Page 47 of My Brutal Alpha

Pushing that kernel of doubt away, I reminded myself that it didn't matter. If my dad was foolish enough to make a promise on my behalf and try and force me into it still, he could face the consequences.

It wasn't my burden to bear. After everything they had done to me, I wasn't willing to shoulder that mistake any longer.

Letting go of a decided breath, I nodded. "You'll have to take it up with my father. It's out of my hands, and that's how I plan to keep it."

Regardless of his anger and resentment for being screwed over, Kody seemed to calm himself in my presence, and he nodded.

"I can't say I'm satisfied with this, but I have enough honor not to make this your problem too," he said, keeping himself level-headed. Despite restraining himself, that deeply rooted anger, now firmly trained on my dad, still gleaned withinhis eyes. "But don't come crying to me when something happens to your parents."

Even if things went better than they could've, I wasn't in the mood to hand out any spare kindness, so I just nodded and watched as Kody turned away with a final breath and headed in the opposite direction.

The moment he was gone, I huffed and shook my head in disbelief as the others looked at me.

“That didn’t go how I expected it to,” Nick uttered, doing his best to reign in his defensiveness.

I huffed out a breath and nodded, gesturing to the garage doors. “Will you keep an eye on him? Make sure he leaves and doesn’t cause any problems on the way out.”

Nick and the others nodded, quick to leave the garage and trail Kody from a distance. Leaving me alone then, I had to the chance to wrangle that mixture of relief and additional pressure that brewed within me.

At the sight of Kody, I could've sworn he would've been ready to tear into me, but it seemed he had more sense than my parents.

Reaching for a rag, I wiped my hands down and did my best to ignore that semblance of guilt in me.

There was no doubt that things were going to ramp up between Kody and my parents, but I couldn't focus on that.

I didn't owe them anything...especially not when they caused all that bullshit for me.

Ultimately, I did the right thing for Zoe and me, which mattered most.

Chapter 22 - Zoe

After all our careful planning and acquiring supplies for the baby shower, the day had arrived, and I and Ezra spent the morning preparing.

Sebastian took Lydia and Callie out for breakfast to give us a chance to set everything up, so we took advantage of that time and hauled everything over from the house.

Before long, the backyard was completely decked out with everything I deemed necessary for the day to be a hit. It was all there, from decorations to snacks, drinks, games, and the gift table.

To give us some extra hands, the other guys showed up with their families and pitched in before the guests arrived. Then, when it was all perfect, the backyard was soon full of everyone close to Sebastian and Lydia.

With all of us gathered, the three of them approached the backyard, and we excitedly surprised Lydia.

Her face lit up immediately as the realization set in, eyes moving from all of us to the decorations. "No way!"

Everyone smiled at her joyous reaction as she entered the backyard fully, and I approached for a hug.

"This looks incredible," she said, visibly touched by the gesture. As we pulled back from the embrace, Lydia grinned. "Did you do this?"

Smiling back at her, I nodded. "I sure did. But I had some help, of course."

As her smile lingered, she glanced back at Sebastian. "I should've known that sudden breakfast out was suspicious."

"Suspicious?" He questioned with an amused grin as he put an arm around her. "Or perfectly timed?"

Lydia rolled her eyes playfully but smiled and seemed overly happy about the whole thing. "Regardless, this is so wonderful."

As Lydia and Sebastian greeted their guests, Ezra and I stood off to the side near the games table.

I glanced over at him. "Did you remember the pudding for the diaper-changing game?"

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