Page 9 of My Brutal Alpha

“I proposed without one because I wanted her to pick the ring herself, seeing as she’ll be the one stuck with it, right? We just haven’t found the right one yet,” he reassured them, adding even more lies.

Even as I listened and tried to put the pieces together, I couldn’t think of any good reason for him to lie. Obviously, he was putting on some sort of performance, but I just didn’t get it.

Why would he need to convince his parents we were engaged? What did I have to do with any of it?

It didn’t make sense.

While his parents didn’t seem entirely convinced yet, his dad sighed. “You never brought this up when we spoke with you.”

“It just didn’t come up, I guess.”

“And you’re sure this is what you want? You’re set on this?” His mom asked, looking doubtful. Or at least, like she had a hundred other women in mind, she’d rather her son marry over me.

Even connecting those words in my mind made me feel ill from those old feelings.

“I’ve never been more sure about anything before,” Ezra said, tone unwavering.

For a moment, even I believed him.

But with that delusional acceptance immediately came the physical pain it brought me. My chest ached as I listened to him sound so sincere while he lied to his parents—saying all the things I once hoped to be true.

When things were good between us, I hoped we would find ourselves in that position one day. I wanted us to be perfect for each other and to share our engagement with his parents. I wanted us to be something and have a future together.

At least, I had hoped to at one point.

But ever since we hooked up and it became incredibly clear he had only used me for sex and had no qualms about breaking my heart, I couldn’t even consider the idea of having anything to do with him.

Even being that close to him, breathing in his refreshing scent and feeling his warm body pressed against me, was hard enough to handle.

As the conversation lingered, with his parents asking more questions and being far too nosy in general, the whole thing felt incredibly agonizing for me. I just wanted it to be over so I could scrub those thoughts and memories from my mind again.

Finally, whether his parents decided they had heard enough or assumed Ezra was telling the truth, they gave Ezra a disapproving look before they turned back around and left. They certainly looked irritated, regardless of Ezra’s satisfied expression. Rory’s eyes lingered on me for a moment before he followed them out.

With a sense of relief the moment they were gone, it was quickly overshadowed by the immediate anger that rose to the surface and pushed its way through.

I felt Ezra’s eyes on me as I wriggled out of his grasp, at least grateful that his arm loosened enough for me to slip away.

Doing everything in my power to keep those old feelings down and to ignore the pain and confusion coursing through me, I walked off to another room and made myself breathe.

I didn't want to see him even if I wanted to know what it was all about. I needed space.

***

As the event ended, and I finally had the chance to stop and truly think again, I could feel my senses snap back into place.

Ezra caught me completely off-guard, and I spent some time trying to wrap my head around what the hell happened. Why did he apparently need to convince Rory and his parents that we were engaged despite it being an insane idea?

When the guests were on their way out, I did my best to center myself again as I thanked them for coming, but in the back of my mind, I could only think about how angry I was all over again.

I couldn't believe Ezra had the gall to rope me into something like that and mock me in a sense. It felt horrible, and I wasn't sure if he realized that.

But as the last few stranglers left, I found Ezra as he lingered in the background, almost like he didn't intend on leaving yet. That made me even more furious.

Something in me was screaming to ignore him and forget about it, but the other part was feeling spiteful. Furious. I didn't want to let him off that easily.

Finally, given the opportunity to give him a piece of my mind, I could not resist and began in his direction.

Before I was even that close to him, he turned around and furrowed his brows at me, silently questioning me already.

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