stopped a few steps away from me. "Don't think I forgot about you just because I didn’t bring it up yet.”
Concern stitched my features together as I had no choice but to look at him, body tense from his tone. I hadn’t seen that kind of anger in him for quite some time, and I couldn’t help but wonder what triggered it.
"What's going on?"
"How could you do that to me?" Sebastian demanded of me as a pained look crossed his eyes, melding with his anger. His voice dropped only by a touch. "How could you develop feelings for Ezra, even after you messed around with him and broke your heart? How could you do that behind my back?”
I was startled by not only the sudden confrontation but also by the way he looked so genuinely hurt from it all, as if I had done it on purpose, all with the intention of crushing him.
As much as I wanted to speak and defend myself, along with Ezra, I was too stunned.
Lydia forced out a breath and gave him a disappointed look, surely hoping to diffuse the situation to some degree. "Is this really the time or place?"
Sebastian didn't even glance at her—not while his entire focus was on me. "It doesn't take a genius to realize what kind of guy Ezra is...but you entertained it anyway. I expected better from you."
I bristled, bond churning defensively inside my chest. "What the hell do you mean by that?"
He gritted his teeth at me. "You know what I'm talking about. He means well in most cases, but he's not someone to trust with your feelings like that. Even he seems to understand that.”
My irritation sparked in response to his. "He's not like that...not actually."
"Oh, he's not? Then how come he hurt you at least once already? And what about his parents?”
"Sebastian..." Lydia muttered, tone a bit sharper than before as Callie stirred.
But neither of us listened then.
"Where is this coming from? You didn't freak out when I was here the other night."
Sebastian's jaw clenched. "I held back because you were upset, but I was furious. And seeing him today, seeing how you two were acting like nothing happened...it set me off."
I narrowed my eyes at him, piecing together that shouting from before and his obvious anger. "So, what, you were out there yelling at him after waiting for the baby shower to be over?"
"Yes! Someone had to put him in his place," Sebastian snapped, tone raised loud enough to spook the little one. “Someone had to remind him that you’re my little sister, and it was out of line for him ever to see you that way.”
The moment Callie started crying from the room over, Lydia huffed and glared at Sebastian before heading to her. "Look what you've done now..."
At her obvious disdain, Sebastian pulled back a fraction. But when she left the room, collected the toddler, and disappeared further into the house, my brother focused his whole attention on me.
"Why, Zoe? Why get caught up in this mess?"
Irritated by his interference, I crossed my arms over my chest, putting up that invisible wall between us. "We have a mate bond—you know that! You are well aware of how impossible it is to ignore."
"But him of all people!"
"It doesn't matter who he is, I didn't have any choice in the matter. It just happened. That's how this kind of thing works," I returned sharply, trying to get him to see some sort of sense. "Even if I tried to avoid that connection, it would've brought us together eventually."
Obviously not satisfied, Sebastian bared his teeth. "He should've known better than to entertain it...he never should've messed around with you in the first place, regardless of that connection."
Seeing how determined and stuck in his opinions he was made me recoil slightly. At that moment, I almost didn't recognize my brother.
Tired of fighting, I shook my head absently and lowered my voice. "Why can't you just let me have this? Why can't I be happy too?"
Sebastian blinked back at me then, seeming almost caught off-guard by my switch in tone.
When he said nothing, I continued, "My situation with Ezra is no different from what happened with you and Lydia. You found a mate bond with my best friend, and I was fine with it because I love both of you and want you to be happy. I didn't consider standing in between that bond for even a moment. So why are you?"
Completely stunned, Sebastian realized I had cornered him in his hypocrisy. Struggling to come to terms with it, almost like he didn't want to admit it, he took a moment before he sighed.
The kitchen fell into an almost startling silence as we looked at each other.
But my irritation remained even while his anger seemed to simmer away at the realization.
"Zoe..."
Too annoyed with him to even want to be in the same room, I shook my head and moved toward the door. "I can't believe you..."
When I remembered how it all started with the two of them yelling outside, my worry spiked, and I knew I had to find Ezra.
As I reached the threshold, I heard Sebastian calling my name again, but I didn't care.
Leaving him there, I left the house and hurried out of the yard.
With my heart clenched tightly in my chest, I pushed forward, afraid that whatever Sebastian said might have caused more damage to our connection than I wanted to accept.