Chapter 33

Hannah

Seeing Zoe kiss Noah’s cheek so tenderly, so lovingly, filled me with a rage that made me want to lash out. I wanted to scream, cry, yell, and throw things, even resort to my purging pills again, despite the fact they had long since been flushed down the toilet.

But I didn’t. I don’t love Noah anymore, I kept telling myself. It shouldn’t matter. Right now, my only goal was to gain enough leverage so that when our divorce began, I would have a significant advantage.

It was sometime in the afternoon that I caught Noah again as he was walking out of the banquet hall where tonight's gala was to be held. He was absorbed in a text on his phone and almost didn’t notice me until I literally stepped in his path. “Ahem.”

Noah jerked his head up from his phone and stared at me for a moment. “What is it?” he asked, in that usual prickly demeanor of his—a far cry from the sweet words he’d said to me last night. I held out the menu. “Here’s tonight’s menu. You said you wanted to see it.”

Noah blinked, still seemingly caught off guard by my composed demeanor. “Oh. Uh, yes, let me see.” He took the menu, his green eyes scanning the list of dishes. A small crease appeared between his brows as he read. “You’ve made some last-minute changes,” he observed, glancing up at me with a frown. “Why? We had the menu set days ago.”

I shrugged lightly. “I may have added a few things based on… cravings.” It was true; this morning, I’d developed a sudden, unstoppable craving for crab cakes and chocolate mousse—an odd combination, I knew. I couldn’t decide if it was pregnancy cravings, general food cravings now that my body had gotten used to food again, or perhaps both.

Noah’s frown deepened into a scowl. “Cravings? Are you trying to be difficult on purpose? This is an important event, Hannah.”

Pursing my lips, I simply held his gaze steadily. He always did have a tendency to jump to accusations. But before he could start ranting, I slowly extended my arm, resting my hand on the crook of his elbow.

I felt Noah stiffen at the gentle contact, his words dying on his tongue. Carefully keeping my expression neutral, I traced my fingernails lightly along the sensitive skin of his inner arm. A faint shiver rippled through his frame.

“I thought you would be proud of me,” I murmured, my voice pitched low so only he could hear. “Giving in to my cravings, trying to eat more.”

“I know what I said last night,” he snapped.

There was a brief silence, and I maintained my cool expression. Noah’s jaw clenched, but I could see the barest flicker of heat in his gaze as it dropped briefly to my lips. His pupils were blown wide, inky pools of blackness in a sea of green.

We stood there motionless for a long, charged moment before he finally spoke again, his voice low and strained. “You’re right. If having certain… indulgences will help you eat, then I won’t complain.”

A small, triumphant smile curved my mouth. Leaning in, I pressed a lingering kiss to Noah’s opposite cheek—the opposite one from the one Zoe had kissed earlier that morning. I wasn’t sure why I did it. As I pulled back, I saw a muscle feathering in Noah’s taut jaw, felt the slight tremble of his powerful frame so close to mine. Our gazes met and held, a thousand unspoken words and fiery heat blazing between us. I felt something warm blossom outward from my groin, and I knew I wanted him. I really did.

But I wouldn’t do it. Before I could make a mistake that I knew I would regret, I turned on my heel and walked away, hips swaying subtly with each step. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Noah’s reflection in a shining display case—he was still frozen in place, his gaze burning into my retreating form.