Chapter 3

The last glimmer of hope was completely extinguished in my heart.

I swiftly picked up the glasses of vodka on the table and downed every shot. Everyone stared at me in complete shock.

I chuckled as I then glanced at Monique. "Hurry up and kiss. I really ship the both of you as well."

The entire VIP room went deathly quiet.

Monique's face first turned red with embarrassment before turning as dark as thunder.

"Brayden Park! You know that this was just a damn game! Stop making such a mountain out of a molehill!"

Terry also spoke up just then, his voice as cold and high-and-mighty as ever.

"You're mistaken, Mr. Park. Ms. Walton and I are nothing more than colleagues. We're all just having fun here. I just thought it wasn't nice to ruin the mood for everyone."

I didn't say another word. I just found everything meaningless and got up to leave. However, Terry stopped me and blocked my way.

"It's just a game, Mr. Park. There's no need to get mad at all. I can apologize to you, but Ms. Walton is your girlfriend. Don't you think you should be apologizing to her for making her so uncomfortable in public?"

I laughed coldly. "And who are you to lecture me?"

He replied in his cold voice, "Ms. Walton and I are classmates. I do not wish to see her future husband humiliating her in public like this."

I stared at his holier-than-thou attitude and finally snapped, punching him right in the face.

Terry staggered back onto the seat, his glasses flying off.

"And who gave you the right to condemn me like this?" I growled through my teeth.

Monique's eyes widened at once and she slapped me hard in the face. Her hand was shaking, and the veins were popping on the back of her hands.

"Are you out of your mind? What the hell do you think you're doing?"

She slapped me so hard that my face was forced to the side. I then saw out of the corner of my eye how she immediately went over to Terry with a concerned, heartbroken look.

"Terry! Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

She kneeled down before him as she reached out to caress his face. The scene was so jarring that it nearly blinded me.

She then turned around abruptly and pointed her finger in my nose, her voice as cold as ice.

"Apologize to Terry at once!"

I licked the trickle of blood in the corner of my mouth and cackled.

"What the hell should I even apologize to him for?"

Monique glared at me. "You're not leaving this place until you apologize to him."

Just then, two of her bodyguards came in and went up to me, grabbing me from both sides.

"Apologize now!"

When she saw that I wouldn't, she stormed forward and kicked me in the back of my knees with her killer stilettos.

The immense pain shot through my leg at once, and I fell down on my knees in an instant.

The bodyguards then pinned me to the ground as I fell.

Terry's voice was still calm and undisturbed as he said, sounding like he was withholding pain, "It's fine, Ms. Walton. Don't jeopardize your relationship just because of me."

Monique immediately turned around and held his hand.

"Don't worry, Terry. I won't let anyone bully you or humiliate you."

Then, she turned back to me, glaring at me from above, as he ordered her bodyguards, "Make him apologize, even if that means you have to beat the shit out of him."

Immediately, they grabbed me by the back of my hair and began kicking and punching me like I was nothing more than a punching bag.

Blood trickled down from my head and blurred my vision. I didn't know how long they beat me up until Monique finally told them to stop.

Then, I was thrown onto the floor like a pile of garbage, watching as she stood on tiptoe to put her arms around Terry.

Terry hesitated at first before kissing her back, long and deep.

Ten minutes never felt so long.

My heart had grown numb by then.

They finally parted. Monique's face was flushed red as she panted and leaned against Terry's chest. She glanced at me and said, "This is your lesson. You'd better make sure you never forget it.

"If you ever dare to lay a finger on Terry again, I will never let you off this easily."

Then, she left with Terry without another backward glance.

Everyone around us was quiet, and nobody dared to step forward to help me up.

I slowly got to my feet, letting my blood drip onto the floor.

I limped out of the room slowly. As I walked past the bar, I picked up someone's leftover vodka and finished it all in one go.

The spicy liquid burned all the way down my throat, temporarily numbing all the pain and humiliation I felt at that moment.

I then staggered out of the venue, leaned against the wall, and lit up a cigarette. The cigarette burned my fingertips after a while, and I tossed it away and retrieved my phone instead.

The first thing I did was to delete every single photo of Monique from it. Then, I blocked all of her contacts and social media.

Finally, I called Dad.

"Dad, you can stop all businesses with the Waltons for now. Also, I'll agree to the marriage alliance with the Manning family. My only request is that they also immediately halt all business with the Waltons as well."