Chapter 16

“It was my fault. I shouldn’t have asked you to come. But now you have got Jason’s attention. I am afraid that from now on…” Anne shook her head with a sigh, “I am sorry. I didn’t know they would behave like this. Had I known it earlier, I wouldn’t have—”

“Did you really have no idea, or did you just want to use me to please your boyfriend’s friends?” Jean interrupted her.

Anne looked at her in disbelief, her mouth agape.

The next second, tears flowed down her cheeks, as if not Jean, but she was the victim.

“How can you say that? I thought you knew me well?” Anne said.

Jean said nothing but just looked her in the eyes.

She was unsure if it was her or the alcohol. She could not see the slightest guilt in Anne’s eyes.

But her stare unnerved Anne.

“I know you are angry. What happened today is hard for you. I don’t blame you. We will talk about it later when you calm down.”

Anne covered her face and left as if she was sad. But she knew she was just running away.

Jean let the faucet run as she rinsed her cheeks with cold water, hoping to bring back her sobriety.

She had few friends, and Anne was one of them.

She just hoped that she was overthinking.

She did not want to lose her best friend only after losing her virginity, fiancé, and career.

Her stomach was convulsing. It hurts. The alcohol was killing her; she could not think clearly. All she wanted now was to leave this damn place as soon as possible.

She was only half-sober and accidentally bumped into someone when she left the washroom.

She lost her balance and fell. The next moment she knew it, she found herself in powerful arms. A hand was holding her by the waist, and she smelled the faint smell of nicotine drifting into her nostrils.

“Thank you,” she said spontaneously. As she looked up and saw the face of the person, her face sank.

Etan’s hand was on her waist for ten seconds too long.

The palm of his hand was so warm that it felt like it was burning.

“Mind taking your hand off me?” She blushed, but her eyes looked frosty. “Are you the same as those men wanting to sleep with me, Mr. Mann?”

Etan’s expression remained unchanged. He took his hand off her. “Please have some self-respect, Miss Mitchell.”

He pinched his fingers as he slid his hand into his pants pocket.

It surprised him he did not resent her when she was in his arms. Instead, there was a weird feeling inside him, as if a little bug had gotten into and slowly chewed his heart. It was not painful, just a little numb and tingly.

What struck him the most was the feeling of emptiness the moment he took his hand off her.

Her waist felt incredibly soft, almost as if she was boneless.

It was so tiny. He could almost hold it with one hand.

Apart from the alcohol, he could also smell that familiar scent from that night on her body.