Chapter 52 Am I A Toy


    "No... I didn''t..." Suddenly tongue-tied, Essie desperately scrabbled for a coherent response to Zac''s


    loaded question, but her brain seemed to have stopped functioning at that moment.


    "The way you looked at me revealed what you were thinking. You want me." Amusement and dark


    promise tinted his voice. His fingers slowly, deliberately slid down from her neck to rest on her sleep


    shirt cket, which was ced directly over her pounding chest. The warmth of his fingertips seemed


    to burn a hole in her pajamas. The heat started to burn her skin and transfer to her heart, which


    seemed to spontaneouslybust.


    "I''m sleepy," she announced to the room atrge. All of the fight drained out of her. She could only


    close her eyes and feign sleep.


    With a mischievous smile on his lips, Zac slowly lowered his head to kiss her lightly on the lips. With


    him that close, Essie could smell the refreshing aroma of his body wash pervading the air that she


    breathed. He had always used a shower gel that smelled like magnolia flowers. The elegant, pure


    scent wafted from his warm skin to her nose to awaken her senses and fan the current coursing


    through her.


    She felt dizzy and weak, and her mind was a nk. She had no strength to resist and think. Zac took


    advantage of Essie''s stillness and kissed her lips while he skillfully undid her pajama top, one button at


    a time.


    A draft of cold air touched her bare chest, but it was immediately chased away by the warmth of Zac''s


    body against hers.


    When Essie felt Zac''s hands wander to her waist, she suddenly regained her senses.


    "Are men all like this?" she whispered bemusedly. "Can you all have sex without any feelings


    involved?" she added. Zac stopped his exploration. After a few heartbeats, he let out a helpless sigh.


    The me burning in his bright eyes dissipated as if doused by a cold current until only an


    unfathomable darkness remained.


    No feelings?


    Did she mean on her end or his?


    He released a deep, pent-up breath, let go of Essie, and turned to lie on his back on the bed. Without a


    light in the room, his handsome profile was obscured by shadows. There was a slight frown on his


    eyebrows, and the expression in his eyes was inscrutable.


    A silence, thick and fraught with tension, descended upon the upants of the room. Between them,


    the air of hopelessness was so palpable. They could not see each other clearly through the thick fog of


    emotion. It was like their hearts were thousands of miles apart even though their bodies were


    separated by mere inches.


    Essie could feel her emotions crashing down on her in waves, with all their ups and downs.


    Once again, his silence proved that he had no feelings for her. In his eyes, she was only a momentary


    ything to divert him from his boredom.


    Resolutely, she told herself that she did not care one whit about what Zac thought of her. His feelings


    and opinions were of no consequence.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Simply put, their rtionship was one of convenience, which suited them both. Once they separated,


    they would no longer be of any concern to each other. Just two ships passing each other in the night.


    The next day arrived.


    Essie officially moved into the new house. After seeing their daughter and son-inw''s stable married


    life and steady rtionship, Lucy and Bob headed back home secure in the knowledge that the couple


    would be just fine.


    As soon as they had left, Essie packed up Zac''s belongings and immediately transferred them into his


    bedroom.


    Their days of cohabiting and sleeping together in the same room had finallye to an end. The ever-


    present threat of triggering that danger rm was finally lifted.


    Everything went on as usual. Atst, they did not have to put on a show or pretend to be in love with


    each other to reassure Essie''s parents.


    This return to normalcy appeared to have liberated Zac. He disappeared without a trace early that


    morning.


    As for herself? She headed to Ikea to shop for home decors.


    On the way to the store, she passed by a five-star hotel. Unexpectedly, her eyesnded on a familiar


    handsome figure.


    Zac?


    She was shocked.


    That morning, she was confused at his mysterious disappearance, and she became curious regarding


    his whereabouts. Little did she know that the luxurious hotel was his destination.


    What could he be doing in a five-star hotel? Was he perhaps closing a deal with a rich business


    partner?


    She was so deep in thought that she almost missed it when a beautiful woman made an appearance.


    When the woman saw Zac, she approached him with a bright smile and linked her arm through the


    crook of his, looking cozy and intimate with him.


    Essie''s eyes widened.


    What was going on?


    Perhaps... was the rich woman his sugar mommy?