Chapter 179 A Suggestion
Zachary Bailey snapped his phone shut and, without glancing back at Winona Sullivan, took his seat behind the car's wheel.
Just a beat behind, Winona huffed as the man's impatient voice cut through, "What, do you need a personal invitation to get in?"
His tone was harsh, tinged with annoyance, yet it lacked any real anger—it felt more like the venting of someone who'd been wronged.
Slapping her forehead in a sudden realization, the skin reddened instantly, and the force was audible in the sound alone.
The cold must have numbed her emotional sensors; she had absurdly imagined Zachary feeling slighted.
She opened the door and settled into the passenger seat, eyes sweeping over the center console. Unable to resist, she massaged her sore neck.
Zachary caught her glance. "Had I known you'd be this ungrateful, I wouldn't have offered my shoulder for you to lean on."
Winona was silent for a few seconds before responding dryly, "So, you pressed my head onto your shoulder?"
Zachary spoke slowly, his gaze fixed on the road, "I did it because your face against the cold glass looked pitiful."
Winona's instinct was to retort, but she reconsidered. "Mr. Bailey, if you have time, I'd suggest you date more women. Do you even grasp why some women can't resist the allure despite knowing a heartbreaker is trouble?"
The anger festering in Zachary surged, the grip on the steering wheel tightening until his knuckles blanched. His voice was flat, betraying no emotion. "Even if I were dating Fiona Clark, that wouldn't concern you."
Winona opened her mouth to speak, but Zachary let out a scornful chuckle before she could, "Of course, you don't care. Otherwise, you wouldn't have assumed I was her boyfriend without asking."
"What?" Confusion creased her features; she suspected they were not even in the same dimension but parallel worlds—how else could she have no memory of what he was referring to? "I pegged you as Fiona Clark's boyfriend?"
Winona and Fiona had never gotten along during their studies; she’d be insane to matchmake them.
Zachary wasn't surprised by Winona's lack of memory. To her, nothing seemed to stick except for memories of Matthew Watson.
"Figure it out yourself," he said. The car pulled up outside Winona Sullivan's apartment complex, the usual and bustle all but gone. Only a few scattered windows glowed with light, casting long shadows that danced ominously over the quiet street.
Most residents were single young adults who typically went home for the holidays. The menacing shadows of the viewing trees loomed over the empty street, stirring a sense of dread.
Winona stepped out of the car, and behind her, the click of the seatbelt’s release was distinctly audible in the quiet of the night.
She paused, retracting her step, and turned to face the man in the car, "Zachary Bailey, this is where I get off."
His hand lingered on the seatbelt, watching her through the biting cold with a detached gaze.
He understood her words meant more than rejecting his offer to walk her inside.
Turning on her heel, Winona strode into the neighborhood.
Zachary closed his eyes briefly, then said to the security guard, "Take her upstairs."
Once home, Winona rushed into the bathroom for a scalding hot shower. By the time she emerged, the heater had warmed the room. She downed a big gulp of warm honey water, finally feeling her numbingly cold mind return to life.
If anyone ever again suggested she go up a mountain in the heart of winter to watch fireworks, she’d threaten to blow their head off with one.
Winona dialed Rebecca Davis's number, "Hey, Mom, it's Winona. I'm heading back to my room now."
The sound of hurried footsteps climbing the stairs followed until a door slammed shut, and then Rebecca's voice carried on, "Winona, you have no idea. I've been stuck chatting there all afternoon with relatives I hardly know. I can't even keep their names straight."
After her mother's complaints, Winona asked, "Do you remember when Zachary Bailey and Fiona Clark started dating back in college?”
"Why bring up that couple? Is Zachary bugging you again?" Despite her words, Rebecca asked, "When did they start dating? Sophomore year? Junior year?"
Winona fell silent.
Rebecca recalled, "It came back to me. Not long after the junior year started, they became an item. I remember you and Fiona Clark had a bit of a fallout over the school’s anniversary event. Supporters of both of you were bickering daily online, and Zachary even came to see you about it."
"What did he want with me?" Winona had no recollection of this, no matter how hard she tried.
"How did you manage to butt heads with Fiona Clark again?" Rebecca asked. After all these years, who would bother to recall an inconsequential person's remark? "Were you standing up for your girlfriend? Back then, Fiona was clinging to him nonstop, and when he came to you, you told him to bring it on if he wanted to target you because of Fiona. You said he was blind to date a two-faced girl and even wished them 'till death do us part,' yeah?"
Winona Sullivan chuckled. "You don't need to remember it that clearly."
Rebecca continued, "Why are you getting all nostalgic? You're not regretting divorcing Zachary Bailey, are you? Trying to relive the good times so you can justify going back to him?"
"No," Winona dismissed, a hint of curiosity in her voice. "Just curious, that's all."
"Nothing curious about a jerk and a tramp dating. If you're interested, why not just give in to Austin? He's practically got me moved to tears with his persistence."
Winona abruptly hung up the phone, cutting off Rebecca's dramatic performance.
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