Zoe responded to him in an equally soft voice, “What do you want me to say?”

Mason pulled her closer and tightened his grip so much that he almost hurt her. “You’re supposed to ask me why I didn’t go into the mansion!”

“Well. Why didn’t you?”

Before he could respond, she said, “You didn’t used to be this difficult, Mason! You have the freedom to attend the party or otherwise. I can’t be minding your feelings all the time. I can’t spend all my time guessing if what I do is going to make you upset! It’s just going to wear us out if we do it that way.”

There. She finally said it!

However, she regretted it a little afterward. She said meekly, “Mason…”

He didn’t give her the chance to regret her words.

Releasing her hand, he turned his back to the window and allowed the dark thoughts to overtake his mind. His voice was even softer than the gentle night.

“It’s very hard to love you sometimes, Zoe!”

She was just standing right in front of him. All it took was a step and she could’v