He cursed under his breath, throwing a cold glance at his friend. Samuel dragged him to the club by force, assuring him that there would be pretty girls. Although he didn't feel like going to the party, he forced himself because all his friends were going, and he would rather not come off as a wimp.
Felix understood Samuel couldn't resist being invited by Rosalie. He did everything the girl told him, thinking that by doing so he would succeed in melting her icy heart. However, Rose was a terrible hag, and not even a pitying plea would force her to show sympathy. She clearly didn't see the man in him.
To top it all off, he picked up people in the club who indicatively took away his desire to have any fun.
He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow with an embarrassed look at Rosalie, who fired up her fierce temper and ran up to the boy dancing on the dance floor. She looked like a real fury, pushing the intrusive girls away from him.
Felix didn't know who this boy was to her, but it bounced around in his ears that her parents had decided to get her engaged to someone. Few people knew about her true background, but Samuel obsessively picked up all the facts about her to then tell a less interested colleague.
Brown made a puffed up face when he noticed the ex-girlfriend looking at him. Clare watched him with wide-open eyes, looking surprised by his presence.
Accompanying her, Ian was smiling cynically, set on having a proper good time. You could tell from his face that he was trying to tease him at all costs.
The 20-year-old snorted under his breath when Waller purposely put his arm around his ex-girlfriend's shoulder to spite him. Although he tried to remain indifferent to this, he reflexively clenched his fists.
- What the hell are you doing? - Clare raked her eyes at the accompanying boy, forcibly attempting to push his hand away; however, Ian was having a great time doing it and was not going to move away from her.
- Let's just say that I'm working in our favor. Do you want to make your beloved boyfriend jealous of you? Then cooperate.
- And I'm supposed to believe that? You'd better tell me what your goal is in this - she replied with anger in her voice.
- You will arouse jealousy in him, and I will arouse anger that will drive him to white fever. I love to see angry faces.
The usually pleasant Paul couldn't stand the prolonged pestering that his future wife was serving him. She haggled him by the hair, yelling that he should stop hanging around girls. She was furious that he wasn't taking her seriously and was making excuses at all costs to keep their wedding from happening, and she was unable to let that happen. Her future was at stake here, so she wasn't going to mess it up for the sake of a boyfriend who didn't approve of her.
Judging by his behavior, she guessed that he recognized elegant women who were sophisticated and not vulgar like her, but she wasn't going to let it go. She would never allow him to leave for another because that would ridicule her according to her parents. She was a woman who knew what she wanted from life, not a weak girl who could agree to anything the other person demanded of her.
- If I find out that you are playing with other girls behind my back, I warn you at the outset that I will subject you to castration, do you understand? If you would rather not be my husband, then you won't start a family with any other woman - she threatened the boy, looking into his eyes with hysterical eyes. - I'll cut your tit off alive, do you understand or not!!!?
- A tit? - It was this word that hit the drunken Paul the hardest, as he felt offended that she had chosen one of the smallest birds from such a considerable selection. - I have a raven.
- Yes, your damn tit! - she shrieked, and the people closest to her snorted with laughter. Belluci felt ashamed, and although he was a gentleman every day, this girl caused him to see her not as a woman, but as a devil in the worst form.
Despite the thumping music, everyone looked at Rosalie, who breathed fire. Only Clare was looking the other way. She was watching the boy, whose secondary appearance in the city had led to half-dead feelings being revived anew. Embracing him with her gaze, she felt a pleasant warmth in the region of her heart. Even though he had hurt her, she could not recover from it. He was her greatest weakness.
Ian laughed under his breath, following the actions of the red-haired girl, who showed more courage than many guys. She tugged at the boy and, ignoring his protests, led him toward the exit. She turned to her friends, who nodded their heads in agreement. They approached the bar, with Felix marching lazily behind them. With a sour face, he sat down next to his friends, so one of them patted him on the shoulder to cheer him up.
- What's the matter with you? Ever since you came back to town, you've been perpetually puffed up. Where did the impetuous guy I knew before he left go? - Samuel slipped his friend a drink. Felix grabbed the glass and drank a small amount of alcohol without answering his question. - Do you experience any problems? Did they come back with you?
Brown threw him a warning glance, letting him know not to start this topic. He did not feel like talking about it.
- Felix, if you left them, this will be the first place they will think of - Samuel stated in a panicked voice, surreptitiously glancing at Clare. - And then she will also be in danger.
- Stop it! - He measured him with a sharp eye, displeased that his colleague started this topic. - We are in no danger and stop panicking.
He sipped his drink and secretly looked at the blonde, who was looking at one point with sad eyes. Sporadically, she would put her glass to her lips, and it was obvious by her face that she was stood up.
No one knew her as well as Felix did.
At one point she caught him. The astonished boy turned his face away, running his eyes from her.
Clare was sure he was looking at her, so she got up from the bar and wanted to approach him, but felt a firm grip on her elbow area. She could guess that Ian would not just let her pass.
- Where are you going, wife?
- To urinate - she replied in a bored voice, looking in Felix's direction.
- But the bathrooms are in the opposite direction.
- So you have a problem because I'm not going to explain myself to you. I'll go where my legs carry me - she announced, pulling her hand from his grasp. Ian twisted his lips in an ironic smile, watching Clare walk toward her ex-boyfriend. She was fierce, and he guessed that she would want him back at all costs, but he wasn't going to let her. There was no way around the device of a bloody scene.
Ian loved to be the center of attention, especially when he was the one to start an argument and forcibly win over his opponent.
He rested his chin on his hand and focused his gaze on his former lovers, intrigued, waiting for the situation to develop so that he could interject at the right moment.
With amusement on his face, he watched the drunken blonde, who poked Felix on the shoulder to get his attention.
- We need to talk - she announced tentatively, expecting him to agree. Unfortunately, the boy expressed no desire and shook his head, letting her know that he was not interested.
- We don't have to do anything.
- Stop playing indifferent. I saw you rolling your eyes at me - she replied boldly, not expecting him to mock her.
- I don't look at girls who don't interest me. There's something wrong with you.
- Why do you keep pushing me away? I want to talk to you. You left me without a word of explanation, breaking up with me over a damn text message! - She raised her voice, and Samuel opened his eyes wider, confused by Clare's sudden outburst. The blonde had a temper and was fierce, so he guessed that this was just the beginning of the hell she was going to put her ex-boyfriend through.
- If I recall correctly, last time I told you to give me a break. I have enough problems and don't need a stubborn girlfriend by my side.
Clare boiled over with anger, and for a brief moment, she felt like hitting him over the head to make him finally come to his senses. She raised her hand and, grinding her teeth, squeezed it into a fist.
Why was he treating her in such a despicable way?
Suddenly all the anger flew out of her, and she closed her eyelids, feeling tears coming to her eyes.
She felt the effects of drinking too much alcohol.
- I lived with a broken heart for a whole year. The first month was the worst nightmare for me because you disappeared without a word - she replied more calmly, driving her gaze into his back.
Felix was shocked by her confession. He lifted his face and looked, at one point, nervously playing with his glass.
- For the first month, I locked myself away because I was sure you had left me for the sake of being good for nothing. I sat locked in my room and cried into my pillow. I blamed myself that I couldn't make you happy, and that you weren't able to love me and just took pity on me. You left me because you was unable to take it anymore, so you left the city and completely broke contact with me. - She wiped her tears and pulled her nose, intending to expel the lingering pain at all costs. - I was alone. My parents decided that a broken heart would work out for me and were glad you left me. I didn't have a person by my side with whom I was able to talk about it. And you know what, I don't know if I should be grateful for the situation, but I accidentally colluded with a boy who was an ordinary colleague daily. He had the strength in him that put me on my feet. And that's how I gained a true friend, the only person I trust implicitly. He would never hurt me. Certainly, not in such a perfidious way as the person I loved most strongly in the world.
He did not turn to face her, and she felt as if she was talking to the wall, however, Felix heard her perfectly and this caused him to be unable to look her in the eye.
He was embarrassed.
The boy realized that he had acted like the worst bastard and that he had hurt her badly, but at the time he thought that their parting would be endured more gently by her. He never imagined that she would suffer so much after he left.
If he could turn back time, unfortunately, he would have acted the same way. It was better for her to suffer mentally than for something much worse to happen to her. He could not allow them to cause her harm. That was the only way she was safe. She and his mother.
- I know I'm acting like an idiot and I shouldn't tell you this because I feel like I'm trying to arouse your pity, but I wanted to get it off my chest. Alcohol helped me do that - she announced nervously, rubbing her forehead with her hand. An indistinct smile appeared on her face. - The club is the last place where such a conversation should take place, but I don't think I could do it again in the future. So. I will give you the peace of mind you need. I won't be an intrusive fly - she added more gently. She wanted to leave but he stopped her. He grabbed her wrist, and she opened her mouth and looked at his gold bracelet with confused eyes.
It was a gift she had given him for his nineteenth birthday.
Samuel blinked his eyelids, looking in disbelief at his friend, who stopped the girl from leaving.
- Excuse me. - She lifted her gaze and looked into his eyes. He did not turn his face away.
Felix really said it. The one word she had longed to hear from his lips for a long time.
She sent him a slight smile and nodded as a sign that she forgives him. She knew that no normal person would have acted the way she did, but Felix was a weakness she could not recover from.
If he offered to rebuild for her what he had destroyed in the past, she would undoubtedly give him a chance because those feelings lingered within her. They were revived the moment she saw him again.
For a brief moment, they looked into each other's eyes, but this idyllic moment was interrupted by Ian, who pushed Clare away from him with a mischievous grin on his face.
- Get your hands off my fiancée - he declared, putting his arm around her. The girl hit him in the stomach with her elbow, but the brunet did not let her go.
The blonde looked at Felix, but saw no emotion on his face. The boy remained indifferent to what she was called by Waller.
- But sneeze. He is not jealous of you at all. That's a bad sign, darling - he said in her ear, surreptitiously glancing at Brown. - Not good because I was hoping for a little bloodshed.
The nineteen-year-old pressed her lips together and looked at Felix with disappointment in her eyes as he sipped his drink, then got up from the bar and headed for the exit.
*
She had definitely overdone it on the alcohol. She was unable to walk straight, and Ian, who was following her, laughed under his breath without taking his eyes off her. She took dangerous shortcuts that did not lead to her house, as it was in an entirely different direction.
Clare, in her inebriated state, was losing her bearings, and this could be a danger to her.
He couldn't lose her before the wedding, as he looked forward to the day when they would stand on the wedding cake, and right after the ceremony he would start poisoning her life.
At the age of fifteen, Clare drank alcohol for the first time. Ian took the bottle from the bar because he promised his friend that he would finally let her taste something forbidden. It was then that she lost herself for the first time. She got drunk, assuring him that she was going to search for a place in the meadow where she could get settled. Unfortunately, she didn't return, and the boy spent an hour looking for her in the woods.
The brunet looked at her with compassion in his eyes as she tripped over her feet and fell to the sidewalk. She picked herself up rather quickly and shook her hands, not realizing that she was following a path she was completely unfamiliar with. She walked ahead hoping to reach home safely.
Bored and tired of finding her way back, she finally sat down on the sidewalk and leaned with her back against the wall. She didn't care if she woke up alive, but she was tired of constantly moving through unfamiliar streets and decided to rest. She crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes to sink into sleep.
Ian stammered and, shaking his head, approached her to ensure her safety. Although he had a great desire to leave her there, he was unable to do so. Their long-standing relationship did not allow him to behave that way. He could tease her, but certainly not hurt her in such a way.
He crouched by her side and patted her face to wake her up.
- Hey, drinker. I know it's hot, but it's not a sauna for you to spend the night here.
- Go away, man - she said in a semi-conscious voice, not having the strength to open her eyes.
- Didn't your mother teach you not to wander in unfamiliar territory at night? - Waller wrinkled his nose as a drunken hiccup caught up with her. He sighed with resignation and pulled her hand to stand up. She flexed in all directions, unable to control her body. If Ian had let her go, she would have fallen to the sidewalk with a bang. - Aren't you going to cooperate with me? Should I leave you here?
She didn't answer.
Finally, he couldn't stand it and took pity on her. He put her on his back and, cursing under his breath, set off toward the main street to find a cab. If someone saw him taking care of a drunk girl, it would destroy his reputation. Ian was considered a heartless person and hated to show his feelings. He was not that kind of person. He smothered everything inside himself.