The Runaway Groom
Chapter 977

Zachary refused to answer, leaving Irene unable to stay composed at all.

He knew Isaac much earlier than she did, and she scarcely knew a thing about his past.

What was Zachary trying to say?

[Explain yourself, Zachary Slate! What were you trying to say?!] Zachary simply lay in bed, lifting a brow when his phone jingled with a notification, but he did not check it.

He knew that Irene was flustered—and certainly had the capacity for it. As it turned out, no one could stay unaffected when something like that happened to them.

He certainly did not believe in empathy—one had to experience the same anguish as the person to really know how it felt, and those who had never gone through it would never understand it.

Meanwhile, his phone kept jingling, and he finally picked it up for a look. [Zachary Slate!]

[Zachary Slate!!!]

He was being spammed with his own name.

Chuckling, he slowly got to his feet and answered the door.

Irene was actually stunned, since she did not expect him to suddenly open it.

But after the initial surprise, she was glaring fixedly at him.

Zachary grinned. "Want to come in?"

Nonetheless, Irene asked bluntly, “What were you going to say?" "Nothing," Zachary replied flatly.

While she was left stumped, he poured her a glass of water. "Here. You need to cool off—you're still injured, y'know!"

Irene took it and entered his room, not at all cagey as she planted herself on the couch beside the window. "Tell me."

Zachary leaned on the door and said, "You were saying that liking a person is self-indulgent, whereas love is self-restraint. And you believe that to be right?"

Irene nodded. "Yes."

"Then let me ask you this—which of those two is how Isaac feels about you?" Zachary asked, studying her just then.

Irene promptly looked up, her brow wrinkling as she asked, "That's what you wanted to say?"

Zachary nodded—he knew all too well how things were between her and Isaac when they first met. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the FindNøvᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Likewise, Irene would be aware whether Isaac had been self-indulgent or restrained around her.

It was not as if Zachary wanted to drive a wedge between her and Isaac, but they were discussing the question as it was.

Back then, Isaac was certainly not merely being self-indulgent when it came to her.

And according to what she said, Isaac only liked her and was not in love.

Irene rose to her feet and walked up to Zachary, holding his gaze.

Just as he thought she would say something to him, she stayed silent and simply left.

Zachary asked, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"What should I say?" Irene asked flatly.

"...Is Isaac in love with you? Or does he only like you?"

Irene simply grinned. "What do you think?"

Zachary was speechless for a moment before asking, “You don't care if he loves you?"

Irene shook her head. "Nope."

Zachary was speechless for another moment. “You're just pretending, aren't you?"

Irene shrugged. "Why should 1?"

"That question is complicated, and you're the one who mentioned it first. If you agree that liking is self-indulgent, whereas love is self- restraint, that means Isaac had only liked you before, never loved you." Pausing, he asked, "You told me all that just to have me admit that I love Lulu and would restrain myself, let her go, and be happy?"

Irene listened to him quietly—that certainly was really her point. Zachary stared at her then. "I can admit that I love Lulu, but what about you and Isaac?"

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