StarNovelChapter 0152
Hannah
As Zoe thrust the hot pink uninto my hands, my mouth fell open. I didn’t know what to say or do-all I could
manage was to just stand there, blinking owlishly at her, and wonder whether | was imagining it or
not.
“Hannah,” Noah suddenly said, nudgingwith his elbow, “that was nice of Zoe, wasn't it?”
With my tongue working uselessly in my mouth, | slowly looked up at Noah to see a satisfied smirk tugging at
the corners of his lips. My face instantly turned red and | looked back at Zoe, feeling utterly dumbfounded and
embarrassed.
“Y-Yes,” | managed. “Thank you, Zoe. But why...?"”
Zoe merely shrugged and stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets. “I have to admit, | admire how your gave
that toy to that kid earlier even though you were the one who won it,” she said. “And | thought your
|
deserved a new one for your trouble.”
For several long moments, | stood in silence as my eyes flickered back and forth between Zoe and the stuffed
unicorn. Drake stood behind Zoe, watching with a bemused expression on his face. Meanwhile, Noah continued
to smirk at me, his arms folded across his chest.
“Well, um... Thank you,” | said, even though a part ofcouldn’t help but wonder if this was skind of trick
to makelook bad and callout for blatantly trying to hurt Zoe by giving her coveted plushie away. “I
appreciate it, Zoe. But you didn’t have to.”
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She simply shrugged again, already turning on her heel. “I wanted to.”
With that, Zoe began marching over to a nearby food stand. As she fished a few bills out of her wallet to buy
herself an Italian ice, | dug my fingers a little deeper into the soft fur of the toy unicorn. Its beady eyes seemed
to stare up at me, mockingas Noah and Drake moved to follow Zoe.
My face turned a deeper shade of red.
Perhaps | had been a jerk for doing that with the stuffed animal; Zoe clearly wanted it, and | practically stole it
from her. It wasn’t as though | had given the toy to that little girl out of the goodness of my heart, either.
No-no matter how much | tried to deny it, | had really only given the stuffed animal to the kid to piss Zoe
off.
And what did Zoe do in response? She went and boughtanother stuffed animal, presumably with her own
money, and had given it towithout expecting anything in return. Sure, maybe she was just trying to make
“Hannah? Hannah!”
The sound of Drake's voice pulledout of my train of self-loathing, and I lifted my head to see him looking at
“You want an Italian ice?”
| must have looked as red as a tomato when all of their eyes turned toward me-Noah and Zoe already
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eating their ice, the food stand attendant looking bored, and Drake holding up a wad of money. All while | was
still standing there, too stunned to even move, my fingers digging so deep into the soft unicorn that | thought |
might accidentally rip a hole straight through it
“Oh, uh... Sure,” | called out, my voice cracking beneath their gazes.
The parking lot was quiet as Noah and | made our way to the car, the only sounds that of the distant fairgrounds
shutting down and our shoes clicking on the pavement. Noah's car was one of a few left, the lot cast almost
eerily in the amber glow of the streetlights.
Drake and Zoe had long since left; Drake had insisted on driving her home, and | had agreed to leave with Noah.
Right now, though, part ofwished | had just called an Uber.
I still had that damn pink unicorn clutched to my chest, my fingers still trembling slightly as I held it. Noah shot
atlike that all night since Zoe had given it to me.
“Go on,” | groaned, pursing my lips without meeting his gaze. “Say it. | know you want
Noah let out a small huff of satisfaction. “On a scale of one to ten, how ashamed are you right now?
“Ter.”
“Good,” he said with a shake of his head. “You should be.” He paused next to the car, turning to look atdown
the bridge of his nose. “It's not becoming to try and disguise your attempts to make someone feel bad with
disingenuous acts of charity“:”
| felt my face flush hot beneath his gaze, and | quickly looked away with a clenched jaw. We stood in silence for
several long moments, my mind whirling to cup with sbiting retort while Noah's gaze bored holes into
the side of my head.
Finally, when | realized that there was nothing | could say to make either of us feel better, | sighed and felt my
shoulders slump.
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“I know,” | muttered. “That was... cruel of me.”
I heard Noah inhale sharply through his nose, and when | looked up, he looked a bit bemused.
“Oh, don’t look so surprised,” | said, striding past him. “I know I fucked up. I'm not completely self- unaware.”
Noah watchedfor a moment longer, saying nothing as | circled the car and tried to open the passenger door.
It was still locked, the sound of the handle echoing in the quiet parking lot. | huffed softly and tapped my foot,
waiting
With a sigh, Noah finally circled around to my side. His broad frleaned overas he reached for the
handle, his breath tickling my ear as he said, “Good. I'm... proud of you for recognizing that.”
And with that, he pulled the door open and gestured forto climb in. | shot him one last withering glance
before | did, and as | moved into my seat, | swore | felt the soft touch of his warm hand against my Tower back
But it was gone just as quickly as it came, leadingto wonder if | had just imagined it
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Chapter 0152
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It was nearly midnight by the twe arrived back at the mansion; Noah disappeared into the guest room
without a word, apparently too tired to go back to Zoe's place for the night. | stepped into my own room with a
sigh and kicked off my shoes.
Despite everything, my belly was still pleasantly full from eating a real meal for once. Still, | decided to take care
in avoiding my reflection for the night, not wanting to ruin my bliss with the appearance of my stomach swelling.
Before | got ready for bed, | walked over to the dresser and set the unicorn down gently. Goddess, it was ugly,
and those eyes still seemed to mockfor what | had done...
But it was nice of Zoe. And | had been a jerk after all.
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