Chapter 3

The next morning, as I brought breakfast out of the kitchen, I ran into Liam coming from the master bedroom.

He stammered an explanation. "Isabella was restless at night—I stayed up with her later."

I gave him a puzzled look.

Wasn't that his routine lately?

Why was he explaining to me?

I nodded flatly and moved to walk past him.

But as I stepped away, I heard Liam's cheerful voice. "Zoe, I knew it—you still care about me most."

"These dumplings are my favorite."

I swatted his hand away. "What are you doing?"

"Doesn't Isabella get sick from the smell of meat?"

"I made these specially for James."

With that, I brushed past him and headed to the living room.

I love meat, but since Isabella moved in, I'd been banned from eating it at home.

At one point, I ate lamb outside, and she threw a fit over the slight smell.

Isabella seemed to have a radar for meat on me.

She never yelled—just covered her nose and made a scene in the bathroom with the water running loud.

But later, I kept seeing her order meat snacks online.

Liam just said, "She's pregnant—why bother arguing?"

I shook my head, clearing those unhappy memories.

In the living room, James, who'd been smiling at me, suddenly turned cautious again.

I turned and saw Liam had followed me. "Zoe, you've worked so hard!"

"I'm so useless—if only my legs weren't injured!"

"You stayed up all night with me, and now you're making breakfast... I just..."

Seeing his guilty look, I rushed to comfort him. "Of course not! I'm happy to do it."

"And your legs—you saved that kid from traffic because of you."

I was about to say more when Liam exploded. "I thought we agreed I'd sleep on the couch and give you the study?"

"Zoe, you stayed in the guest room with him all night?"

At his words, James lowered his head.

I felt a surge of anger. "Liam, his legs were hurting—of course I had to stay."

"Isn't that the same as you staying with Isabella?"

Liam froze, reflexively rebuting, "It's not the same..."

"What's different?" I cut him off.

"I don't care about Isabella, so don't bother with James."

That shut Liam up.

He stood there, lost in thought.

I ignored him and handed the plate to James. "James, this is from your favorite spot. I got the ginger and vinegar—it'll be delicious."

James finally grinned and said, "Thank you, Zoe."

But Liam snatched it away. "Zoe? What Zoe?"

"Why are you eating what my wife bought?"

"Why are you calling her Zoe? She has a name—it's Zoe, not your pet name!"

James murmured, "But she's always been my Zoe..."

I glared at Liam. "What's your problem?"

Isabella called out from inside again.

For once, Liam didn't jump to attention—he just stared at me, refusing to back down.

As tension mounted, Isabella walked out, eyes red.