Page 8 of My Brutal Alpha

We were far from it, and as far as I knew, he wanted nothing to do with me. He had the chance before and completely stomped over it, so I was as lost as ever.

Hearing that question from him and the mere suggestion that we were anything to each other made my blood boil.

It felt like he was rubbing it in my face since only the two of us knew our history. Almost like it was a cruel inside joke that I didn’t ask to be a part of.

Thinking about it more only increased the urge within me to shout at him—to shove him off me and question what he was possibly doing.

Nothing would feel more satisfying than finally reaming him out and giving him a real piece of my mind. To let him know just how much I despised him for everything.

As I glanced up at him, feeling his firm grip on me, I could sense that there was something else under the surface—something he was keeping from me, given the faintest glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

Looking at his smug grin as he gently squeezed my hip only angered me more, flushing me with complete fury.

He had no right to hold me…to look at me like that and play some twisted game with me.

Loading up everything I wanted to say to him, I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, Ezra swooped in and pressed his lips against mine.

I froze up immediately at the feeling, eyes going wide before they eventually shut.

It felt like forever since the last time we kissed, and there was something nostalgic about it…something familiar. Almost like my body never forgot how it felt to be held by him, and my mouth never forgot what he tasted like.

It was cruel how good it felt, and how something in me, despite myself, wanted it to continue.

When he pulled away, I was wordless, breathless, and just as lost as before.

I couldn’t even begin to speak as I took him in, overwhelmed by his surrounding me completely—forced to inhale his scent.

“It’s you,” the man said, reminding me he was there at all. Recognition filled his eyes as he looked at Ezra, seeming confused as he glanced between us.

“Ezra?”

Out of nowhere, two people emerged from the foyer. Their incredulous expressions took us in, making me wish Icould shrink away from their eyes. Between the couple and the man, I felt more like a science experiment than a person.

I didn’t know who they were or what was happening…and I certainly had no idea why Ezra kissed me.

“Rory,” Ezra said, wearing a triumphant grin as he held me against his side still. He looked between the couple next. “Mom. Dad.”

His parents.

My cheeks warmed slightly at the thought, and my mind was reeling from it all.

I never imagined meeting his parents that way, and as hard as I tried to push those old feelings for him away, something about that prospect made me even more flustered.

As much as I wanted to push away and put as much space between myself and the situation as possible, I could only stand there in utter shock and watch as the situation unfolded before me. I was nothing more than a confused witness, at a complete loss about what was up Ezra’s sleeve.

The shock on his parents’ faces was clear as day, but his Mom forced out a breath and looked at him firmly. “What’s going on here?”

“You heard me,” Ezra said, sounding vaguely smug. “This is Zoe. My fiancée.”

They blinked back at us several times, unable to speak as they grasped at whatever words they could find. It was like they were both in disbelief yet irritated by the thought. I didn’t know why, but I had the feeling something else was going on that I didn’t know about yet.

“And when did this apparent engagement begin?” His dad asked, brows knitted together with annoyance.

“We were dating for two years, and I was so head-over-heels that I proposed just a few months ago,” Ezra said, grinning still. For whatever reason, I could tell he was laying it on thick. While his parents and Rory didn’t know he was lying, the fact that I knew the truth made it all the more confusing to me. “It was love at first sight, and I knew I’d be an idiot not to pop the question.”

Like a fish out of water, his mom looked me over. She gestured vaguely at my hands. “And where’s the ring then?”

Ezra hummed, pulling me into him by a fraction and squeezing my hip. My heart clenched.

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