Chapter 3

I arrived at the lounge his friend had mentioned, checked the VIP suite number, and walked up to the heavy door on the second floor.

Just as I was about to turn the handle, bursts of mocking laughter drifted through the crack.

"Is she here yet?"

"Hey, Tristan, do you really think she'll show up? It's past midnight. What if Yulia gets here, realizes we played her for a fool, and makes a scene?"

"Even if she does, she brought it on herself. Zero self-awareness. Kelly's back in town, and that woman still won't walk away from the marriage. Her skin is thicker than a brick wall."

After a few moments of crude snickering, Kelly's sweet voice chimed in with a mock rebuke. "Alright, guys, that's enough. Don't talk about her like that. What Tristan and I had was in the past. It's over."

"Over? Come on, Kelly, you have no idea how much Tristan missed you while you were away."

"Seriously, the only reason he married Yulia in the first place was to make you jealous. Who would've thought—"

What?!

The chatter outside the door hit my ears with horrifying clarity.

Tristan hadn't married me out of lingering love or obligation back then.

It was... to get back at her?

In an instant, a loud ringing roared in my head.

My world spun violently.

"Exactly, Yulia actually thinks Tristan ever cared about her..."

The mocking voices continued inside.

Until Tristan's deep voice cut through the noise. "Enough. Drop it."

The lounge fell dead silent.

Someone quickly tried to smooth things over. "Yeah, fair enough. Looking at the clock, Yulia should... be pulling up any minute."

The moment those words dropped, I shoved the heavy door open.

"Yu—Yulia!"

The speaker's voice choked in his throat.

In an instant, every single set of eyes swung toward me.

"Yulia, you made it!"

Kelly was the first to bounce up, wearing an expression that was half apologetic, half wide-eyed innocence.

I didn't acknowledge her. My gaze locked directly onto Tristan, sitting in the center of the leather sectional.

His eyes were crystal clear. There was not a trace of alcohol in his system.

Then I turned my eyes to Liam, the friend who had called me.

He averted his gaze, sheepish.

"Yulia, you're not mad, are you? We were just playing Truth or Dare, and Liam lost. It was just a harmless prank."

A harmless prank?

A dry laugh caught in my throat.

Looking at the fake, dripping innocence plastered on her face, my stomach turned. I ripped my arm out of her grasp and turned to walk away.

Suddenly, Kelly let out a sharp cry and collapsed backward onto the plush carpet.

"Yulia! I just wanted to invite you to hang out with us. Why did you shove me?"

The second she hit the floor, every pair of eyes in the room turned on me with open hostility.

"Yulia! What the hell is wrong with you? Kelly was just being nice to you, did you really have to push her?"

"Vicious bitch. She's obviously just jealous because Kelly is a million times prettier than her."

"She's completely twisted. How could anyone lay a hand on someone as sweet as Kelly?"

...

I stood under the neon lights, looking at their sneering faces, my voice dead cold. "Are you done playing your little games?"

They looked back at me, completely unapologetic.

"It was a joke! Can't you take a joke?"

"Right? It's not even that late. We invited you out of the goodness of our hearts, and you come in here throwing hands?"

The goodness of your hearts?

I let out a bitter, humorless scoff.

Not wanting to waste another second breathing the same air as these people, I spun around to leave.

Yet I had barely taken two steps before a heavy hand clamped onto my wrist with bruising force, jerking me backward. "Apologize."

Tristan's voice dropped over me, freezing and completely devoid of human warmth.

"Forget it, Tristan," Kelly interjected weakly from the couch, wiping imaginary dust off her designer skirt. "Yulia's probably just feeling emotional tonight. I'm totally fine, don't be too hard on her."

That single sentence firmly sealed my guilt in everyone's eyes.

Instantly, the sneers directed at me turned to pure disgust,

while their glances toward Kelly overflowed with pity.

"Why should I apologize?"

I yanked my wrist free from his grip.

In the past, I would have shrunk back. I would have yielded just to keep the peace.

But right now, I had less than a month left before my divorce went through.

Why on earth should I apologize?

The second the words left my lips, Tristan's expression darkened into an ominous, furious scowl.

His voice dropped to an absolute zero. "Yulia. Apologize to her. I won't say it a third time."

"Then let me make myself crystal clear," I said, meeting his murderous eyes without flinching. "I won't!"

My tone was absolute. The moment the words echoed through the room, I spun around and bolted out the door.

Behind me, a chorus of sharp gasps filled the lounge.