Chapter 8 Take Me With You #2
Catherine ignored her. She picked up another glass from the table and carried it over to Lucius.
“Don’t interfere with what he wants. It’s his choice, and I’m going to give him whatever he wants,” she declared, pressing a new glass of whiskey into his hand. “If you want more, just let me know, honey.”
She then shot Stella an angry look.
“Nobody knows him better than I do. So stay out of this. Get lost. You’re not needed here.”
Lucius glanced down at the drink in his hand before lifting his eyes toward Stella. His gaze immediately softened when it settled on her.
Then, without saying a word, he extended the glass toward her.
“I won’t drink anymore.”
Stella took the glass from his hand and placed it on the table.
Catherine’s face darkened.
“Can you get lost? I already told you that Lucius was waiting for me. Why do you keep interfering between us? You’re confusing him!” she shouted.
Her anger intensified when she noticed how tightly Lucius was clinging to Stella and refusing to let her go. Her expression twisted with fury as she glared at Stella.
“He and I are about to get married. Don’t you understand? I’m going to be his wife, and you’re ruining everything for me! Can you just fucking leave?”
Stella’s expression changed the moment Catherine mentioned their impending marriage. The concern she had shown while trying to help Lucius vanished, replaced by anger. At the same time, a cold mask settled over her features.
She carefully pried Lucius’s arm from around her waist. His grip tightened instinctively, but she managed to pull away from him and step back, putting some distance between them.
Catherine immediately brightened. Believing Stella was finally leaving, she moved closer to Lucius with a pleased smile.
Stella glanced toward Juliet and Xavier before turning to the man who had called her.
“Since you called me here, I’ve already tried to help him. I’ve done my part, so my job is over. There’s nothing more I can do.”
With that, she turned and started toward the exit.
Lucius abruptly pushed himself off the couch.
He rose to his feet and rushed after her, stumbling slightly because of the alcohol. The next moment, he reached Stella and wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her tightly against him. His face dipped into the curve of her neck as he held her close.
“Where are you going?” he murmured. “Don’t leave me.”
Stella struggled against his hold, trying to free herself.
“Let go of me, Lucius.”
But he refused to release her. Instead, he tightened his arms around her waist and pressed his face against her neck.
“Don’t leave. I don’t feel good,” he mumbled.
Then, in a tired, almost childlike voice, he added, “My stomach hurts, Stella. I’m so tired.”
Catherine, who was still standing near the couch, watched them with growing fury.
“Lucius, let her go!” she snapped.
Stella continued struggling against Lucius’s hold, but he clung to her as though he were afraid she would disappear the moment he released her.
When her efforts failed, her frustration finally boiled over.
She shoved him away with all her strength and slapped him hard across the face.
The sharp crack of the slap cut through the music.
Everything fell silent.
Juliet froze, her mouth falling open. Even the background music seemed to fade beneath the stunned silence that filled the room.
“Jesus Christ,” Xavier muttered, rubbing his jaw as he stared at Lucius. “Did she just slap him? He’s going to lose his fucking mind.”
Triston, meanwhile, looked across the room at Catherine, who was still glaring at Stella.
“Open your eyes and look closely,” Stella snapped at Lucius.
Lucius stood with his head lowered, seemingly stunned by the slap. He slowly lifted his face, his expression dazed with both shock and drunken confusion.
“Your girlfriend is right there,” Stella gritted out impatiently. “I’m not Catherine. Come to your senses!”
Lucius stared at her for a moment, his expression blank with drunken confusion. His dark eyes remained fixed on her face as though he were trying to make sense of what she had just said.
His brows drew together.
Then, with a slight turn of his head, he looked toward Catherine.
His gaze traveled over her with open confusion, as though he were seeing a stranger standing in front of him.
“What’s a Catherine?” he muttered.
Before Stella could even catch her breath, Lucius turned back to her. His hands immediately came up to cup her face, his large palms holding her cheeks as he pulled her close. His head dipped, and he kissed her on the mouth.
Stella struggled against his hold, pushing at him as he kissed her, but Lucius did not let her go. He held her firmly and deepened the kiss, completely ignoring her attempts to pull away.
Behind them, Juliet started to giggle.
Catherine, however, seemed to have completely lost her mind with anger.
“What the fuck are you doing, Lucius? Let her go!” she shouted again.
She started toward them, but stopped herself before getting too close.
She knew Lucius well enough to know that approaching him abruptly and making him angry was not something she dared to do.
Even drunk, he was still intimidating, and Catherine knew better than to provoke him when he was already in a dangerous mood.
At the same time, seeing him kiss Stella was driving her completely over the edge. Her face turned bright red, her expression twisting with fury as she stood rigidly at the back of the room, glaring at them.
Xavier covered his mouth with one fist, a restrained smile tugging at his lips. He looked away from the couple and deliberately pretended he was not watching them kiss.
Cassian, on the other hand, shifted his attention toward Juliet.
His gaze fell on the phone in her hand, and he immediately noticed that a video call was ongoing. Everyone who had been unable to come to the club was watching the entire event unfold through her phone, getting a live stream of the events.
Cassian looked at her, one eyebrow lifting.
“Did you video call everyone?” he asked.
“Of course.” Juliet answered without the slightest hint of shame. “I wasn’t going to let them miss this.”
She gave him a wide smile before glancing down at the screen. Their friends were also laughing on the video call, watching everything unfold.
Meanwhile, Stella continued struggling to free herself from Lucius’s hold.
He finally released her when she grew tired.
Stella immediately stepped back from him, putting as much distance between them as she could. She watched him cautiously, her body tense as she kept her eyes on him.
She knew from experience that once Lucius started kissing her, it was difficult to get away from him. It never stopped at one kiss. He would keep pulling her back and kissing her over and over again.
That was why she instinctively stepped farther away.