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Chapter 21
~Zara’s POV~
What the hell was I thinking? Kissing Snow like that? Letting myself get swept away by his stupid, perfect lips and—gah!
I cursed under my breath, pacing back and forth in the hallway outside his office.
How could I let myself be so stupid? Of course, he wouldn’t want anything real with . This was all just a ga to him.
A contract. Nothing more.
I paused, leaning against the wall and forcing myself to breathe. This isn’t what I wanted. I wasn’t so lovesick girl anymore, chasing after a man who could never love .
Snow was playing with , toying with my emotions, and I had let him.
"Damn it."
I shut my eyes, trying to push away the mory of that kiss—how his hands felt on my waist, how my body responded to his touch without thinking.
It was like he had so kind of spell on , and I couldn’t break free. I felt Astrid stir within , her desires bubbling up, but I shoved her down.
"Not now," I muttered, taking a deep breath. "I’m not falling for him. I refuse."
Just as I was about to head back to my desk and drown myself in work, the elevator dinged, drawing my attention. I glanced over, my stomach dropping when I saw him walking to his office in his usual stoic self.
My mind raced back to when I saw them leave his office earlier — the classy lady, his chauffeur and his son.
The boy was in Snow’s arms, giggling as they stepped out of the office. My heart clenched painfully at the sight, a pang of sothing I didn’t want to acknowledge twisting in my chest.
In my past life I never had that. And in this one, just when I let myself believe again, that dream was shattered.
Just when I thought the spectacle was done, it got worse.
The lady leaned in close to Snow, her lips brushing against his cheek. Snow didn’t flinch. He didn’t push her away.
He stood there, completely unfazed. And in that split second, all the air seed to leave the room.
My chest tightened as I watched her press a soft kiss against his skin, her hand lingering on his arm.
My heart hamred in my chest. Of course. Of course, this was his real life—his perfect little family, I thought—his mistress and son.
How could I have been so blind? So stupid? I was nothing more than a side piece in their world.
A contract wife.
A temporary pawn in whatever ga Snow was playing.
I clenched my fists, forcing myself to look away from them. I wanted to scream, to curse at myself for thinking for even a second that I was anything more to him.
The kiss, the monts we’d shared—they were aningless. As it should have been.
I should’ve known better.
"Zara, pull yourself together," I whispered harshly, reprimanding my idiotic heart for even daring to hope for sothing else. "He’s not yours. He never was."
But... Why did it hurt so much? Why did it feel like my chest was being crushed?
"Get a grip, Zara. This is what you wanted. You’re playing the ga—don’t forget that," I reminded myself again.
After all, I chose a contract marriage for my own selfish gain — to escape Ivan.
But it didn’t stop the ache in my heart, or the tightening in my throat as I tried to swallow it all down. I wasn’t supposed to feel this way. I wasn’t supposed to care.
And yet, I couldn’t shake the image of them together from my mind.
I bit my lip, hard enough to taste blood.
I’m not falling for him. I’m not.
But the lie felt heavier with every beat of my heart.
"Tsk. This is the harsh reality of life Zar. How many more heartaches and betrayals would it take to make you see the reality of life?"
I spent the day focused on work and after I was done, I checked the text from Ella.
She was eager to find out how my plan went but I ignored it.
Not now.
That was when my eyes caught sight of the ssage from the unknown caller.
I was stupid ignoring it. I thought about the ssage for a while. With no Ella to stop , I texted back: What do you an? Explain or we won’t be eting up.
I inhaled deeply, not expecting much from my reply but a minute later, my phone buzzed with the familiar sound of my notification.
I held my breath when I saw the ID. Good.
Unknown Number: Interesting. Do you really think you should be bargaining?
I scoffed loudly. Rather than respond, I decided to play my own ga and not look desperate.
Glancing at my watch, I checked the ti. It was closing ti. Ti to head out.
Without waiting for Storm, I packed my things, fixed everything in place and left.
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Luckily, when I arrived, Snow wasn’t anywhere at ho. Which was good. I could easily go in with any awkward confrontation.
Reached upstairs, showered, had a change of clothes and went downstairs for lunch.
Even though I was his wife, I noticed I wasn’t given control of his mansion but I shrugged it off.
Lunch was served and I began to eat. A couple of minutes into my al, the worst happened.
The hurried footsteps of soone ca rushing into the dining room, breaking the silence.
I glance up in ti to see the familiar face of the small kid—Snow’s son.
But what I wasn’t hoping on was the sharp click of heels on the tiles, signaling the classy lady.
"Storm, wait up. Stop running inside the..."
She halted just a few steps from the table, her eyes fixed on .
I glanced back, my eyes holding Storm’s blue ones.
"Zoe, who’s this strange woman? Why is she in daddy’s house?"
I parted my lips to speak but his next words cut off completely. "Why was she close to daddy in the office?"
My jaw slacked and Zoe’s eyes darted in my direction, her expression completely shrouded in shock.
"What?"
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