Zac’s expression darkened as he turned toward Liz and William, who were standing a short


    distance away.


    At that moment, Liz was looking up at William with warmth in her eyes, a look she had never once given Zac in all their years together.


    “Fine. I’ll apologize to him,” Zac said tly.


    He knew William had set him up today, and he was willing to take the loss. But whether this man could handle the way he apologized was another matter entirely.


    Zac walked over to them and stopped right in front of the pair. His voice was cold. “Liz, I’ll apologize to him.”


    Liz gave him an impatient nce. “Then hurry up. I have other things to do.”


    A sharp re of anger rose in Zac’s chest, but he forced it down.


    “Mr. Sanders,” he said, looking directly at William, “I was out of line just now. I hope you can forgive me.”


    William’s eyes flickered with the faintest trace of mockery. “Mr. Lincoln, it’s fine. Just try not to lose your temper like that again.”


    He then turned to Liz. “Now that Mr. Lincoln has apologized, why don’t we just ept the police mediation and be done with it?”


    Liz nodded. “Fine.”


    She did not even nce in Zac’s direction, and the tightness in his jaw betrayed how much it bothered him. A vein at his temple pulsed as he fought to keep hisposure.


    The police soon left.


    Zac’s eyes stayed locked on her. “Liz, I need to talk to you.”


    She frowned. “If you have something to say, say it. I don’t have time to stand here with you.”


    In that moment, she finally understood how he must have felt back when he cheated and she refused to let go–how suffocating it was.


    It was exhausting. The kind of irritation that made you want the other person to vanish from your sight.


    Zac nced at William. “Mr. Sanders, can you give us a moment?”


    “There’s nothing between us that needs to be private,” Liz replied coolly. “If you have something to say, say it. If not, you can leave.”


    Zac’s brows pulled together. After a long pause, he said, “Liz, I really want to talk this through with you.”


    Keeping things this tense forever was not helping either of them.


    Liz looked at him coldly. “The only thing we have left to talk about is breaking up. And that is already done. You even had yourpany’s official ount post a statement saying we ended things a long time ago and that your new girlfriend is Xena. So tell me, what else is there to discuss?”


    “You know I only posted that out of anger. I just wanted you to back down a little,” Zac said.


    Before Liz could answer, William spoke up with a mocking smile. “I have never seen someone use a corporate ount for a breakup tantrum before. Mr. Lincoln, you’re the CEO of a majorpany, yet you act like you’ve lost half your brain and can’t tell what’s appropriate.”


    Zac’s eyes hardened, his presence radiating pressure. “Mr. Sanders, whatever is between Liz and me is none of your business.”


    “Zac, you and I are over,” Liz said sharply. “You don’t get to talk to my friends like that.”


    Her brows knitted in open annoyance.


    She had never looked at him that way before. In the past, whenever her eyes met his, they had been filled with love and tenderness.


    Something in his chest tightened painfully.


    Could it be that she truly did not love him anymore?


    The thought alone made it hard to breathe.


    Eight years together. How could she stop loving him just like that?