Her Night Dance
Chapter 5
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Robert respectfully watched Julian and his entourage leave. When he turned back to the stunned crowd, the faint smile on his
face vanished.
“Alright, everyone. Start drinking,” he said curtly.
The long table was lined with at least a dozen bottles of liquor. To
finish them all, it was clear–each person would have to down an
entire bottle.
Amber, already pale from being forced to drink half a bottle earlier,
clung desperately to Ethan’s arm, trembling as she hid behind
him.
The others immediately turned on her.
“This is your fault! Why did you say it was water?”
“Clara’s allergic to alcohol! How could you force her to drink?”
“She tried to leave earlier. Why couldn’t you just let her go? What was the point of making her stay?”
Amber clutched Ethan’s sleeve, tears brimming in her eyes.
“Ethan, you have to believe me. I swear, I saw Clara switch
glasses.”
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Ethan frowned slightly, considering her words. “You’re right. She must have done it to make me feel guilty.”
Robert watched their back–and–forth with waning patience before
finally cutting in. “Young man, how you figure this out is your problem. Right now, we have other matters to deal with.”
Ethan hesitated. “Mr. Hayes, the gala is about to begin. If we’re all drunk, it would be disrespectful to the hosts.”
Robert’s cane struck the floor twice, hard enough to echo. “Do you really think you can insult Mr. Reid and still waltz into the gala as if nothing happened?”
The room collectively froze, the gravity of the situation finally sinking in.
Ethan licked his dry lips nervously. “Does Mr. Reid know Clara
Bennett personally?”
Robert’s expression was unreadable. “All I know is that this is Mr.
Reid’s first time in Oceanhaven.”
“Exactly,” Ethan said, visibly relaxing. “There’s no way Clara
knows someone of his stature.”
Amber sniffled pitifully. “Clara really messed up this time. Now Mr. Reid has the wrong impression of us.”
“She’s so thoughtless,” Amber continued, her tone aggrieved. “How could she not think about how this would affect you?”
Chapter 5
The memories of the gala, the calculated humiliation, came
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flooding back. Rage swelled in my chest, choking me. I clutched
at my heart, coughing violently.
A warm hand rested gently on my back, soothing me.
“Lara, how are you feeling?”
I froze, eyes wide in shock.
“What… what did you call me?”
It had been so long since anyone had called me “Lara” that I
almost forgot it was my name before Clara.
Before I became Clara, I was the heiress to Aetherion Biosciences
-a name that used to mean something.
A name that now brought back memories too painful to bear. My breath hitched as I recoiled, pulling away and curling into myself.
“I’m sorry,” the man said, his voice trembling. “I didn’t mean to
scare you. Look at me, Lara. Do you recognize me?”
Something in his gentle tone calmed my spiraling thoughts.
Slowly, I rubbed my eyes and focused on his face. His features sharpened, and the familiar boy from my memories emerged.
“Jules?”
Her Night Dance
